Takeaways from JD Vance’s closing arguments at Wisconsin

In a final bid to win over voters in the purple city of La Crosse, just a day before the presidential election, former President Donald Trump’s running mate JD Vance blasted Democrats and urged Republicans to get out on the ballot Monday.

“We’re done with early voting, which means tomorrow is our last chance,” Vance said, a reference to in-person early voting that ended Sunday. “Tomorrow is the last day. Tomorrow is the big day when we’re going to vote in huge numbers in the state of Wisconsin. We’re going to vote for change, we’re going to vote for American prosperity. We’re going to vote for Donald J. Trump to be president of the United States.”

The Ohio senator rallied supporters for 25 minutes at the La Crosse Center in the same city where his Democratic counterpart, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, held an event Monday.

The the duel campaign stops it comes as Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are locked in a tight race ahead of Tuesday’s election, with both hoping to win this key battleground state.

Polls show a close race in Wisconsin. A Marquette University Law School Survey released Wednesday, showed Harris with a 1-point lead over Trump among likely voters.

Here’s what you need to know about Vance’s stop in La Crosse:

Vance at La Crosse rally urges supporters to vote and bring nine people with them

In Vance’s latest visit to the Badger State, he urged supporters to show up to vote Tuesday if they haven’t already returned an absentee ballot.

“In this election, I’m telling you, in the state of Wisconsin, in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, it’s going to be won on Election Day or it’s going to be lost on Election Day,” he said.

He urged supporters to consider what they wish they had done if they woke up Wednesday to find Harris had won by 90 votes.

He then urged them to take these steps in the next 24 hours and, when they go to the polls, take nine other voters with them.

Vance slams Kamala Harris as ‘candidate of more of the same’

Vance argued that Harris would not represent a break from President Joe Biden’s administration and tried to tie her to voters’ concerns about the economy.

“Kamala Harris is more of the same high food prices, Kamala Harris is more of the same unaffordable housing. Kamala Harris is more of the same chaos around the world, and Kamala Harris is more of the same wide-open border,” he said.

He also labeled her part of a “failed generation of career politicians”.

Vance refers to Prairie du Chien when referring to immigration

As Republicans have done throughout this campaign cycle, Vance has focused many of his comments on illegal immigration.

He brought up a in which case Prairie du Chien police say a man with ties to Tren De Aragua, a transnational criminal organization in Venezuela, sexually assaulted a woman and assaulted her daughter recently.

Police said the victim and suspect knew each other, which is common in sexual assault cases, and had no contact with other gang members.

Vance, who has repeatedly criticized Harris on immigration, used the case to try to undermine Harris’ argument that she is on the side of women and girls.

The comment came days after Trump was criticized for telling a rally in Green Bay that he would protect women whether they “like it or not.”

Walz arranges a duel just a few blocks from Vance

Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, also held a rally in La Crosse later Monday morning, just blocks away from Vance.

Vance mocked Walz as having “the toughest job in American politics” in pitching Harris to voters.

Walz had several stops planned after La Crosse. He was scheduled to appear in Stevens Point and Milwaukee later in the day.

Democrats responded to Vance’s visit to La Crosse

In a statement, Harris’ campaign framed Vance’s visit as an effort to shut down a campaign that is “more focused on Donald Trump and his own issues than Wisconsin families.”

“This election comes down to a choice between Vice President Harris, who is fighting for you, and Donald Trump, who is consumed by his ‘enemies list’ and plans for revenge,” said Kristi Johnston, rapid response director of the Democratic Coordinated Campaign in Wisconsin, in a statement. “That’s why Wisconsinites are turning out in historic numbers — voting for Vice President Harris and Governor Walz and their plans to lower costs, protect freedoms and build the middle class.”

Lawrence Andrea and Hope Karnopp of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this story.

Laura Schulte can be reached at [email protected]. Alison Dirr can be reached at [email protected].