Photo by Mike Lamb U.S. Senate candidate Karin Housley, left, visits with Marshall resident Jill Pieper, and her son Noah, at the Lyon County Republican headquarters in Marshall Friday night.

MARSHALL — Chartered for a 44-hour tour of Minnesota during the last weekend before Tuesday’s election, a bus full of Republican candidates and supporters pulled in front of the Lyon County GOP headquarters on Main Street at 5:45 p.m. Friday for stop number 10 before heading north.

“I’ve had two hours sleep,” said U.S. Senator candidate Karin Housley. After finishing Thursday night’s debate with her opponent, Sen. Tina Smith, she hopped on the bus with the other Republican candidates.

Housley said the large receptions along the way and small catnaps kept her focused and “excited.” A large crowd also welcomed the bus in Marshall.

“On the ground here there is a lot of excitement, more so than in 2016. Those people who are quiet Republicans that voted Republican and didn’t tell anybody are now coming out and telling people,” Housley said. “We didn’t have crowds like this in 2016. People were even afraid to say they were Republican.”

Housley proclaimed that she has gained the momentum away from Smith and predicted a win.

“I think I’m going to win by two points,” she said.

The other Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate also expressed optimism over his chances with just days before the election.

“We are now within five points,” Jim Newberger said of his contest with Sen. Amy Klobuchar. “So for every point you go up, your opponent comes down one. So we are almost within that margin of error. We have climbed 28 points in a year and a half.”

Minnesota Republican Party chair Jennifer Carnahan was pleased with the enthusiasm felt on the tour.

“Enthusiasm has been incredibly high,” she said. “We had great turnout at every stop with a lot of energy and momentum by our candidates. It’s really nice to see.”