Crunch time for the candidates: November 4th general election is about a week away!



MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- There's just about one week left until voters head to the polls in the November 4th General Election, and Governor Scott Walker and Democratic challenger Mary Burke will spend the next week making last-minute campaign stops. Mary Burke will host President Barack Obama in Milwaukee on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Governor Walker is saying he doesn't need help from outside the state.

As Election Day draws near, Walker and Burke are asking supporters to think about casting their ballot early. The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board reports that so far, 146,196 absentee ballots have been cast.

As part of their final push in the gubernatorial campaign, both candidates will get some help from nationally-known politicians this week.

Walker visited Harken Manufacturing in Pewaukee on Monday, October 27th -- repeating afterward that he doesn't need visitors from outside the state to campaign for him here. This, as last Friday, Bill Clinton campaigned in Milwaukee for Mary Burke, and on Tuesday, President Obama will do the same.

"I don't need people from outside the state. This is about me and the people of Wisconsin. It's not about bringing in surrogates from Washington like my opponent's doing. The reason she's doing it is that's where her power base is," Walker said.

Walker says he expects to receive help from the Republican Governors Association, adding RGA President Chris Christie will be here later this week.

"I would imagine they're gonna play a significant role between now and the end. Let me be clear - when I complain about the national groups that come in, I'm by no means complaining about the RGA," Walker said.

In Madison on Monday, Burke said Walker may not have the surrogates, but he's getting plenty of financial backing.

"Hey, looking at his campaign finance report, $26 million, deep-pocketed special interest donors, that's mostly from out-of-state," Burke said.

Another piece of this campaign has been the push both candidates have made for early voting. Through the first week of early voting, a little less than 150,000 absentee ballots were cast. About 90,000 people have voted early. More than 55,000 ballots have been mailed in.

"Unlike the trend in the past, we've actually went out and recruited new voters, registered new voters, pushed people to vote early. We're gonna compete for every vote out there," Walker said.

"It`s just about reminding voters what`s at stake, a contrast between Governor Walker and myself, and the future that we do have in Wisconsin," Burke said.

The Milwaukee Election Commission says nearly 6,000 people voted early last week. They expect the final total in the city of Milwaukee will be between 15,000 and 18,000.

The election commissioner says during an average gubernatorial election, there are between 10,000 and 12,000 early votes.