MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Tim Michels, a wealthy businessman backed by former President Donald Trump, won the Republican primary for governor of Wisconsin on Tuesday and will face Democratic Governor Tony Evers in a contest that could reshape the marquee battleground election.
Michels defeated former Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, who was backed by former Vice President Mike Pence and had the backing of establishment Republicans, including the ex-governor. Scott Walker.
In his victory speech, Michels promised to focus on jobs and the economy and said he would stand up for people who “have been left behind by the Democratic Party who just want to focus on social issues.”
“As governor, my number one priority is to take care of the hardworking people of Wisconsin,” Michels said.
Evers’ campaign called Michels “the most extreme and divisive candidate possible, one who will say anything to Donald Trump just to retain his endorsement.”
The two Michels and Kleefisch falsely claimed the 2020 presidential election was rigged, a lie Trump pushed in a bid to undo his loss to Joe Biden. Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general said there was no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president’s fraud allegations have also been flatly dismissed by the courts, including by Trump-appointed judges.
Michels said decertifying the results of the 2020 contest was not a priority, but said “everything will be on the table.” He supports other changes to voting and elections, including dismantling the bipartisan commission that runs Wisconsin’s elections.
The governor’s race was the last proxy war between Trump and Pence, one-off partners who have backed opposing candidates in other swing states as they try to nudge the GOP in different directions. Tuesday’s results added to Trump’s winning record, following wins for his favorite candidates last week in closely watched races for governor and Senate in Arizona.
Meanwhile, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, who backed Trump’s second impeachment, conceded defeat in his Washington state congressional district after being overtaken in late vote counts by a GOP challenger endorsed by the former president. And in next Tuesday’s contest list, Rep. Liz Cheneywho also backed Trump’s impeachment and is the vice chairman of the House panel investigating his role in the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol uprising, faces a tough primary race.
These developments, combined with the rush to support Republicans after the FBI executed a search warrant on Trump’s estate in Florida on Monday were fresh reminders of the former president’s enduring grip on the GOP.
Back in Wisconsin, Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes won the Democratic nomination to face Republican Senator Ron Johnson, one of Trump’s most vocal supporters. The game is among the last to be staged before November’s general election, when control of the Senate currently split 50-50 is up for grabs, and Democrats view Wisconsin as one of their best opportunities to overturn a seat.
Wisconsin’s most powerful Republican, State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, fended off a Trump-backed challenger. Trump endorsed Adam Steen after Vos rejected the former president’s push to decertify the 2020 results. Vos said his win showed “you don’t have to be a lapdog for all this What does Donald Trump say?
Tuesday’s results have far-reaching implications beyond Wisconsin, a state nearly evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats and where 2022 will be seen as a predictor for the 2024 presidential race. Whoever elected governor this fall will serve for the presidential election and will be able to sign or veto changes to election laws passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature. The next U.S. governor and senator can also influence decisions on issues ranging from abortion to education and taxes.
“We’re a 50-50 state and so every race in Wisconsin, just by definition, is going to be decided by a few percentage points one way or another,” said former Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat. . “And those few percentage points in Wisconsin may well set the course of the nation for years to come.”
Elsewhere on Tuesday, a Trump-backed candidate won the GOP primary for Senate in Connecticut, a state that has long been home to the Republican establishment. Republican National Committee member Leora Levy, whom Trump endorsed last week, will face Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal for two terms after defeating former State House Minority Leader Themis Klarides, who had the support of the State party.
Voters in Vermont — the only state to never have had a woman in its congressional delegation — chose a woman, Becca Balint, as the Democratic candidate for the state’s only House seat. She is favored in the race to replace Rep. Peter Welch, who won the Democratic nomination for the Senate seat long held by retiring Patrick Leahy. And Minnesota Republicans picked Dr. Scott Jensen, a skeptic of the state’s GOP-endorsed COVID-19 vaccine, to face Gov. Tim Walz.
But the most-watched races were in Wisconsin, where Trump maintained his push campaign to reverse Biden’s 2020 victory. Biden won the state by nearly 21,000 votes, four years after Trump won narrowly state with about the same margin. The 2020 result was upheld in two partial recounts, a nonpartisan audit, a review by a conservative law firm and multiple lawsuits.
Evers has put voting and elections at the center of his own campaign, telling voters he is the only candidate who will stand up for democracy and “we are about to not count our votes in the state of Wisconsin.”
Michels and Kleefisch said nullifying the 2020 election results was not a priority. But they said they would dismantle the bipartisan commission that runs Wisconsin’s election and support a ban on voters asking anyone else to deliver their mail-in ballots, as well as ballot boxes located anywhere other than in staffed clerk’s offices.
Michels is co-owner of Wisconsin’s largest construction company and has touted his work building the family business. He lost the 2004 Senate race to Democratic Senator Russ Feingold and was a major donor to GOP politicians.
At a rally on Friday, Trump hailed Michels as an “incredible achievement.” He criticized Kleefisch as part of the “failed establishment” and also took aim at Vos. He told the fans that Michels was the best choice to defeat Evers.
Michels promised that “we’re going to have election integrity here in Wisconsin.” He also said he would bring “law and order” back to Wisconsin, criticized Evers’ handling of schools and blamed Biden for the price hikes.
GOP state Rep. Tim Ramthun also made a long-running bid for governor.
In his concession speech, Kleefisch said, “The fight now is really against Tony Evers and the liberals who want to take our way of life away from us.”
Barnes, in his victory speech in Milwaukee, highlighted his middle-class background and upbringing while portraying Johnson as “selfish” and “a disconnected politician” who only cares about special interests and wealthy donors.
“It’s time for a change, everyone,” said Barnes, who would be Wisconsin’s first black senator if elected. “It’s time for us to be represented by someone who shares our experiences.
Johnson called Barnes the “most radical left-wing candidate” Democrats could have chosen.
“This is a competition between radical left socialism and freedom and prosperity,” he said.
___
Burnett reported from Chicago. Journalist Gretchen Ehlke contributed from Thiensville, Wis.
