Romney spends Father's Day in Ohio, before hitting Janesville Monday

JANESVILLE -- On Monday, June 18th, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will visit Wisconsin for the first time since he essentially clinched the Republican nomination.  Meanwhile, Democrats were already on the ground Sunday, bashing Romney's record.

Political observers say they are bracing for another brutal campaign season in Wisconsin, and Romney is coming to town just as the state is wrapping up from the recall elections.

The day before heading to Janesville, Romney spent Father's Day campaigning in another battleground state -- Ohio. Romney attacked President Barack Obama on all fronts.

"We finally have to get a balanced budget in this country and I'm gonna set the rules to do that. We've gotta get rid of that one piece of legislation which is like a great cloud that's been raining over small business and made it harder for them to start new enterprises and create new jobs. We've got to get rid of Obamacare and I will," Romney said.

Meanwhile, in Madison Sunday, the Democratic National Committee was already focused on the Badger State in advance of Romney's planned appearance.

DNC Communications Director Brad Woodward joined former Democratic Lt. Governor candidate Mahlon Mitchell for a preemptive strike against the presumptive Republican nominee.

"They want this to be a referendum on the president. It's not a choice on who has the best plans to move forward the middle class. Mitt Romney will come here and drop a million sound bites -- none of which have a grain of truth to them. He`ll tell you the president has made the economy worse. He`s obviously made the economy better,"

UW-Milwaukee Professor of Governmental Affairs Mordecai Lee said Romney's visit is just the beginning -- as bitter local politics will now make way for potentially nastier national politics.

Lee said Wisconsinites should feel honored in a way.

"As long as both parties can win Wisconsin, we`re going to see both candidates coming here and this is good for Wisconsin because the more they come to Wisconsin, the more they want to know what Wisconsinites care about and the more they want to talk about what Wisconsin cares about, so we really benefit from being a battleground state," Lee said.

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