MADISON (WKOW) -- Paul Ryan's new role as the Republican vice-presidential candidate took the spotlight off of the four GOP U.S. Senate candidates, in their final weekend of campaigning before Tuesday's primary election.
It also forced them to change their schedules and their outlooks.
Tommy Thompson, Eric Hovde, Mark Neumann and Jeff Fitzgerald all re-arranged their Sunday plans to be at the Romney-Ryan event in Waukesha , and they were all saying the big news is a boost to their campaigns.
But only one got a shout-out from the man of the hour on Sunday night.
"What we pioneered here in Wisconsin, Tommy Thompson, welfare reform, getting people back to work, off of welfare into lives of dignity, personal responsibility on to a life of hitting their potential," said Rep. Paul Ryan during his speech. He was talking about Thompson's W-2 Wisconsin Works program being the type of program President Obama is dismantling.
By Monday morning, all of the candidates still seemed excited about the selection of Ryan.
"I can hardly wait to be a United States Senator, to work with Ron Johnson in the Senate and Paul Ryan in the White House," said former Congressman Mark Neumann, speaking in Eau Claire.
And some seemed to believe the attention on Ryan and his policies would bode well for them Tuesday.
"You know, I'm just thrilled, because Paul has been talking about the exact same issues for the last five, six years that propelled me to get into this race," said Eric Hovde, as he visited the Republican victory center in Fitchburg.
"Its a great pick for me, because it plays right into the message that I've been carrying throughout this US Senate campaign," commented Jeff Fitzgerald, who compares his quest to balance Wisconsin's budget with the one Ryan is on in Washington.
Who it helps, if anyone, isn't clear. But with turnout projected at 20 percent, it may at least inspire more people to get to the polls.
"I do think it helps bring attention, yes, I think its actually gonna boost up the turnout for tomorrow, which I like," said Hovde.
"Having that early primary this year and people are on vacation and stuff, it could still be a low turnout, but I think with kind of energizing the base with Paul Ryan, we could see a bigger turnout right now," added Fitzgerald.
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MADISON (WKOW) -- All four of Wisconsin's Republican U.S. Senate candidates rearranged their schedules Sunday afternoon, so they could attend and campaign at the Romney-Ryan rally in Waukesha.
The surprise announcement of Paul Ryan as Mitt Romney's running-mate on Saturday morning, shifted the focus of GOP voters just three days out from the election.
With at least 10 percent of voters claiming they were still undecided as of last week, there are competing theories on how the timing of the Ryan announcement will affect the primary.
Will GOP voters turnout in higher numbers because the Ryan pick has them more energized about politics in general? Or, did it distract voters from the primary, causing a lower turnout?
There's also some question as to whether undecided voters will change much from their current leanings, because they haven't been thinking about the election as much as they would have otherwise.
Capitol Bureau Chief Greg Neumann is looking at the impact of the buzz surrounding Paul Ryan on Tuesday's race and will have reports on 27 News at 5 and 6.
