As goes Wisconsin in 2022, so goes the nation in 2024.
But our state is a jump ball—and in the Senate, Governor, and down-ballot races, the stakes are massive. It’s time to hit the gas.
There are two battles in Wisconsin that will shape politics nationwide—the race for Governor, with multiple Republicans squaring off to challenge Democratic Governor Tony Evers, and the Senate race, where we have an opportunity to defeat self-serving Ron Johnson.
First, let’s talk about the race for Wisconsin governor.
This is probably the most important race in the country for preventing a second Trump presidency—Wisconsin was razor-thin in 2016 and 2020. With elections this close and ongoing GOP attacks on our democracy, the Governor is key here.
Wisconsin’s governor certifies the presidential election. This is normally a formality: #votersdecide who wins. But ultra-MAGA extremists want a governor willing to overturn the voters’ choice. To avoid a Trump coup in 2024, elect a governor who believes in democracy in 2022.
Wisconsin is hyper-gerrymandered, which means the GOP controls the legislature. This means, in turn, that Governor Evers is the last line of defense against a GOP trifecta. His veto pen is our shield against horrendous policies—and his leadership has been significant.
During his first term, Gov Evers has consistently been doing the right thing for Wisconsin: improving our schools, lowering taxes for the middle class, and investing in our small businesses. Check out his first TV ad of the cycle featuring those highlights:
Meanwhile, Gov Evers has also vetoed extreme anti-abortion bills, bills allowing guns on school property, voter suppression bills and attacks on election administration, and much more. Without him, our laws would look like Texas’s.
But Evers’s GOP opponents? Multiple radical candidates groveling for Trump’s endorsement and taking shots at each other. Their party convened this month for its convention—but nobody could rack up the 60% support needed to secure an endorsement.
The four GOP candidates—Rebecca Kleefisch, Kevin Nicholson, Tim Ramthun, and Tim Michels—are in the race to the bottom, marked by violent rhetoric and division. While their game of leapfrog to the far right makes them less electable, it also makes them more dangerous if they win.
Every one of these four radical Republicans has embraced conspiracy theories about our elections, vowed to sign voter suppression laws, and threatened to ban access to abortion in Wisconsin. Their sole focus seems to be the approval of Trump.
Here’s a review:
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#RadicalRebecca Kleefisch, Scott Walker’s former lieutenant governor, is the GOP front-runner—and echoed the idea that (trigger warning) rape survivors should not have access to abortion and should instead “turn lemons into lemonade.”
- Kevin Nicholson has branded himself the “anti-establishment” candidate, presumably because most Republicans oppose his candidacy. He’s notorious for supporting a total ban on abortion care, with no exceptions. So we call him #AntiChoiceKevin.
- #TrumpyTim Ramthun entered the ring in February. He’s one of Wisconsin’s most infamous election conspiracy theorists. Ramthun not only wants to make it possible to nullify future elections—he’s pushing to decertify Biden’s 2020 win and reinstall Trump.
- The latest addition to this shambolic primary: Tim Michels. Michels ran in 1998 and again in 2004 when he opposed marriage equality and abortion access. When he decided to run again, we asked—who even is Tim Michels? So we made a website for him.
That’s the cast of characters in the GOP primary. They’re constantly attacking each other, and flip-flopping to become more and more extreme in response to each other’s pressure, especially when it comes to plans to undermine our democracy.
The Republican candidates in the race want to eliminate permit requirements for carrying a concealed firearm. 76% of Wisconsinites support concealed carry permit requirements. All of these candidates oppose them.
The GOP primary in Wisconsin is on August 9. In the time between now and then, we want to make sure the Wisconsin public knows just how extreme all of them are. Wildly out of step with Wisconsin voters. We’re not sparing a minute.
Meanwhile, we’ve got a huge race for U.S. Senate.
Our Wisconsin Senate race is one of the most important in the country. Because this year we can finally retire the disastrous, self-serving Ron Johnson.
Democrats nationwide know that we have to expand the Senate majority this November in order to pass legislation like the Women’s Health Protection Act (which would codify Roe v. Wade), the Freedom to Vote Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act, and background checks.
Having one more Democrat in the Senate could make all the difference on the issues that touch every aspect of our lives and our communities. (Two more would be even better.) Ron Johnson is perhaps the most vulnerable incumbent from either party up this November.
Self-serving millionaire Ron Johnson has spent his time in the Senate enriching himself and his biggest donors—all while leaving everyday Wisconsinites (and the rest of America) to fend for themselves.
Ron Johnson has now admitted he and his biggest donors benefited from the provision he inserted into the Trump tax scam bill in 2017.
Johnson made sure that Trump’s corporate tax giveaway included a huge tax cut for owners of pass-through corporations—the type of business that Johnson and his biggest donors own.
The three mega-donors who funded his 2016 campaign got $215 million in tax deductions in 2018 thanks to Johnson. Now they’re pouring millions of dollars into a Super PAC so Johnson can keep doing their bidding in the Senate.
Meanwhile, Johnson approves the GOP plan to raise taxes on the working class—calling it a “positive thing.”
After years of Johnson serving himself in the Senate, Ron Johnson’s polling is atrocious. Wisconsinites see that the only person he wants to serve is himself.
Just last week, Daniel Bice reported that Ron Johnson spent up to nearly $20,000 of taxpayer dollars to travel from his vacation home in Florida. If there’s one thing Ron Johnson loves as much as helping himself directly, it’s exploiting taxpayers in the process.
Wisconsin is one of the best opportunities to pick up a Senate seat in the country, but the GOP is pouring millions into the state with TV ads propping up Ron Johnson. We need the resources to fight back and make sure voters know exactly who Ron Johnson is.
Those are the two most significant races. But there’s a lot more on the ballot. Another statewide race is becoming more and more critical: the fight to reelect our great Attorney General, Josh Kaul.
AG Kaul has been a long-time champion of voting rights and reproductive rights—and if Roe v. Wade is overturned, has said he would not use any DOJ resources to enforce an abortion ban.
Meanwhile, AG Kaul’s Republican opponents would gleefully enforce Wisconsin’s archaic abortion ban.
There are other statewide offices with primaries in August: Lieutenant Governor, State Treasurer, and Secretary of State. There will be crucial Congressional races, with two swing districts. And there’s the fight to prevent state legislative GOP supermajorities.
So it’s go time.
We’re spending this summer organizing, communicating, and building infrastructure statewide—but that’s only possible with your help to sustain our year-round work to elect Democrats up and down the ticket.
In June, we’ll have our state convention, where we’ll gather Democrats from across the state to conduct party business and hear from the terrific candidates and our Democratic leaders. We’ll continue our communications and digital operations to define right-wing radicalism in Wisconsin.
And of course, we’ll keep organizing all throughout the summer months—in fact, our superb statewide organizing team just had their Week of Action this month to activate new volunteers and engage voters in every corner of the state.
All of this work sets us up perfectly to come out of our August primary strong, with our Democratic nominee for Senate—and find out the Republican challenger to Gov Evers. Help us get there by chipping in and meet our goal by midnight tonight.
The brutality and extremism of the far right can feel exhausting and overwhelming. It’s vital for all of us, especially those most targeted by the right, to take care of ourselves and the communities that nourish us.
And it’s equally vital to carry the fight forward. The only way to curb this era of Republican extremism is to make it fail politically. As we head into summer, our goal is to keep pushing it to the limit—because this season is one stepping stone to victory in November and beyond.
So please chip in what you can to help us keep the fight going. Our goal is $6k by May end-of-month. And please help spread the word on what exactly we’re fighting for—by sharing this post and donation link.