Democratic Governors Association expresses dislike.

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, failed Republican Senate candidate Kevin Nicholson announced his candidacy for governor of Wisconsin.

Democratic Governors Association Executive Director Noam Lee released the following statement:

“Kevin Nicholson wants to slash programs for Wisconsin working families while giving handouts to his wealthy friends. Nicholson supported the GOP’s disastrous tax cuts for the rich and big corporations — meanwhile, he backed efforts to strip health care coverage from hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites and went on the attack against Social Security.

“Nicholson is an extremist who has supported bans on abortion that provide no exceptions, even if the mother’s life is in danger. He has already signaled a divisive primary ahead, attacking Rebecca Kleefisch’s proposals for being ‘dumb as a bag of hammers.’ Nicholson’s entrance to the GOP primary will trigger a brutal, expensive race to the right where candidates duke it out over who’s most out-of-touch with Wisconsin values.”

http://newiprogressive.com/images/stories/S5/ron-johnson-dc-2022-s5.png“I don’t understand the disinformation – it’s impacting our economy as well as community members,” says Dr. Milosavljevic.

Republican Assembly Speaker, worried about Kleefisch’s chances in tough primary, tells Nicholson not to run for Governor.

Yesterday, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos got involved in ongoing infighting by demanding that Kevin Nicholson not run against Rebecca Kleefisch in the GOP primary for governor. 

“If Kevin Nicholson is listening — you need to not run for governor,” Vos said. “​​I think if he runs, it hurts our chances to defeat Gov. Evers.”

Nicholson quickly fired back, tweeting, “Thanks, @repvos, for the political advice … How about you focus on doing your job?”

This head-butting comes just two days after Nicholson slammed the Republican “political class.” Kleefisch has been an early favorite of GOP insiders, including Vos, but concerns are clearly high that she might not make it out of a competitive primary.

Even with Nicholson not officially in the race, he and Kleefisch have been going at it for months. When Kleefisch suggested she wants to use voting rights protections to win the election, then strip them away, Nicholson called her proposal “as dumb as a bag of hammers.”

“The GOP is too busy fighting each other to put forth any candidate that Wisconsinites can actually get behind,” said DGA Senior Communications Advisor Christina Amestoy. “Party insiders are clearly worried a competitive primary could destroy Kleefisch and drag whatever nominee that makes it through too far to the right to survive the general. The divisive Wisconsin GOP primary is just getting started, and it looks like none of the Republican hopefuls will emerge unscathed.”

MADISON, Wis. - This month, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin will report ending 2021 with approximately $6 million cash-on-hand across state and federal accounts, an impressive show of Democratic energy and enthusiasm heading into the election year.

Tuesday’s report came following the announcement that Gov. Evers ended the year with $10.5 million in the bank after having raised more than $5 million in the second half of 2021 – the most ever raised by any Wisconsin governor in the year prior to an election. Gov. Evers’ record-breaking cash-on-hand total is twice as much as what Scott Walker had on hand at this point in both 2014 and 2018 ahead of his re-election campaigns and significantly more than his challenger, Rebecca Kleefisch.

Also this week, Attorney General Josh Kaul reported ending 2021 with more than $1 million on hand – crushing the two declared Republican candidates, who are currently mired in a messy and bitter primary fight. Attorney General Kaul reported having 26 times more on hand than his closest opponent.

“This November, we’re re-electing Gov. Evers and Attorney General Kaul and defeating Ron Johnson – and we’ll have the resources to do it,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin interim executive director Devin Remiker. “These totals reflect a grassroots enthusiasm for electing Democrats and continuing our work towards a more fair, more prosperous Wisconsin. Voters know that Democrats are the party of families, working people and progress, and this tremendous show of support means we can do the work of telling our story, organizing everywhere and protecting the freedom of every Wisconsinite to vote.”

Ads discuss the importance of protecting voting rights, helping raise wages for working families, and how progressive values are good for business.

Milwaukee - Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Alex Lasry announced Tuesday that his campaign is going back on the air with a seven-figure statewide media buy. The television buy comes after Lasry’s announcement last week of his campaign’s six figure digital buy.

The television buy will include statewide broadcast and cable in the coming days. The new television ads discuss the importance of protecting voting rights, helping raise wages for working families, and how progressive values are good for business. The ads can be viewed here:

• Progressive Values

• Voting Rights

• Here's an Idea

“We are going back on the air to show that there is a real alternative to Ron Johnson - a candidate that has a proven track record of delivering real results for Wisconsinites,” said Lasry. “For over a decade, we have only had one U.S. Senator fighting for us and it’s time to change that. I will fight every day to bring more resources back to Wisconsin and to actually get things done.”

The Lasry campaign previously was on the air with a seven-figure statewide broadcast and cable buy in October and November.

“From elected officials, to organized labor, to everyday people, we are building a statewide grassroots campaign that will beat Ron Johnson,” said Lasry. “As a result of our growing statewide support, we will have the resources needed to win this seat, protect the Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate, and give Tammy Baldwin a true partner in Washington to work on behalf of every Wisconsinite.”

The Democratic Primary Election for the United States Senate will be held Tuesday, August 9th, 2022. For more information about Alex Lasry’s campaign, visit www.alexlasry.com.

MADISON, Wis. – In response to Senator Ron Johnson breaking his pledge to only serve two terms by announcing his re-election campaign, leading labor groups from across Wisconsin to blast Johnson for betraying their workers.

See what leaders from the agriculture, health care, and labor sector had to say:

Darin Von Ruden, President of the Wisconsin Farmers Union: “During more than a decade in D.C., Ron Johnson has repeatedly failed to stand up for Wisconsin farmers. Instead Johnson has used his time in office to pass massive tax breaks for himself and his biggest donors, sided with China and agri-business over the family and mid-sized farms across our state, and tried to block needed infrastructure investment that would help farmers grow their business and get our products to market. We know farming is the lifeblood of so many local communities across our state, and Ron Johnson has proven time and time again that his priority is looking out for himself and his wealthy donors at our expense.”

Jaime Lucas, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Care Professionals: Ron Johnson has spent his career trying to increase health care costs for Wisconsinites, take away critical protections for people with pre-existing conditions, and now – in the middle of a global pandemic – he has done everything he can to undermine our efforts to get COVID under control. Ron Johnson is putting health care professionals in great peril with his dangerous rhetoric. With health care on the ballot in 2022, we’re committed to ensuring that Ron Johnson is defeated so people across the state can access the essential health care they deserve.

Stephanie Bloomingdale, President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO: “Senator Ron Johnson is deeply out of touch with the people of Wisconsin. From voting against good union jobs by voting against the transformational bipartisan infrastructure deal, to delaying needed support for working families throughout the pandemic, and failing to support working people by refusing to support the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, Senator Ron Johnson has continually and without fail put his extreme political interests ahead of what is best for Wisconsin. Wisconsin’s working people are committed to ensuring all people across our state have strong economic opportunity with good and safe jobs, access to high-quality affordable healthcare, and a healthier democracy. That means mobilizing to defeat Senator Ron Johnson at the ballot box next November.”

Johnson previously voted against the bipartisan infrastructure bill, COVID relief funding, rewarded companies for outsourcing jobs, was the deciding vote on the 2017 GOP Tax Scam bill, has spread dangerous COVID disinformation that is prolonging the pandemic, and has continuously tried to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Kleefisch: “We have to pay mercenaries… because our army must be bigger.”

MADISON, Wis. — The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is launching a TV ad against Rebecca Kleefisch’s violent, divisive rhetoric. Kleefisch has called for building an “army” of “paid fighters” and “mercenaries,” as well as asking supporters if they were ready to have their “knives out.” Violent language only leads to violence — just look at the January 6th insurrection.

Kleefisch’s radical agenda for our state will only escalate the deep divisions in our country. She has vowed to sign extreme changes to our election laws, and hasn’t ruled out allowing the state legislature to overturn election results, should the GOP not like the outcome of the 2024 election. Radical Rebecca is hinting that she would be on board with a coup, as long as it benefits her political party.

The ad comes on the heels of Kleefisch’s first TV buy of the cycle – a misleading attempt to smear Gov. Evers on education –  and more than doubles the measly amount sources say her campaign spent.

It’s clear: Rebecca Kleefisch is too radical and divisive for Wisconsin. The ad begins airing Tuesday.

Click here to watch the ad.

“As we’ve seen from the unprecedented far-right violence over the past year, no good can come from a politician calling to build an army or prepare for bloodshed. Wisconsinites are tired of politicians deliberately trying to divide our communities, but that’s exactly what Rebecca Kleefisch is doing with statements like these," said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler. “Kleefisch’s divisive language is downright dangerous, and her selfish pursuit for political power will always come before her loyalty to our country. She’s too radical for Wisconsin.”

MADISON, Wis. – Report after report around Ron Johnson’s re-election announcement highlights what a damaged candidate he is after years of solely focusing on his self-serving agenda at Wisconsin’s expense.

See the coverage below of how Ron Johnson has betrayed Wisconsinites:

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Sunday he's running for re-election, breaking a campaign pledge to serve only two terms…Johnson also promoted a key provision of a 2017 tax-cut bill, successfully pushing for a tax break for small businesses and other so-called pass-through entities. Pro Publica reported that Johnson's provision benefited wealthy Americans, including two of the biggest forces in Republican politics in Wisconsin and nationally. ProPublica said that Dick and Liz Uihlein of Pleasant Prairie-based packaging company Uline and Diane Hendricks of Beloit-based ABC Supply ‘contributed around $20 million to groups backing’ Johnson's 2016 reelection campaign.”

WPR: “The Cook Political Report, a national newsletter that analyzes elections, campaigns and political trends, lists the race as one of six U.S. Senate races across the country in 2022 with ‘toss up’ status, rather than being inclined toward one party or another…However, Johnson has been far from a narrowly-focused politician. He has made headlines for his stances on a wide number of issues since arriving on the political scene, from coming to the defense of a major oil company after an oil spill to blaming sunspots for global warming.”

The Wall Street Journal: “Mr. Johnson is facing a trickier road to retaining his seat, with state polling showing him underwater. A Marquette Law School Poll of registered voters in late October showed 38% said they would vote to re-elect Mr. Johnson, while 52% said they would support someone else.”

The Washington Post: “Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has announced he will seek reelection for a third term this year, despite a previous pledge to retire…Johnson, 66, had promised in 2016 when he ran for his second term that he would retire at the end of it if he won. Earlier this year, the senator waffled on that promise, telling reporters that he had not decided yet whether to run for a third term.”

HuffPost: “...Some Wisconsin Republicans called him a modern-day Joe McCarthy, the late Republican senator from Wisconsin who staged the national witch hunt for communists in the 1950s — dubbed ‘McCarthyism’ — that ultimately destroyed the livelihood of many. McCarthy, who had an acrimonious relationship with many of his Senate colleagues, was ultimately censured.”

The Guardian: “The Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson, a hardline Trump supporter once described as ‘what you get when QAnon and the Tea Party have a baby’, has confirmed he will seek a third term, a step he once promised not to take...Newspapers called for him to resign…Referring to Johnson and Republicans who went through with objections, the paper said: ‘These men are cowards.’”

Rolling Stone: “Johnson, unfortunately, has not been telling the truth when it comes to Covid. He promoted mouthwash (yes, mouthwash) as a way to kill the virus. ‘Standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus,’ he said. This lie became so popular that it prompted mouthwash company Listerine to create a website debunking the claim. YouTube has also suspended his account — numerous times — for violating its Covid-19 misinformation policy (Johnson has claimed this is censorship).”

Newsweek: “‘Ron Johnson is not someone you can take seriously as a United States senator,’ [Sophia] Nelson said during a segment of MSNBC's The Sunday Show, responding to the news. ‘He is a hack of the highest order. He has, you know, been someone who has just engaged in the most nefarious type of conversation, gas-lighting obstruction, from Russia all the way to January 6th. So I expect nothing less from him. I am no longer surprised,’ said the former GOP attorney…”

Vanity Fair: “Johnson, who on Sunday called upon the ‘support of every American who values the truth and refuses to allow lies and distortions to prevail,’ has been at the forefront of the attacks on public health and democracy that have come to define today’s GOP…Outside of parroting false claims about elections, Johnson has dedicated much of his time to spreading fringe theories about the coronavirus and the efficacy of vaccines. Johnson, who is not vaccinated, has spread anti-vaccine misinformation while advocating for unproven or discredited COVID-19 treatments such as mouthwash.”

Both forcefully advocated for the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act

MADISON, Wis. – Tuesday, President Biden and Vice President Harris forcefully advocated for the Senate to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act —  two critical pieces of federal legislation that will assert our nation’s commitment to free and fair elections while protecting Americans’ right to vote.

Following the speech, Governor Tony Evers released the following statement:

“The right of every eligible voter to participate in our elections isn’t partisan, it’s a fundamental piece of our democracy that we have to protect. That’s why we’ve done the right thing and stopped partisan attempts here in Wisconsin that would make it harder for people to participate in our elections, particularly seniors, communities of color, and those with disabilities. Unfortunately, the right to vote is under attack across the country. By defending voting rights at the federal level, President Biden and Vice President Harris are reaffirming the values that define America. It’s time for every member of Congress to join in this commitment and pass federal legislation that protects voting rights."

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler released the following statement:

“President Biden and Vice President Harris are fighting to protect the very essence of American democracy: the right for every eligible voter – whether Black, brown, or white; urban, suburban, or rural – to have their say in electing their representatives. It’s time for the Senate to follow their lead by swiftly passing both the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, and to adjust the filibuster if necessary to do so.

“This federal legislation will be a lifeline for Wisconsin, where Republicans continue to systematically assault our election system. The GOP’s 21st Century Jim Crow laws – which seek to restrict who can vote in ways that disproportionately affect voters of color, young voters, and voters with disabilities – are an archaic way to suppress the voices of the most marginalized Americans. We applaud the President and Vice President for speaking out and taking action against these relentless attacks on voting rights.

“Governor Evers has stood strong in defense of voter suppression bills and partisan manipulation. This federal legislation will ensure that Wisconsin is home to free, fair, and secure elections – and it’s time for the Senate to act.”

Milwaukee - Monday, Wisconsin U.S. Senate candidate Alex Lasry announced that his campaign is launching a new digital ad against Ron Johnson.

“With Ron Johnson announcing that he is running for reelection, the stakes for Wisconsin are just too high,” said Alex Lasry. “There is nothing more important than defeating Ron Johnson. Wisconsin deserves a leader who listens to the facts, not someone who spreads conspiracies.”

The new digital ad looks at Ron Johnson’s record of misleading Wisconsinites as an Insurrection-Denier, a COVID-Denier, and a Climate Change-Denier. The new ad can be viewed here.

“I’m proud to be endorsed by progressive leaders from across Wisconsin,” Lasry said. “They know I’m our best chance to win in November so we can give Wisconsin two senators that we can be proud of.”

The Lasry campaign previously was on the air with a seven-figure statewide broadcast, cable, and digital buy in October and November.

The Democratic Primary Election for the United States Senate will be held Tuesday, August 9th, 2022. For more information about Alex Lasry’s campaign, visit www.alexlasry.com.