Wisconsin Said Key to Winning White House

Wisconsin has become ground zero for many Republican-inspired initiatives to curtail government spending, and it could play an important role in next year’s presidential race, WISN-TV in Milwaukee reported Tuesday.

On the day that President Barack Obama announced his run for re-election, Republican National Committee Chairman and Wisconsin native Reince Priebus said the president can't win the White House without winning Wisconsin.

"The president's map does not work out without Wisconsin being blue," Priebus said.

Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s GOP Director Mark Jefferson said, "Wisconsin is currently on the forefront of a national movement to address fiscal irresponsibility, and Wisconsin will no doubt continue to be in the spotlight as we enter the 2012 presidential election cycle."

Obama’s former press secretary and a campaign advisor, Robert Gibbs, agreed that the Wisconsin will be an important battleground state.

"I don't doubt that we'll spend a lot of time in the next several years in Wisconsin," Gibbs said.