UPDATE: Vice President Mike Pence visits Eau Claire

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) - 40 days remain until the November general election.

Just like four years ago, Wisconsin is a hotly contested battleground state.

For the third time in the last two months, Vice President Mike Pence is in western Wisconsin.

Thursday, his first trip of the year to the Chippewa Valley speaking in front of a crowd of about 100 people at Midwest Manufacturing in Eau Claire.

The Vice President covered a variety of topics, including jobs in Wisconsin and America, the coronavirus pandemic, and the Supreme Court.

“Well hello Wisconsin,” said Pence to open his remarks.

It was a socially distanced and mask wearing crowd at Midwest Manufacturing Thursday, on hand to see the Vice President.

Vice President Pence, alongside Senior Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump, toured the facility before giving remarks.

The trip to the Chippewa Valley comes less than six weeks before the general election on Nov. 3rd, and two days before President Trump says he’ll nominate a judge to the Supreme Court to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat.

“The President is going to choose a woman of experience, of great character, but also someone who will uphold the constitution. Apply the laws as written and serve in the Supreme Court in a manner consistent with the late and great Antonin Scalia,” said Pence.

While both Democrats and Republicans have said they mourn the loss of the justice Democrats don’t believe the seat should be filled until after the election, the same way President Obama’s last nominee for the highest court was blocked in 2016.

“We’re hearing two sets of rules. It’s this is the way that we wanted to do it back in 2016, but now that we’re in power we’ve changed the rules and we want to have our way,” said State Rep. Jodi Emerson (D-Eau Claire).

Wisconsin is a target state for both parties in November, one that could tip the scales in the end.

Pence says the administration will accept the results of a fair and free election, but is concerned that won’t be the case this year.

“We have great concern about changes that are taking place including here in Wisconsin in mail-in voting and in absentee voting. I mean for the state of Wisconsin to extend the deadline so that we may not know the outcome of the election for six days after the election,” explained Pence.

The election will come during the middle of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pence, who leads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, says he is absolutely confident the work of the administration, healthcare professionals, and the American people has saved hundreds of thousands of lives.

Democrats, though, say the lack of a national plan has made the pandemic worse than what it could have been.

“I’m disappointed in the leadership or lack of leadership that we’ve had from our president and his administration through this whole pandemic and I think the pandemic is what we really need to be voting on in November,” said Emerson.

Following the visit to Eau Claire, Pence and Ivanka trump traveled to the Twin Cities for a listening session on law enforcement.

Thursday, Vice President Mike Pence made his third stop in western Wisconsin over the past couple of months, and his first to the Chippewa Valley

The Vice President, along with first daughter and Senior Adviser, Ivanka Trump, toured Midwest Manufacturing in Eau Claire, before speaking to a crowd of about 100 workers.

The event focused on the importance of manufacturing in the United States.

While Pence played up the administration’s effort to bring more jobs to Wisconsin, he also discussed the Supreme Court following the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last week.

“And as we rightly honor her life of service, the Constitution of the United States provides that the president shall appoint judges to the Supreme Court. And I promise you come this Saturday President Donald Trump will do his duty and we will nominate a principled conservative woman to the Supreme Court of the United States,”

After his Eau Claire visit, the Vice President traveled to Minneapolis for a “Cops for Trump” listening session.

Vice President Mike Pence is returning to the badger state for a campaign stop, this time in Eau Claire.

Pence is scheduled to arrive at the Chippewa Valley Airport at 10:50 a.m. and then speak at Midwest Manufacturing on Kane Road in Eau Claire at 11:50 a.m. He’s expected deliver remarks at a made in America event which will focus on manufacturing in the United States.

WEAU’s political analyst John Frank says right now it is incredibly important for candidates to spend time in western Wisconsin. Voting has already started and runs up until Election Day, meaning the second someone makes their decision, they can get it down on the ballot.

“In a statewide election that is going to be decided by just a few thousand votes, 6 weeks out from election day you are trying to do two things, number one you are trying to convince that relatively small handful of people that haven’t made up their mind to vote for you and you are trying to turn out your base,” said political analyst, John Frank. “Both of those goals get accomplished by having a stop in Eau Claire and West Central Wisconsin.”

Donald Trump’s win in Wisconsin in 2016 was the first time a republican candidate had won the state’s electoral votes since 1984. He won the state by just one percent of the vote. In fact, he actually lost Eau Claire County to Hillary Clinton by nearly four thousand votes.

It is likely going to come down to just a few thousand votes in this election as well, the latest Marquette poll puts trump four points behind democratic nominee Joe Biden among likely voters.

“Wisconsin is decisively a purple state and the purplest part of the purple state is no surprise, here in West central Wisconsin and so a visit to West Central Wisconsin is going after those politically independent ideologically neutral people that may still not have made up their minds,” said John Frank, WEAU’s political analyst.

Following the Vice President’s stop in Eau Claire, he is scheduled to visit Minneapolis where he is expected to participate in a “Cops for Trump” listening session focusing on the Trump Administration’s commitment to law enforcement.

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