RACINE, Wis. _ House Speaker Paul D. Ryan's primary challenge is drawing national attention. But that wasn't obvious Monday, less than 24 hours before voters head to the polls here, as Ryan met with manufacturing workers on the eastern edge of his district.
Ryan never mentioned the election, rival Paul Nehlen or last week's kerfuffle when GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump hedged on backing Ryan before eventually delivering a tepid endorsement. Instead, the nine-term congressman talked about his job as the nation's highest elected Republican.
"It's not enough for those of us you elect to go criticize and complain and throw bombs at each other," Ryan told the employees of a tool manufacturer, touting his six-pronged "Better Way" policy platform. "We have to throw solutions on the table."
Ryan ignoring Tuesday's primary election is perhaps unsurprising, given that he trounces Nehlen in polls by large double-digit figures. Nehlen continued to attack Ryan as a tool of the establishment and donor-class who supports open borders and trade policies that harm American workers.
"Paul Ryan is the head of the snake," Nehlen said at a Saturday rally in Janesville, Ryan's hometown, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Unlike many Republicans running for office, Nehlen is unique in that he has unequivocally embraced Trump and his controversies. That has led Trump to speak approvingly of Nehlen.
Nehlen has also attracted support from the far right _ former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has endorsed him, and conservative author Ann Coulter campaigned with him this weekend. His supporters are hopeful Nehlen can pull off the same upset that David Brat did when he ousted House Majority Leader Eric Cantor in 2014.
That scenario appears unlikely given Ryan's strong approval ratings in Wisconsin and his connection with his district. He returns to Janesville most weekends to spend time with his wife and three children, and is a familiar sight at the area's fish fries and festivals.
"For sure, he comes to parades and shakes hands," said Mark Stillman, 62, of Burlington. "He's just like a regular guy, way different than some of those people who you don't even want to listen to ... And he knows a lot about the Packers."
Ryan frequently mentions his love of the football team, in addition to the tax burdens facing Harley-Davidson when the company sells Wisconsin-made motorcycles overseas, or new trade hurdles for the state's gouda and parmesan cheese makers.
Asked about the team's prospects this year, Ryan ran through the lineups, new recruits, the players' physiques and injuries, and noted that he recently attended a team practice. He called the experience "one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life."
Several voters said they supported Ryan because they believed he was a genuine politician who did not put on airs.
"I really think he's a good man. Some politicians out there, maybe not so much, but Paul Ryan, I really like," said Jim Ayotte of Racine. "It's how you come across and what you're willing to do for people, and I think Paul Ryan looks to me like he's going to do good things for us, and he has."
Ayotte, a registered Republican, said the enthusiasm does not spill over to Trump. He hasn't decided whether he will vote for the party's nominee in November, but he also opposes Hillary Clinton.
"To be honest with you, I don't like either one," said the 58-year-old.
Oscar Bautista, 62, asked Ryan at a town hall in Pleasant Prairie later in the day if there were some way the Republican Party could get rid of Trump and make Ryan its nominee.
Ryan, the GOP's 2012 vice presidential nominee, didn't address his potential White House aspirations, but said that Trump won the party's nomination definitively.
"He won the votes fair and square. He won more votes than anybody else," Ryan said. "He is the nominee and that's how it works in our party."
