The Wisconsin primary is only days away, and the state is in national play. Sarah McCammon is covering the 2016 presidential election for NPR. This week, she's been in Wisconsin reporting on the GOP race and attended a Ted Cruz event and a Donald Trump rally.
At the "Women for Cruz" event in Madison, McCammon explains that Cruz's wife, Heidi; his mother, Eleanor Cruz; and former presidential candidate Carly Fiorina were all in attendance.
"[Cruz's] event was a little more personal, a lot of discussion about women," McCammon says. "It felt like an appeal to Cruz's base...the conservative, evangelical base that tends to support Ted Cruz...these values of motherhood and womanhood are important values for many in that community."
Cruz and Fiorina spoke about their divergence with the Democrats' concept of women's issues. "[They said] all issues are women's issues because the economy, foreign policy, everything else, affects women just like men," McCammon explains.
At the Trump rally in Janesville, McCammon says both Scott Walker and Congressman Paul Ryan's names were booed. "The Trump supporters there felt like Walker and Ryan are a part of the establishment, and that's what so much of this [Trump] campaign has been about, is being anti-establishment, and certainly that's what's appealing to Trump voters," she says.
"Its unclear how the events of this week will affect the race," McCammon says. "Not just the endorsement of Scott Walker for Ted Cruz, but we also saw a charge of misdemeanor battery brought against Corey Lewandowski, the campaign manager for Donald Trump."
