Priebus: Just a Matter of the 'Ground Game' to Push Walker to Re-election

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said this morning that it’s taking a “sophisticated operation” in Wisconsin to try to push Gov. Scott Walker to re-election.

The latest Real Clear Politics polling average has the race a dead heat, with Walker just 0.2 points ahead of Democratic candidate Mary Burke.

“I think he’s doing well,” Priebus told MSNBC, adding that he thinks Walker will win. “And it’s really a matter of the ground game there.”

“I really think that Scott’s doing great. Here’s the issue with Wisconsin. I think you understand. There’s about 4 percent that are undecided total,” he continued. “It’s like polling that you’ve never seen anywhere in the country. And the other issue is you have both parties in Wisconsin that are about the two best parties in the country as far as turnout.”

“And, you know, that’s why you’re seeing Scott Walker right now on about a 30-city bus tour firing up the base and getting people out to vote.”

The AFL-CIO’s Workers’ Voice PAC has Walker on its top targets and has made big ad buys in the state. “It’s not been tough for us to get volunteers in Wisconsin, because this guy is known as just an anti-worker governor in Wisconsin,” union boss Richard Trumka told MSNBC last week. “He’s sort of like the poster child for that across the country.”

Unions are pumping millions into the race.

“It’s a truck load of money from — from national unions and soft money organizations coming into Wisconsin. And, obviously, Scott’s done a great job fundraising, and a lot of people have,” Priebus said. “But, you know, it is a lot about the money. But ultimately, you know, when there’s 4 percent undecided, it’s all about turnout. It’s all about whether you can win up in Eau Claire and Wausau and Green Bay… and bringing ballots in the box.”

Walker told reporters yesterday that he isn’t getting enough help from the national GOP in his fight, according to Politico.

The Republican Governors Association said it’s “been all-in in Wisconsin from the beginning,” spending $8 million on his campaign this time around compared to $5.2 million in his first campaign and $9 million in his recall election.