The Latest: Wisconsin voter turnout projected at 40 percent
By Associated Press
Apr 5, 2016 7:27 PM CDT
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a rally at the Milwaukee Theatre Monday, April 4, 2016, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)   (Associated Press)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on campaign 2016 as voters in Wisconsin head to the polls for the state's presidential primary (all times Eastern Daylight Time):

8:20 p.m.

Wisconsin is projected to have its highest turnout in a presidential primary since 1980, but that hasn't translated into problems at the polls.

The state elections board projects turnout at 40 percent of eligible voters.

Board spokesman Mike Haas says clerks around the state had reported a busy pace but manageable lines throughout the day. The state is holding just its second election since voters were required to show photo identification, and Haas says his office hadn't heard of any major issues.

Neil Albrecht, executive director of Milwaukee's election commission, said wait times in the state's largest city didn't exceed 30 minutes even during peak voting. Albrecht estimated the city would have four to five times the same-day voter registration it had for the primary four years ago.

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7:25 p.m.

Bernie Sanders offered few details on how he would break up big financial institutions during a recent interview with the New York Daily News.

The Vermont senator was pressed on how he would carry out his campaign pledge.

Sanders said some banks are too big and could be broken up either by "having legislation passed, or giving the authority to the secretary of treasury to determine, under Dodd-Frank, that these banks are a danger to the economy over the problem of too-big-to-fail."

But Sanders did not elaborate on how this would work. When asked how breaking up banks would affect jobs and assets at financial institutions, Sanders said it "is their decision as to what they want to do and how they want to reconfigure themselves. That's not my decision."

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5:55 p.m.

A potential Donald Trump presidency inspires more excitement among Wisconsin's GOP primary voters than the other two remaining candidates — but also more fear.

About a quarter say they're excited about Trump, while less than 15 percent say that of either of his rivals. At the same time, nearly 4 in 10 say they're scared about what Trump would do as president, while only about 1 in 10 say that about either Cruz or Kasich, according to early results of exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research.

In the case of a brokered convention, nearly 6 in 10 Republicans say the party should nominate the candidate with the most support in the primaries, while just 4 in 10 say it should nominate the candidate the delegates think would make the best nominee.

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5:51 p.m.

Democratic voters in Wisconsin are divided on the effect of trade on unemployment, an issue that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has played up in a flood of television ads over the past few weeks.

About 45 percent of Democratic voters say trade with other countries takes away jobs in this country, while nearly 4 in 10 see trade as beneficial, according to early results of exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research. Only about 10 percent see trade as having no effect on job in the United States.

The polls indicate a mixed response on an issue that Sanders has put at the center of some of his most-aired television ads.

Over the past month, Sanders has poured about $2.4 million into radio and television ads in Wisconsin and one of his top aired ads has tucked in several subtle jabs at former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's record on trade, according to data from political advertising tracker Kantar Media.

One Sanders ad touts the senator as standing with American workers, linking jobs losses to the North American Free Trade Agreement, which was signed into law by former President Bill Clinton, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Clinton initially supported but has since said she opposes.

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5:49 p.m.

Ted Cruz continues to outmaneuver Donald Trump at local conventions, this time in Colorado.

Two of Colorado's congressional districts held conventions over the weekend and party officials say Cruz won all six delegates at stake. Cruz has also done well at local conventions in North Dakota and Louisiana.

Colorado has a unique system for awarding delegates. There is no statewide primary. Instead, delegates are elected at congressional district conventions and at the state convention on Saturday.

If delegates commit to a presidential candidate when they are running, they must vote for that candidate at the party's national convention this summer. If they don't commit, they are free to support the candidate of their choice.

Colorado has a total of 37 delegates, including the state's three Republican National Committee members.

The AP delegate count heading into the Wisconsin primary on Tuesday:

Trump: 737.

Cruz: 481.

John Kasich: 143.

Needed to win: 1,237.

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5:42 p.m.

Bernie Sanders will appear on the Democratic primary ballot in the District of Columbia after lawmakers approved legislation clarifying that he met the filing deadline.

A mix-up between the city's Democratic Party and its elections board had left open the possibility that Sanders would be left off the primary ballot. Sanders paid a fee to get on the ballot, but the party didn't submit paperwork to the elections board until the day after the deadline. That led a local activist to file a challenge arguing that Sanders should be left off the ballot.

The District's primary is June 14, the last one before the Democratic convention.

The D.C. Council approved a bill Tuesday that guarantees Sanders' place on the ballot, and Democratic Mayor Muriel Bowser says she'll sign it.

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5:26 p.m.

Republican and Democratic voters in Wisconsin say the economy is weighing heavily on their minds as they head to the polls Tuesday.

Nearly three quarters of Democratic voters say they are worried about the direction of the country's economy, according to early results of exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks by Edison Research. More than a third say the economy and job is the most important issue facing the country and 3 in 10 consider income inequality to be of paramount concern.

The Republicans who came out to vote are even more troubled by the direction of the economy, the early exit polls show. More than 9 in 10 say they are either very or somewhat worried.

Similar to the Democrats, about 30 percent of Republicans consider the economy and jobs the country's top problem, and just about as many consider government spending the most important issue.

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5:16 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is emphasizing her New York ties during a Tuesday campaign stop — and suggested that Donald Trump doesn't share his home city's values.

Appearing in Brooklyn, Clinton referenced the owner of Trump Tower and said: "The fellow who's from New York? I wish he'd get out of one of his towers and walk the streets."

Clinton, who represented the state for eight years in the Senate, later said she believes "the values of New York are the values of America."

Clinton's campaign is stressing the need to get a win in her adopted home state and has emphasized turning out African-American voters. She was joined onstage by minority women, including activists, elected officials and New York City mayor Bill de Blasio's wife, Chirlane McCray.

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4:54 p.m.

Hillary Clinton is stressing her fight for more rights for women, including equal pay, during a New York City campaign stop.

Clinton eschewed going to Wisconsin, which is holding its primary on Tuesday and where she is down in the polls to Bernie Sanders. Instead, she is focusing on the next contest, which is being held in her adopted home state of New York in two weeks.

The ex-secretary of state appeared at Medgar Evers College, a public school named after the slain civil rights activist, in Brooklyn. Clinton pledged to "tirelessly fight" for women's causes, including abortion rights, and praised local officials for their efforts to help working women, especially the recent increase of the state's middle wage.

She also said she "loved" the U.S. national women's soccer team's lawsuit alleging wage discrimination.

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2:50 p.m.

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus says the outcome of Wisconsin's election is important, not just for the individual who wins the delegates, but to the outcome of the race in general.

Priebus said in an interview Tuesday on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee that the outcome of Wisconsin's primary will play an important role in whether there is a contested GOP convention this summer in Cleveland. A win by Ted Cruz would make it more difficult for front-runner Donald Trump to get the 1,237 delegates needed by the end of the primary season to secure the nomination.

But Priebus says the outcome in Wisconsin is also important "on the narrative side." He says since no other state is voting Tuesday, the focus has been on Wisconsin for two weeks and how the outcome will influence the race going forward.

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2:40 p.m.

Republican Ted Cruz is continuing his call for Ohio Gov. John Kasich to get out of the presidential race.

Cruz said in an interview Tuesday on WTMJ radio in Milwaukee that any candidate who doesn't have a path to winning should end their campaign.

"At this point," he said, "Kasich has been mathematically eliminated."

Cruz's comments come as Wisconsin voters cast ballots in that state primary. Cruz was leading in the polls, but Kasich was trying to win in at least one congressional district. The statewide winner gets 18 delegates, while three delegates are awarded to the winner of each of the state's eight congressional districts.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump has also called on Kasich to get out of the race. Both Cruz and Trump see their chances improving without Kasich taking votes, and delegates, away from them.

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12:30 p.m.

President Barack Obama is responding to questions about Donald Trump's proposal to cut off billions of dollars in remittances sent by Mexican immigrants living in the U.S.

"Good luck with that," Obama said in a press briefing Tuesday, citing the dangers of what he described as "half-baked notions."

Obama told journalists that the proposal is "one more example of something that is not thought through and primarily put forward for political consumption."

Obama warned of the ramifications such a plan would have on the Mexican economy which, in turn, would drive more immigrants to flee to the U.S. in search of jobs.

"People around the world... don't expect half-baked notions coming out of the White House. We can't afford that."

According to a memo released by his campaign Tuesday, Trump would try to cut off funds sent to Mexico through money transfers known as remittances to compel its government to pay for a wall along the Southern border.

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10:00 a.m.

Voters are lining up across Wisconsin to cast their ballots in the state's presidential primary.

The stakes are high in Tuesday's contest as candidates from both parties fight to win enough delegates to become their party nominees. Early polling signaled a tight race for both parties, with Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Bernie Sanders are angling for victories.

Paul Lorentz, a 42-year-old project manager for Affiliated Engineers, was in line at 6:30 a.m. in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, to cast a vote for Republican John Kasich. Lorentz says he typically votes Democratic in the general election and Republican in Wisconsin's open primary, in order to sway that side to a better candidate.

Carrie-Ann Todd, a 39-year-old mother saddled with student debt, is voting for Bernie Sanders due to his efforts to address the cost of college.

"I'm paying more on my student loans than I am on my cars," Todd said.

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8:30 a.m.

Donald Trump says he would force Mexico to pay for a border wall by threatening to cut off billions of dollars in remittances sent by immigrants living in the U.S.

According to a memo released by his campaign Tuesday, Trump would try to compel Mexico to pay for a 1,000-mile wall if he becomes president.

In his proposal, Trump threatened to change a rule under the USA Patriot Act, an anti-terrorism law, to cut off funds sent to Mexico through money transfers known as remittances. Trump said he would withdraw the threat if Mexico makes "a one-time payment of $5-10 billion" to finance the wall."

The billionaire businessman has estimated his proposed wall would cost between $10 billion and $12 billion, and has argued that it would protect the country from illegal border crossings as well as halting drug shipments.

The release of the memo was first reported by the Washington Post early Tuesday.

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3:30 a.m.

Republican Ted Cruz and Democrat Bernie Sanders are angling for victories in Tuesday's Wisconsin presidential primaries that could give their campaigns a needed boost but still leave them with mathematically challenging paths to their parties' nominations.

While Sanders remains a powerful force in the Democratic primary, a win over Hillary Clinton would do little to significantly cut into her delegate lead. The stakes are higher for Cruz, who trails Donald Trump but sees Wisconsin as a crucial part of his effort to push the GOP race toward a convention fight.

Leaders in both parties are eager to turn their attention toward the general election. Clinton would enter the fall campaign saddled with persistent questions about her trustworthiness, but also demographic advantages that Democrats believe would be magnified against Trump.

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