RNC 2024: Wisconsin delegates include Tommy Thompson, Tim Michels
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MILWAUKEE - Weeks before the world will descend on Milwaukee for this summer's Republican National Convention, FOX6 was first to report the list of Wisconsin delegates.
Wisconsin's 41 RNC delegates:
Republican Party of Wisconsin Chair Brian Schimming
Former Gov. Scott Walker
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson
Former candidate for governor Tim Michels
RNC National Committeeman Tom Schreibel
RNC National Committeewoman Maripat Krueger
Republican Party of Wisconsin Immediate Past Chairman Paul Farrow
Republican Party of Wisconsin Past Chairman Brad Courtney
State Treasurer John Leiber
State Sen. Cory Tomczyk (R-Mosinee)
Fond du Lac County District Attorney Eric Toney
Dave Anderson
Candee Arndt
Barb Bittner
Jordan Briskey
Kathy Broghammer
George Bureau
Pete Church
Brett Galaszewski
Jim Geldreich
Kevin Hermening
Christine Illgen
Scarlett Johnson
Robert Kordus, Jr.
Rose Marie LaBarbera
Brandon Maly
Georgia Maxwell
Diamond McKenna
Shannon McKinney
Andreina Patilliet
Phillip Prange
Patricia Reiman
Matt Rust
Chris Slinker
Stephanie Soucek
Pam Travis
Terrence Wall
Cindy Werner
Sandy Wiedmeyer
Laurie Wolf
Dixon Wolfe
SCOOP: Wisconsin's 41 delegates to the RNC include:
-Former Gov. Tommy Thompson
-Former Gov. Scott Walker
-Former candidate Tim Michels
-Fond du Lac County DA Eric Toney
Full list here: https://t.co/Clbn3E7Rso— Jason Calvi (@JasonCalvi) May 22, 2024
"This is a big deal to be a delegate," said Patty Reiman.
She showed FOX6 her mementos from years of being a national delegate in 2008, 2016 and 2020. She was also an alternate in 2012.
"I have all my fun things when I was a delegate. You get badges," she said.
In less than two months, she'll get one more.
"It was a process just becoming a delegate, so I created a flyer, so people know who I am and everything I’ve accomplished in the 30-plus years I’ve been actively involved as a grassroots supporter," said Reiman.
Reiman's fellow Republicans of the Fourth Congressional District voted for her to serve as one of the district's three delegates at the national convention that will take place miles from her Milwaukee County home.
"We’ll be having the biggest stage that we’ve ever had in Milwaukee," she said. "It is huge. Huge for the Republican Party being in Milwaukee, because our state is so pivotal."
Delegates are bound to vote for whichever candidate won the April primary; in this case, former President Donald Trump. If a delegate can't make it, alternates like Luke Dretske will be inside Fiserv Forum, ready to take on the role.
Dretske is a 25-year-old law student at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He serves on both the Berlin City Council and Green Lake County Board.
"I was kind of flabbergasted. I was like: ‘Really?'" he said.
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But, there was a catch – as Dretske explained to his wife: "I call her, I’m like, ‘Hey, I got asked to be an alternate delegate for the National Convention.' She says: ‘You should do it, you’ll be great. You’ll enjoy it, you want to do it.’ But, I’m like, ‘Hold on, there’s a kicker: it costs about $3,000.’ Then, she goes, ‘Absolutely not. You’re not doing it.’"
As it turned out, Dretske will go thanks to donations from family and friends to cover the hotels and other fees.
He can count on long days, from breakfast in the morning to sitting in Fiserv Forum for the main events at night, and other activities in the middle.
"We have the day to walk around, meet people, I am hoping to do a lot of networking, just because we’re the hometown, so we have all the knowledge of where to go, what to see, where to shop," said Reiman.
Wisconsin's RNC alternate delegates:
Akil Ajmeri
State Representative Tyler August (R - Walworth)
John Beauchamp
William Blathras
Len Boltz
Luanne Coyne
Catherine DeVries
Alan Downs
Luke Dretske
Barbara Finger
John Graber
Amber Hahn
Billie Johnson
Kelly Johnson
Rita Lackovich
Shirl LeBarre
Don Lee
Julie Leschke
Jeanie Moore
Jerry Murphy
Purnima Nath
Annette Olson
Gerard Randall
State Representative Nik Rettinger (R - Mukwonago)
Patricia Schick
Jim Schildbach
Lawrence Schneider II
Amber Schroeder
Brian Smith
Robert "Bob" Spindell Jr
Ruth Streck
Gwen Theien
Carl Toepel
Julie Vale
Pam Van Handel
William Vanevenhoven
Judy Wenger
Michael Zaremba
Convention veterans and rookies will bring the Grand Old Party to Milwaukee and Wisconsin Democrats will have 95 delegates and seven alternates headed to their own Democratic National Convention in Chicago. FOX6 plans to profile some of those delegates in the weeks ahead.