Wisconsin Right Now

"Families are having justice stolen from them by a governor who either didn't care or was asleep at the wheel" -AG candidate Eric Toney Tim Michels, Eric Toney, and a murder victim's family joined together at the Milwaukee Police Association's headquarters to call for changes to the state's parole process, slamming Gov. Tony Evers for the discretionary paroles of heinous killers and rapists during his tenure, saying they have harmed victims' families. Both Toney and Michels said change is needed at the top to put victims first, and they pledged to do so. Two sisters of murder victim Johanna Balsewicz, Karen Kannenberg and Kim Cornils, said at the Friday news conference that they hope Michels is elected this November because "things need to change" with how the state handles paroles, and they believe he would appoint a better Parole Commission chairman. "Our fight isn't over. Our fight is to change the system. I am hoping Michels...

The Wisconsin GOP debate got pretty pointed. Republican gubernatorial candidates Rebecca Kleefisch, Kevin Nicholson, and Timothy Ramthun took the gloves off, slamming businessman Tim Michels for skipping a candidate debate in Green Bay and raising questions about his residency and ties to organizations that worked to raise the state's gas tax. The candidates also made news on other issues in the first full debate in the GOP primary; the three candidates were asked if they would remove pro-abortion district attorneys who won't prosecute Wisconsin's abortion law, like Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm. All three said they would fire them. Asked whether they thought the 2020 election in Wisconsin was stolen, only Ramthun said yes. Host Joe Giganti said the candidates needed to answer with a yes or no or they could not answer that question. Kleefisch would not answer yes or no but said the election "was rigged from the very beginning." Nicholso...

Michels was also board president of a group that opposed a bill that would have stopped companies that employ illegal immigrants from getting government contracts. For years, Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels and his family-run company have been involved in groups that pushed aggressively for increases in the Wisconsin gas tax and vehicle registration fees, Wisconsin Right Now has documented. Some of the groups have deep ties to Democrats and the Tony Evers' administration, which has supported increasing the gas tax. Evers' 2019-2021 budget proposal would have increased the gas tax and indexed it each year on April 1 to inflation. Indexing is an automatic increase in the gas tax. Michels himself once served as board president of the Wisconsin Transportation Builders Association, and he was on the executive board of the Transportation Development Association. That group's president has directly advocated for increasing the gas tax and vehicle registra...

Republicans have more enthusiasm, and most voters think the state is on the wrong track, which puts Tony Evers on shaky ground. But it will be a battle to defeat him. Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch is in the margin of error against Democratic Gov. Tony Evers - a fact that Evers' campaign was highlighting in a furiously written fundraising email within minutes of the new Marquette Poll reporting it, calling the race a "pure tossup." You wouldn't know that from some of the media. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Evers had an "advantage" over all Republican candidates for governor in the poll, which was released June 22. The other Republican candidates for governor were behind Evers in the poll, outside the margin of error of 4.3%. It's the first 2022 Marquette poll to measure Evers against the Republicans in head-to-head match ups. However, the numbers also show that the Republicans have their work cut out for them: Here's h...

The Tim Michels nomination papers challenge is unlikely to derail his campaign. The Democrats' silly attack against Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels is almost certainly going nowhere. Here's why. The Democrats want the Wisconsin Election Commission to boot Michels off the ballot because he listed the physical location of his Waukesha County residence as his mailing address instead of the address used by the post office (Village of Chenequa versus Hartland). That's about as small of a technicality as it gets. It's extremely petty for a Democratic Party that claims to be for "ballot access" to try to prevent voters from choosing who they want in a Republican primary (a "voter" actually is making the challenge, but it's funded by the state Democratic Party.) Of course, campaigns would do well to not open the door to a group as off the rails as the Wisconsin Election Commission, even in the smallest of ways. Give them a centimet...

A well-placed source tells Wisconsin Right Now that former President Donald Trump is expected to endorse Tim Michels for Wisconsin governor. He's expected to call Michels today, June 2, 2022, with the news. The source cautioned that Trump can be unpredictable and change his mind at the last second. But, as of 3 p.m. on June 2, that was the latest word - that the former president's endorsement is expected to endorse Michels. A Trump endorsement for Michels, who is vice president of a major family-run pipeline and construction company, would clearly shake up the Republican primary for governor. The other candidates on the Republican side are former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, former Marine Kevin Nicholson, and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun. Kleefisch was lieutenant governor for Scott Walker, once a Republican primary rival of Trump's. Conservative talk show host Mark Belling reported earlier on Thursday that Trump is endorsing Michels. It's not clear when the en...

Wisconsin Right Now has learned that Tim Michels, who filed the registration form needed to run for Wisconsin governor as a Republican, has made a nearly $1 million television ad buy that will start running throughout the state next week. According to a GOP source, the Hartland businessman and co-CEO of Michels Corp., has purchased $980,000 in television advertisements for next week. Michels is a multi-millionaire who is able to self-finance his campaign. We obtained Michels' campaign registration statement from the state. You can see it here: CF-1 Campaign Registration(2) It says that he is running as a Republican for Wisconsin governor and gives his campaign treasurer as Bradley Crate. Michels helps run a major family-run construction company. He previously ran for U.S. Senate against Russ Feingold. Tim Michels Governor Ad Buy Means the TV Wars Have Started The filing makes clear what has been rumored for weeks; that Michels is running for governor as a Republican. ...