A state party’s convention is a peek into that party’s soul. The Republican Party of Wisconsin held its convention last weekend. What did we see?
I should note—the Wisconsin Democratic convention is coming up this June 8 and 9. On our stage, you’ll see champions of democracy, freedom, and decency. You can get tickets online here: wisdems.org/convention
At the Republican convention this past weekend, what we saw was a succession of MAGA extremists—including the most iconic MAGAites of them all: fake electors.
Four fake electors, who participated in the MAGA plot to overthrow the 2020 election and destroy the American system of government, took the stage at the Republican Party of Wisconsin convention in Appleton. All four gave out awards on behalf of their state party. One, Bob Spindell, who notoriously celebrated voter suppression in the 2022 election as the key to Ron Johnson’s victory, still serves as a GOP appointee to the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Another, Pam Travis, was elected as a Wisconsin member of the Republican National Committee.
Two more fake electors gave out awards: Kelly Ruh and Bill Feehan. If those two names are familiar, it’s because Democrats supported their progressive opponents in local elections in 2022 and 2024—and both of the fraudsters lost their elections. Voters, it seems, want to elect people who respect the will of voters.
When it comes to prominent election deniers being elevated by the Wisconsin GOP, the fake electors were not alone. Far from it. The convention’s keynote speaker was Byron Donalds—a Republican Congressman from Florida who said this spring that, if he were Vice President, he wouldn’t commit to certifying election results.
Ron Johnson, who attempted to slip the fake electors’ fraudulent Electoral College votes to Mike Pence, had his own take on certifying the results if Trump loses: “we have to see exactly what happens,” he said, and “we…might have to investigate.” Uh huh. Kind of like his “investigation” after 2020, where he took a legitimate election and held hearings to give a platform to conspiracy theorists who helped inspire the January 6 insurrection, which he termed a “peaceful protest” by people who “loved law enforcement,” even after news footage emerged of insurrectionists beating police officers with flagpoles and bear spray.
Congressman Bryan Steil of Wisconsin’s 1st CD, whose political career might end this November if we have anything to say about it, also dodged the question of certifying the results. His actions speak louder than his weasel words: Steil has used his position as Chair of the House Committee on Administration to spread election misinformation, holding a hearing on supposed “Government Voter Suppression” during the 2022 midterm elections.
Notable election denier Derrick Van Orden also graced the stage of the GOP convention in Appleton. Van Orden was photographed on the grounds of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, and in the weeks after the 2020 election, he falsely claimed there was “a tremendous amount of voter fraud” in the 2020 presidential election.
And what about Eric Hovde? We know whose side he’s on. He’s endorsed Donald Trump. And he’s endorsed by Donald Trump. Which explains why he’s repeatedly spread conspiracy theories contending that the votes of seniors in nursing homes in 2020 were illegitimate, shared a stage with a convicted January 6 rioter, and paid $8000 to bring top MAGA propagandist Tucker Carlson to Wisconsin.
The reality is simple: if you believe in the peaceful transfer of power—the most basic requirement for a functional democracy—then you can’t be in Trump’s corner. The politicians on stage at the Republican convention this year have made their peace with siding with the candidate who chose violence.
And if you believe you can override the will of the voters and seize power through force, then you can convince yourself that you can take away basic freedoms from half the population and fleece the bottom 99% and get away with it.
Last weekend, we saw the Republican Party of Wisconsin in its most distilled form. Their politicians believe that you, the voters, shouldn’t decide who runs this country.
Let’s do all we can to ensure that they never regain the power to take away the power of the people.
Help WisDems organize in the state that tips the entire country—chip in here.