Representatives of the right were on the political scene in Wisconsin the week before the election to support their candidates.
Gubernatorial candidate U.S. Rep. Mark Green brought in star power in Milwaukee Friday, popping into the Pabst Theater to speak to Republicans gathered to see conservative Fox News Channel host Sean Hannity.
Green told them that Doyle vetoed a bill that would have renamed U.S. Highway 14 from Madison to the Wisconsin-Illinois border as the Ronald Reagan Highway.
"I think it's time to veto Jim Doyle," he said.
Green stopped at the St. Croix County Republican Party headquarters in Hudson to kick off a phone campaign to get people to the polls.
"It's a turnout election," he said. "All elections are turnout elections. But this one is more than any I've seen."
Recent polls indicate the often-nasty race could end with a close finish determined by which candidate is better at getting his supporters to the polls on Tuesday.
Green's day included meeting party activists in Hudson and Eau Claire and veterans in Chippewa Falls before flying to Milwaukee for the appearance with Hannity.
Green said his volunteers pledged to spend 30,000 hours in the last five days of the campaign calling voters and knocking on doors to energize his base. He told a crowd at a rally in Eau Claire that it's been a tough campaign, but "we're coming back. We're rising. Have we been outspent? Yeah. But we haven't been outworked."
He made two campaign stops Friday with state Sen. Dave Zien, R-Eau Claire, a leading supporter of gun owners' rights and the sponsor of a bill permitting the carrying of concealed weapons. Green, who has the backing of the National Rifle Association, called Zien an "incredibly important lawmaker."
Earlier in the day, Green spoke to about 50 hunters at a game farm in rural Menomonie, promising to protect their right to bear arms and stop bureaucrats who try to restrict their access to land.
"I promise I will stand up for the rights of sportsmen because I am one," he said.
That struck a chord with retired postal worker Lois Shackleton, who brought a sign reading "Do not let Mr. Doyle camouflage the issues." She said she believed Green would hold down taxes and oppose abortion and embryonic stem cell research.
"I like him for his moral values," said Shackleton, 61, of Knapp.
Green could get a boost from a ballot question asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. A number of churches and other groups supporting that referendum also are working to get conservative – and likely Republican – voters to the polls.
Green, who has not brought up either referendum on the campaign trail, said he doubted they would work to his advantage.
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