Wisconsin Right Now

I’ve had the privilege of growing up around the conservative movement for my entire life, but I never imagined that I would eventually lead our state party in a crucial election year. Since my election in August, I have been able to travel the state and share important conversations with our grassroots activists who represent the driving force behind our efforts. This year’s Republican Party of Wisconsin State Convention was no exception. While in Middleton, I appreciated hearing the diverse perspectives of the Party Faithful and discussing what conservatives can do to win in November, and how we can make Wisconsin a better place to live for families today and for generations to come. I’ve learned a lot from these conversations. My biggest takeaway? Republicans have more in common than we give ourselves credit for. The Republican Party was born in Ripon, Wisconsin of a group of independent thinkers who sought to end the evil of slavery in the United States. To this day, Wisconsin

Recently the Republican Party of Wisconsin held their annual state convention in Middleton Wisconsin. First of all, that area is right outside of Madison and is hardly emblematic of what the Republican Party stands for. The area is progressive, central, and hardly representative of a conservative mindset. Conventions bring money into the community with attendees filling up hotels and restaurants. It would be nice for the Republican Party of Wisconsin to reward the more Republican leaning areas of the state with all of the outside money that flows in with a convention. Among the items on the agenda was to decide whether the Party endorse candidates for numerous offices prior to the August primary election. The biggest question centered on whether to endorse one of the major and realistically viable candidates running for Governor. Although the Party endorsement is not binding on voters, it comes with perks like fundraising lists, Party offices and volunteers throughout the state.

The Republican Party of Wisconsin filed a complaint on Sept. 30 against the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC with the Federal Elections Commission for a myriad of alleged reporting failures. According to a release, the Minocqua Brewing Company purports to send 5 percent of their profits to their PAC, however, they allegedly failed to report any such transfer or to disclose these donors in campaign finance reports. In addition, the complaint alleges the Super PAC failed to include required disclaimer notices on solicitations for donations, failed to file required reports for an independent expenditure, and unlawfully used corporate funds to provide direct support to federal candidates. The Republican Party of Wisconsin released the following statement from Executive Director Mark Jefferson: “It appears that Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC has repeatedly failed to play by the rules. Though their spending hasn’t yielded any significant results, ineffectiveness does not excus