As the reports came in on news channels such as ABC and CBS, it became increasingly obvious that whoever would win, would have won a nail biter. Governor Carter immediately did better than was expected, though he continually trailed Congressman Udall by no less than 500 votes at times, while President Ford and Governor Reagan continually swapped the lead.
At 9:15 P.M. on April 6, CBS News became the first channel to recognize that President Ford had decisively won the Republican Wisconsin primary. By the end of the next day, it was determined that Ford had won 56% of the vote to Reagan's 43% - a thirteen-point difference which could prove fatal to Ronald Reagan and the conservative campaign.
At 9:35, Governor Reagan spoke at a rally in Madison (where all the candidates, both Republican and Democratic, made their campaign victory or defeat appearances) in which he conceded Wisconsin. "But make no mistake," Governor Reagan exclaimed. "I am in for the victory, because I cannot stand by and watch as my own party nominates a President who has shown how unqualified he truly is. Gerald Ford may have won the battle, but he has not won the war!"
At 10:25, CBS projected that Mo Udall had won the Democratic primary. Although Governor Carter refused to concede until "an absolute result is declared," CBS confirmed the next day that Udall had indeed won the primary with 39% of the vote to Carter's second-place finish with 35%.
Immediately, the political watchdogs made it clear that Jimmy Carter was in deep trouble. Mo Udall had proven the liberal cause victorious in Wisconsin, and he was only the beginning. California Governor Jerry Brown had announced in March that, despite his inexperience, he would run for President in the later Democratic primaries in an effort to stop Jimmy Carter, and he was running on a platform that energized many young voters in the Democratic Party.
Wisconsin proved that neither the Democrats or the Republicans would have a nominee anytime soon, and it was certainly going to be an interesting battle.