Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has taken the stage at a rally this afternoon at a hangar at the Richard I. Bong Airport in Superior.
Trump took the stage just after 2 p.m. after an introduction by senior policy adviser Stephen Miller. He spoke for about 50 minutes, leaving the stage just before 3 p.m.
"Something good is going to happen tomorrow," Trump told a raucous crowd. "... The big change is coming."
In his remarks before Trump took took the stage, Miller took aim squarely at Trump's Republican rival Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas. In his initial remarks, Trump also criticized both Cruz and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, the third Republican candidate, and what Trump called their support for trade agreements that are "a bad thing for our country, a really bad thing."
The rally took place a day ahead of the primary election in Wisconsin. Despite the cold and sporadic snow, a large crowd had gathered by the noon hour, waiting to enter the hangar.
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Trump flew to Superior after a town hall event earlier today in La Crosse, Wis. From Superior he'll head to Milwaukee. Check back to duluthnewstribune.com for updates.
Candidates have been spending lots of time in Wisconsin in the past week, as the state’s primary - the only one in the nation on Tuesday - is viewed as significant for both the Republican and Democratic presidential races.
Trump’s stop in Superior, though, is the only scheduled visit by a candidate to Northwestern Wisconsin ahead of the primary.
Trump, a businessman from New York, leads the Republican delegate count nationwide but has been trailing Cruz in recent polls in Wisconsin. Meanwhile, polls of Democratic voters have shown Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in a close race in Wisconsin.
Trump will be the third presidential candidate to make an appearance in the Northland this election season.
Sanders spoke to a crowd of more than 5,000 in Duluth in January before returning to the Northland for a February rally in Hibbing, ahead of Minnesota’s March 1 caucuses. Republican presidential candidate Rand Paul made a stop in Duluth in November; he later dropped out of the race.
