Cheri Daniels spoke briefly with reporters after her speech, which avoided political themes and focused primarily on her adventures milking cows and cooking with Spam at county fairs around the state.

“We are talking, we are having a lot of talks,” she said of the deliberations with her husband. “It’s not just me. I have four daughters and we have three sons-in-law, and everyone has a voice. We are still talking. You have good days and bad days. One day you feel one way and another day you feel different.”

Asked how the heightened attention on their marital past affected her thinking about the race and her speech Thursday, she said, “It made me more nervous than I would normally be.”