A meeting at Mar-a-Lago and Milwaukee voters are about to elect a new Mayor for the first time in nearly two decades.
TMJ4's Chief Political Reporter Charles Benson talked with NBC's moderator of Meet the Press Chuck Todd about the big political stories of the week.
On Thursday TMJ4 News first reported former Governor Tommy Thompson met with former President Donald Trump in Florida to talk about Wisconsin politics.
Still no read out of the meeting but sources say Thompson was not asking for an endorsement and is still undecided about running for an unprecedented fifth term.
Todd was asked Friday, why so many Republicans across the country are meeting with Trump ahead of the 2022 elections?
"Trump's power, I think is less in endorsement and more if you are a target. He could do real damage if he goes after you," said Todd.
Both men want to help Republicans get elected but Todd sees real differences between Trump and Thompson on a couple of key issues.
"What struck me is, Tommy Thompson is just not going to go along on the election bizarreness and he's going to take COVID a lot more seriously as a former Health Secretary.
So as Thompson contemplates his next move in 2022, he may be trying to read -the-room with Trump.
"Tommy Thompson is the kind of guy who would say, 'I'm not asking you to support me I'm just asking you not to attack me', said Todd. It wouldn't shock me if that was part of the conversation."
The conversation in Milwaukee these days is about who will be the next mayor.
Milwaukee will elect a new mayor for the first time in 18 years.
It's a tough job. Mayors are on the front lines of some of the biggest challenges facing cities - especially when it comes to crime and COVID.
Voter turnout in the February primary was only 22%. The April general election expected to be relatively low compared to November elections.
"Voters are exhausted, said Todd. We all know, particularly in Wisconsin, how intense every November election is."
Todd points to a decision in Los Angeles to move this year’s mayoral election to line up with even numbered gubernatorial elections every four years.
LA’s race for mayor used to be in the Spring of odd-numbered years.
Milwaukee’s mayoral elections are usually held every four years in April.
Tuesday’s election is to fill out Tom’s Barrett’s remaining two years in office after he resigned in December to become ambassador to Luxembourg.
"You want a better turnout? Put your mayors elections in November, said Todd. I think if you're trying to hold any general elections in any other month that isn't November, you're essentially asking for a low voter turnout."
You can watch Chuck Todd on Meet the Press every Sunday morning at 8 AM on TMJ4 News.
