National spotlight heats up on Wisconsin recall races

FOND DU LAC - The candidates in Tuesday's recall races were out in full force this weekend, and will continue to reach out to voters until the polls close on election day.

The weekend before any election, candidates like Democrat Jessica King are busy tracking down people they can count on for support at the polls.

“We are going out to the supporters and just reminding them what their plan is for election day,” said King.

But on Sunday, the man King is trying to unseat in the Wisconsin State Senate, Republican Randy Hopper, was busy going after a different kind of target.

“I look forward every year to coming here,” said Hopper, while taking a break from shooting trap at Van Dyne Sportsmens Club.

Hopper may have taken a break from the campaign trail to shoot trap, but it doesn't mean his beliefs weren't being shared throughout his district.

The Tea Party Express rolled into Fond du Lac, signaling the national spotlight is heating up on Wisconsin's Senate recall races.

“Everybody is watching Wisconsin,” said Howard Kaloogian with the Tea Party Express. “If you get punished for doing the right thing and fixing the problem here in Wisconsin, then nobody in Washington D.C. is going to have any courage to fix it there.

Hopper said he appreciates the outside support.

As for King, she said she'd rather get her message out herself.

“There is a lot of independent expenditure groups that are bringing money, bringing messages into the campaign and it makes it a little more difficult for me, Jessica King the candidate, to actually have my message out there,” said King.

If the national spotlight wasn't enough, Hopper said the recall races have also gone international.

“I did an interview with a reporter from a Japanese newspaper who has a four million subscription rate in the United States,” said Hopper. “He couldn't understand why the recalls were happening.”

“There are a lot of extra eyes on the race, but I'm still trying to focus on fundamentally this is about me becoming a public servant for the 18th Senate District,” said King.

With not much time left, both candidates said whether on the streets or at the range, it’s about hitting as many voters as possible before the polls close Tuesday night.