Wisconsin is getting ready to play an important role in both national and local elections over the next few weeks.  Some people feel that the Wisconsin primary on April 5 is too late in the campaign season for the presidential nomination process to make much of a difference, but many political commentators and pundits disagree.

An increasing number of voters cement Wisconsin’s importance. According to the Government Accountability Board, voter registration and early voting in Wisconsin, which began on March 21, was busier than in past elections. The New York Times predicted that there will be a “pretty unprecedented” turnout of registered voters in the city.

Locally, the action is heating up in the race for senator as many Wisconsinites have turned out to protest against Sen. Ron Johnson over his opposition to Pres. Barack Obama’s nominee to the Supreme Court. The fight over whether or not Mr. Merrick Garland will be elevated to the court is expected to spill into the fall campaign since Senate Republicans say that the next president should pick the nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, and this debate will influence Wisconsin voters’ opinions. Moreover, the Wall Street Journal declares that the “Wisconsin, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Illinois races are crucial to keep the Republican Party’s control of the Senate, putting focus on blue-collar voters.”

Wisconsin could prove essential in providing the delegates necessary to decide the Republican presidential nominee.

According to the New York Times, Wisconsin voters could be significant in providing the necessary number of delegates for Mr. Donald Trump, the leading Republican presidential candidate, to win the nomination, and also in preventing him from getting the delegates he needs to become the presumptive nominee.

Proving Wisconsin’s importance in delegate count, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel claims that “California, Wisconsin and Maryland could be three weak states for Mr. Trump, but he might win over divided opposition [there]” due to Sen. Ted Cruz’s lack of popularity in those states, thus leading to a “divided opposition that lets Mr. Trump win wider margins of victory with a smaller share of the vote.”

On the other hand, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel also said that Wisconsin could be one of the key states to ensure Sen. Cruz’s victory, stating, “Wisconsin offers an opportunity to defeat Trump in a major way and to narrow the gap between Mr. Trump and Sen. Cruz’s delegate counts.”

Similarly, Wisconsin plays an important role in deciding the Democratic presidential nominee.

According to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Sen. Bernie Sanders could get a necessary boost from the state. For the Democrats, Sen. Sanders seems to have a projected lead over Sec. Hillary Clinton, but that could be a result of his having campaign workers in the state for a longer period of time.

No matter what actually happens on April 5, Wisconsin will make a difference in both the national and local political scene.