HUDSON, Wis. - On the day of the final presidential debate, western Wisconsin political volunteers were making an extra push with both the race for the White House and the open U.S. Senate seat up for grabs.
You could find folks at Obama and Romney offices in Hudson working the mid-day phones.
It came as no surprise to University of Wisconsin-River Falls professor and Political Science Chair Wes Chapin.
"I think Wisconsin is up for grabs right now. The battle is really narrowed down to just a handful of voters in these key states who are still trying to figure out whether or not they want to vote for the Democrats or the Republicans this time," Dr. Chapin explained.
While you could see the political fervor on yard signs on Hudson's busiest streets, it couldn't be found yet at City Hall where a couple of lonely voters trickled in for the first crack at early voting.
"We've had a lot of absentee voting by mail, but since this is the first day for absentee in person I expect we're going to have a large turnout," City Clerk Nancy Korson told KARE 11.
Also driving the turnout is a very expensive and divisive senate race for a vacated seat. The matchup pitting Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin and Former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson is dominating the airwaves as money from across the country pours in.
"Wisconsin is predicted to be the second most expensive senate campaign in the entire country, and that tells you how intense the competition is here right now," Dr. Chapin noted.
Both the presidential candidates and the senate candidates appeared to be polling almost neck and neck.
Not many months removed from a Governor's recall race, Wisconsin voters have once again, grabbed the nation's attention.
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