Rebecca Kleefisch doubles down on calling 2020 “rigged” Print
Elections, Elected Officials, Political Parties
Written by WisDems Press, Hannah Menchhoff   
Thursday, 28 April 2022 09:42

rebecca-kleefischMADISON, Wis. – The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported yesterday that Rebecca Kleefisch is again casting doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 election and is doubling down on lies that the election in Wisconsin was “rigged” against Donald Trump.

This conspiracy, which she now also compares to the NFL’s “deflategate” scandal, comes as a fourth candidate enters the Republican gubernatorial race in Wisconsin. With more candidates, and less attention on her from Trump, there is only one direction for Kleefisch to go and that’s further to the right. 

Even in his first interview as a candidate, Tim Michels began questioning the 2020 election. More on the issue can be expected soon as Michels continues pandering to Donald Trump to secure an endorsement.

The rest of the GOP field also continues to deny the facts around the 2020 election. Trump-wannabe Tim Ramthun has only entered the race with the goal of decertifying Wisconsin’s election results. And Kevin Nicholson has continually doubted the validity of the 2020 election and voiced his desire to dismantle Wisconsin’s bipartisan election commission in order to put politicians from his own party in charge of election administration.

The bottom line: all four want to undermine Wisconsin’s elections and find a way for Republicans to change the results when they don’t like the outcome. It’s clear that these candidates are too radical for Wisconsin. 

Read more about Rebecca Kleefisch’s recent comments about the 2020 election below.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Rebecca Kleefisch, Wisconsin candidate for governor, says 2020 election was 'rigged,' compares Biden win to NFL's 'deflategate' scandal

Republican candidate for governor Rebecca Kleefisch is escalating her criticism of how the last presidential election was carried out in Wisconsin, calling it a "rigged" contest that produced an illegitimate president.

The characterization comes as a fourth candidate enters the Republican primary with the ability to pour millions into his campaign and a backstory that could appeal to the head of the party, former President Donald Trump. 

Seventeen months after the 2020 election, grievances over its outcome loom over Wisconsin's 2022 races as Trump continues to pressure Republicans to keep alive his false claims of widespread fraud to build momentum for his expected 2024 campaign for president. 

Recounts, court rulings, state audits and a study by a prominent conservative group have confirmed President Joe Biden won Wisconsin in 2020 by nearly 21,000 votes. None of the reviews have shown fraud manipulated the outcome of the election.

Kleefisch on Tuesday compared decisions made by Wisconsin election officials to navigate the coronavirus pandemic to those of NFL quarterback Tom Brady in 2015 when he was accused of using deflated footballs to gain an advantage for the New England Patriots in a playoff game. 

"I often compare this to deflategate," Kleefisch said in a Tuesday interview on WTAQ.

"They won the game. Did they win legitimately? Did they replay the game? These are the questions that we are facing right now on the highest level of governance," she said. 

"I can't honestly tell you results in Pennsylvania and in Arizona and other states where there are questions. I am focused exclusively on Wisconsin. And what I can tell you about Wisconsin, is that I feel like it was rigged."

Kleefisch said candidates who don't address the 2020 election should be disqualified in voters' minds, referring to Tim Michels, a wealthy construction executive from Waukesha County who entered the race last week.

[...]

Kayla Anderson, a campaign spokeswoman for Evers, said Kleefisch's comments are injecting "more chaos and division into Wisconsin elections."

"We don’t need to waste more time and taxpayer money on this politically motivated exercise," Anderson said in a statement. "Governor Evers plans to continue doing the right thing and fighting to ensure every eligible voter is able to participate in safe, fair and secure elections.”

[...]

Trump successfully pressured Assembly Speaker Robin Vos this week into keeping open a taxpayer-funded review of the 2020 election overseen by former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman. 

The review has a budget of $676,000 and has lasted six months longer than originally planned as Gableman has missed deadlines to produce a final report into his probe.