Timothy Ramthun, the longshot candidate for governor who made a name for himself by pushing to overturn Joe Biden’s Wisconsin victory, which is legally impossible. Some speculated that the former president might even give the nod to state Rep. Nicholson allegedly once liked or retweeted a tweet by Charlie Sykes, the longtime Milwaukee conservative talk radio host who has since built a national media career by criticizing Trump. Kleefisch once posted a picture of her daughter going to homecoming with the son of state Supreme Court Justice Brian Hagedorn, the conservative swing justice who ruled with the court’s liberals against Trump’s election lawsuit in 2020.
Trump never announced publicly why he didn’t support them, but the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel recently reported Trump didn’t like what he saw on the candidates’ Twitter feeds. Kleefisch and Nicholson both visited his Florida home to make personal appeals. Other candidates had coveted Trump’s support. "There is no bigger advantage in Republican Party politics than the Donald Trump endorsement," Chergosky said. It never took hold, and Nicholson was out of the race by early July.īut Michels has a couple other things going for him this year that have given his campaign a jolt. Republican Kevin Nicholson launched his own campaign in January with a nearly identical message. Michels lost the race by 11 percentage points.Įven this year, Michels was not the first candidate to bang the outsider drum. Army and painting Feingold as a career politician. Senate, he presented himself as an everyman candidate and military veteran, emphasizing his 12 years of service in the U.S. I think everyone is."īut a message like this only goes so far in politics. "He's not politics as usual," said Michels supporter Kim Schimdt of Mondovi, who was in the crowd for his Eau Claire speech. In the right election cycle, under the right circumstances, it can work. There’s nothing novel about Michels’ "political outsider" approach, but there’s a reason candidates make pitches like this. "But that ambiguity can actually play to his advantage." Self-funded campaign, Trump endorsement fuel Michels' surge "We don't really know what we're going to get from a Michaels governorship," said University of Wisconsin-La Crosse political scientist Anthony Chergosky. In some cases, that can allow his supporters to see in him whatever they prefer: a Trump-supporting conservative, a pragmatic businessman, or something else entirely. He employs union workers in a state where Walker made a national name for himself fighting organized labor.Īnd while Michels has laid out some of what he’d prioritize if elected, big questions remain about how he would govern. Michels has built his family business into a construction giant in a state where a growing number of Republicans have scrutinized state government’s support of the road-building industry, and Michels’ role in it. He donated to a long list of candidates that includes Rebecca Kleefisch, now his top GOP rival, and former Gov. In the years since, Michels has remained a major GOP donor. Russ Feingold.Ī supporter wears a Tim Michels button outside one of his campaign events Tuesday, July 12, 2022, in Green Bay, Wis.
Senate, winning a GOP primary but losing the general election to former Democratic U.S. He first ran for office in 1998, losing a Republican primary for state Senate to now-U.S. Michels does not earn his living in politics, but he’s no political newcomer. I don't have to run for governor, but I'm gonna go turn Madison upside down." President Trump didn't have to run for president, but he wanted to drain the swamp. "I am not looking for a political career," Michels said. He told voters at an Eau Claire rally this month that he’s not running for office because he has to. Michels and his brothers own Michels Corporation, a Brownsville company started by their father that Michels says now employs more than 8,000 people. He’s done it with a well-worn "political outsider" sales pitch, a coveted endorsement from former President Donald Trump and a whole lot of his own money. It’s hardly a given, of course, but the millionaire construction executive's rapid ascent in the polls has reshaped the race. Today, he can make a plausible case that by next year, he could be governor. Tim Michels was not a candidate for office until about three months ago.
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