2023.
ELECTION YEAR POLITICKING?
EVERS SAYS NO, JUST GIVING IT
BACK DIRECTLY AND SOONER.
THE INCUMBENT GOVERNOR IS GOING
TO SEE SOME SHARP ELBOWS COME
OUT IN THE RUN-UP TO THE
NOVEMBER ELECTION.
BUT REPUBLICAN CANDIDATES IN A
PRIMARY RUN-OFF ARE ALREADY
GOING AFTER EACH OTHER.
FORMER MARINE, REPUBLICAN KEVIN
NICHOLSON, ANNOUNCED LATE THIS
WEEK HE IS RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR.
HE WILL FACE OFF AGAINST FORMER
LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR REBECCA
KLEEFISCH AND POLITICAL NEWCOMER
JONATHAN WICHMANN.
ANOTHER ROUGH-AND-TUMBLE BIG
MONEY RACE FOR GOVERNOR.
UW-MILWAUKEE POLITICAL SCIENTIST
MORDECAI LEE JOINS US WITH HIS
INSIGHTS.
MORDECAI, SO NICE TO SEE YOU.
>> THANK YOU FOR INVITING ME.
>> SO THE PLATFORMS OF KLEEFISCH
AND NICHOLSON LOOK SIMILAR.
HIS PERHAPS A BIT MORE STRIDENT,
AND HE CONSIDERS HIMSELF THE
OUTSIDER, CALLING HER, FROM THE
QUOTE, SAME TIRED POLITICAL
CLASS.
WHAT DO YOU MAKE OF NICHOLSON
FIGHTING WHAT HE REGARDS AS THE
REPUBLICAN ESTABLISHMENT?
>> WELL, IT'S PERHAPS THE ONLY
STANCE HE CAN TAKE.
AFTER ALL, HE CAN'T PUT HIMSELF
TO THE LEFT OF REBECCA
KLEEFISCH, BECAUSE THAT'S NOT A
WINNING FORMULA FOR REPUBLICANS.
SO HE SEEMS TO BE GOING FOR I'M
THE INSURGENT, I'M THE TRUMPIER
KIND OF GUY, I'M TO HER RIGHT,
AND GENERALLY SPEAKING, I
SUPPOSE WE AS VOTERS SHOULD
REMEMBER THAT WE BENEFIT FROM
CHOICES.
IT'S GOOD TO HAVE CHOICES.
BUT THAT THE CULTURE OF THE
REPUBLICAN PARTY IS VERY
DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE
DEMOCRATIC PARTY.
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS MUCH
MORE ORGANIZED AND RANK AND FILE
SORT OF FOLLOW THE MAINSTREAM,
SO HAVING A KNOCK DOWN DRAGOUT
PRIMARY FIGHT LIKE THIS IS MORE
UNUSUAL THAN USUAL ON THE
REPUBLICAN SIDE.
>> NICHOLSON IS EVEN FIGHTING
WITH SPEAKER ROBIN VOS, WHO
URGED HIM NOT TO RUN FOR
GOVERNOR BECAUSE IT MIGHT HURT
REPUBLICAN CHANCES.
DOES IT SEEM UNFATHOMABLE TO GO
UP AGAINST ROBIN VOS?
>> WELL, ROBIN VOS IS TO A
CERTAIN EXTENT THE HIGHEST
RANKING MEMBER OF THE PARTY
WITHIN WISCONSIN.
AFTER RON JOHNSON IS IN
WASHINGTON.
SO IF HE SAYS I'M GOING TO TAKE
ON THE ESTABLISHMENT, I'M THE
TRUMPY KIND OF CANDIDATE, THEN I
SUPPOSE ROBIN VOS IS AS GOOD AS
ANY.
IT SEEMS TO BE HARD TO
UNDERSTAND WHERE THIS IS GOING
TO GO.
YOU'D HAVE TO GO BACK TO 1978,
WHEN CONGRESSMAN ROBERT KASTEN
WAS THE REPUBLICAN CANDIDATE FOR
GOVERNOR, AND HE WAS ENDORSED BY
THE PARTY, AT THE PARTY'S
CONVENTION, AND THEN SORT OF OUT
OF NOWHERE COMES A GUY NAMED LEE
DREYFUSS WHO HAD NEVER RUN FOR
ANYTHING, AND TO EVERYBODY'S
ASTONISH MENTD, DREYFUSS WON THE
PRIMARY AND WON THE
GOVERNORSHIP.
SO IF THERE IS A PRECEDENT ABOUT
THE OUTSIDER CHALLENGER OF THE
SORT OF THE ESTABLISHMENT, IT
HAS HAPPENED.
THERE ARE FAIRY TALES THAT
SOMETIMES HAPPEN IN POLITICS.
>> DOES THE PRIMARY FIGHT
PITTING KLEEFISCH AND NICHOLSON
HELP EVERS?
>> THERE ARE EXAMPLES IN
WISCONSIN POLITICS WHERE HAVING
A VERY TOUGH PRIMARY LEADS TO
THE WINNER OF THE PRIMARY LOSING
IN THE GENERAL ELECTION, BUT
THERE ARE JUST AS EQUAL NUMBER
OF EXAMPLES LIKE THE LEE
DREYFUSS ONE WHERE HAVING A
TOUGH PRIMARY THEN GIVES THEM
MOMENTUM TO WIN THE GENERAL
ELECTION.
SO I DON'T THINK THERE'S SORT OF
ANY PRINCIPLE HERE.
WHAT REALLY SURPRISED ME IS HOW
FAST THEY WENT AFTER EACH OTHER.
I LIKED YOUR COMMENT ABOUT
ELBOWS, WHERE HE SAID, I WAS
BORN IN WISCONSIN, AND IN A
SILENT WAY HE'S SAYING, SHE
WASN'T BORN IN WISCONSIN, SHE
ONLY CAME IN WISCONSIN TO START
AS AN UNDERGRAD AT MADISON, AND
SHE'S SAYING, OH, HE REALLY
WANTED TO RUN FOR U.S. SENATE
AND NOW HE'S ANGRY SO HE'S
RUNNING FOR GOVERNOR.
ON HER SIDE, I THINK THAT WAS A
BIT OF AN UNFORCED ERROR.
GENERALLY SPEAKING, IN PRE-TRUMP
POLITICS, WHAT A CANDIDATE SAYS
IS, I WELCOME SO-AND-SO TO THE
RACE, I WELCOME THE COMPETITION,
VOTERS BENEFIT FROM IT, I LOOK
FORWARD TO CONTRASTING OUR
QUALIFICATIONS, AND I'M
CONFIDENT I'LL WIN.
I'M NOT QUITE SURE WHAT THE
THINKING WAS BEHIND HER COMMENT.
>> SO SPEAKING OF DONALD TRUMP,
OF THOSE REPUBLICAN PRIMARY
CANDIDATES, WHO'S GOT THE BETTER
CRED WITH TRUMP?
>> I THINK IT'S REBECCA
KLEEFISCH, BECAUSE SHE'S THE ONE
WHO'S STANDING BY THE MEMBER OF
THE STATE ASSEMBLY WHO WANTS TO
REPEAL THE CERTIFICATION THAT
JOE BIDEN WON WISCONSIN.
SHE EXPLICITLY SAID SHE SUPPORTS
HIM AND EVER SO VAGUELY
CRITICIZED SPEAKER VOS FOR
FIRING HIS AIDE AND TAKING AWAY
HIS COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS.
BUT ON THE OTHER HAND, IN TERMS
OF STYLE, SORT OF COMBATIVENESS,
I THINK NICHOLSON WOULD APPEAL
MORE.
I'M NOT SURE, I GUESS TO GET THE
ENDORSEMENT OF PRESIDENT TRUMP,
YOU NEED TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT
OR SAY SOMETHING ABOUT THE 2020
ELECTION THAT THE OTHER
CANDIDATE WON'T GO AS FAR AS
SAYING.
AND AT THIS POINT, I'M NOT SURE
IF THERE'S ANY FARTHER IT CAN
ALREADY GO.
>> MEANWHILE, BILLIONAIRE
RICHARD UIHLEIN IS BACKING
NICHOLSON WITH BASICALLY WHAT
SEEMS TO BE A SUM SUFFICIENT
FUNDING MODEL OR WHATEVER IT
TAKES.
HOW DOES THAT RATCHET UP THE
SPENDING IN THIS RACE?
>> WELL, MONEY IS THE MOTHER'S
MILK OF POLITICS, AND ESPECIALLY
IN THE TV ERA.
TV ADVERTISING IS THE THING THAT
REALLY COUNTS.
SO IF YOU WANT TO BE A SERIOUS
PLAYER IN A STATE-WIDE RACE,
YOU'VE GOT TO ASSUME YOU'RE
GOING TO SPEND 5, 10,
$15 MILLION, IN THIS CASE
PERHAPS TO WIN THE PRIMARY.
I THINK WHAT'S GOING TO BE
INTERESTING ABOUT THE SORT OF
DYNAMICS OF THIS PRIMARY,
THEY'RE BOTH GOING TO BE WELL
FUNDED.
BUT THE FACT THAT THERE'S A
PRIMARY MEANS THAT REPUBLICANS
WILL HAVE TO VOTE IN THE
REPUBLICAN PRIMARY FOR GOVERNOR,
THEY CAN'T VOTE IN THE
DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY FOR U.S.
SENATE.
IF THERE HADN'T BEEN A PRIMARY
FOR GOVERNOR ON THE REPUBLICAN
SIDE, THEY ALL WOULD HAVE MOVED
OVER AND VOTED IN THAT AND
PERHAPS DISTORTED THE RESULTS OF
THE SENATE RACE.
>> WOW.
GREAT STUFF.
MORDECAI LEE, THANKS VERY MUCH.
THANKS FOR JOINING US.