Wisconsin Republicans emphasize need for unity at state convention

“Our position is to protect life,” Sen. Ron Johnson said during the convention. He added that within the Republican party there’s a broad spectrum of views about what that means. (Screenshot via WisEye)

Wisconsin Republicans called for unity in their party during their annual state convention in Appleton over the weekend, calling it necessary to win federal and state elections. 

The state convention comes less than two months before the Republican National Convention is set to be held in Milwaukee. Over the weekend in Appleton, state Republican leaders highlighted the central role that abortion, early voting and other issues will likely play in 2024 elections.

Wisconsin State Treasurer John Leiber, who chaired the convention, said that unity will be key if Republicans are to compete to win this year. He noted that Wisconsin’s Supreme Court leans liberal, that the state’s governor is a Democrat, and the “only branch left we have is the Legislature.” He added that new maps will make it more difficult for Republicans to win. 

“This is not a time for us to argue with each other and debate the small differences,” Leiber said. “This is a time for us to recognize all the ways we agree with each other and all the ways we need to work together because everything is at stake in this election.” 

Sen. Ron Johnson calls for unity on abortion

In an address to the convention, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson said Democrats would seek to make the election a referendum on abortion. He called on Republicans to unite on the issue to help elect former President Donald Trump and other Republicans up and down the ballot. 

Abortion will be a central issue in the 2024 election cycle, especially in Wisconsin where abortion was thought to be banned, and providers stopped offering the procedure, after Roe v. Wade was overturned and  an 1849 law with only a life-of-the-mother exception went into effect. Last summer a judge ruled that the 1849 abortion law does not apply to abortion and Planned Parenthood resumed providing abortion services. But the decision is being appealed to the state Supreme Court.

While Democrats have united around a message of protecting abortion access, Wisconsin’s legislative cycle has emphasized Republicans’ division on the issue, with lawmakers disagreeing about the details of a potential abortion ban.

“Our position is to protect life,” Johnson said, adding that within the party there’s a broad spectrum of views about what that means. 

Johnson said that he supports the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which eliminated federal protections for abortion access and thrust decisions about laws on abortion back to the states. He said that he believes that life begins at conception, but said decisions about abortion should be made state by state. 

Johnson noted that the issue has been divisive among Republicans and called it a “profound moral issue” that centers on the question “at what point does society have the responsibility to protect life in the womb?”

“In the end, we have to win elections,’ Johnson said. “If we don’t win, the result will be abortion up til the moment of birth and infanticide.”

Johnson also said Wisconsin as a battleground state will be crucial to fighting and defeating “the ideology and policies of the radical left.” Johnson, whose staff attempted to transfer fraudulent electoral votes for Trump improperly cast by Wisconsin’s Republican fake electors in 2020 to then-Vice President Mike Pence, said this year Wisconsin’s electoral votes need to go to Trump. He also said Republicans need to help businessman Eric Hovde unseat incumbent Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, retain six seats in the U.S. House and maintain strong majorities in the state Assembly and the state Senate. 

Congressional Republicans say voter turnout is key

During a panel discussion, Wisconsin’s five Republican congressmen covered a broad swath of issues including support for Israel, immigration and the economy but noted that voting issues and bolstering early voting among Republicans will be key to winning elections. 

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil praised Wisconsin’s recently adopted constitutional amendment that bans private funds that support election administration, which he called “Zuckerbucks,” and said there is also an opportunity for Wisconsin to ban noncitizen voting, which is extremely rare and already illegal. The comments come after the U.S. House Administration Committee, which Steil chairs, held a panel on the issue last week. 

Steil said that lawmakers need to utilize every tool possible to help secure and bolster trust in elections. 

Apart from securing elections, Steil also said Republicans will need to utilize every tool possible, including early voting, to win elections in the fall. 

While Democrats plan out their path to taking control of the U.S. House of Representatives, which includes an attempt to unseat incumbent Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, Republicans are working to keep control of the House. 

Steil, who will face a Democratic challenger in the 1st Congressional District, said he doesn’t love all of Wisconsin’s election laws, but they will need to utilize all of them, including early voting, to win elections in the fall. 

“If we want to win as Republicans, as conservatives, we need to use every legal tool in the toolkit to get the job done, and that’s going to require people going out, voting early, banking the vote and driving up turnout in the state of Wisconsin,” Steil said. “That’s a tough truth for those of us that love voting on Election Day.” 

U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald also called Wisconsin the “epicenter” of politics and said it will “certainly have an impact on who the next President of the United States is.” He said that makes it imperative that Republicans work to generate massive turnout. 

Fitzgerald pointed to Johnson’s reelection in 2022 as an example for what needs to be replicated this year. He said Johnson was able to “thread a needle and get just enough votes, specifically in the Fox Valley,” to win. He added that Republicans have a “responsibility and obligation” to buy into state and county voter turnout programs to ensure people show up on Election Day. 

Keeping control of state Legislature

Meanwhile, two of Wisconsin’s top state legislators emphasized the new challenges that Republicans will face in fighting to keep control of both chambers in the state Capitol. 

Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu (R-Oostburg) and Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) who is co-chair of the powerful Joint Finance Committee, criticized Democratic Gov. Tony Evers for his vetoes this legislative session and called for support as they work to keep control of the Legislature. Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) was absent from the convention due to a scheduling conflict according to WisPolitics. 

LeMahieu noted that the state Senate met last week to pass several veto overrides. The effort was ultimately unsuccessful, but helped highlight Evers’ opposition to certain pieces of legislation, LeMahieu said. The veto override attempts included a bill Evers blocked because it limited environmental enforcement while  allowing $125 million in state funds to be used to combat PFAS chemicals in local drinking water, as well as a bill that set limiting conditions on the use of $15 million to support medical services after hospitals closures in western Wisconsin. 

Born and LeMahieu accused Evers of wanting to spend taxpayers’ money as he sees fit and not being willing to compromise. Evers has recently sued lawmakers over their refusal to release the funds.

“Newsflash for the governor, we control the purse strings in Wisconsin,” LeMahieu said. “We will pass bills and if you don’t like how we’re spending the money and you veto them, it’s on you that the money’s not getting spent.”

Born said Republicans need to keep control of the Legislature to stop Wisconsin from taking the same path as other Democratic-led states. 

“We are the last line of defense,” Born said. “The Republican-led Legislature here in Wisconsin is the only thing keeping us from being Minnesota, Michigan and, quite frankly, California. That’s how far [Gov.] Tony Evers in this game wants to go.” 

Wisconsin’s new legislative maps will make races for and control of the Senate and Assembly more competitive than they have been in over a decade. Republicans have held control of both houses since 2011. 

“It’s going to be a battle like most of us haven’t seen before,” Born said. 

Born said Republicans will be more challenged in keeping control because the new maps are “more gerrymandered for the Democrats.” 

Democrats are taking the new maps as an opportunity to work towards flipping control of the Legislature in the next two election cycles. Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) has said that she thinks Democrats can flip the Assembly this year, and Democrats are working toward a goal of having a candidate running in all 99 districts. 

Despite the new maps, Born said that Republicans will have the “strongest candidates” and the “best message,” but with so many more targeted seats Republicans are “gonna need your contributions of money, we’re gonna need your contributions of word of mouth and, probably most of all, prayers.” 

Only half of the state Senate seats are up for election this year, but LeMahieu said Senate Republicans need to work to keep seats this year to protect against potential gains by Democrats in the next two election cycles. 

“In the Senate, we have a supermajority, a 22-11 advantage. That means that if we lose six seats, we are in the minority,” LeMahieu said. “That seems like a long ways away. It’s not.” 

LeMahieu noted that there are seven Senate seats under the new maps with 50-50 electorates that Republicans currently control, and that four of those are up for election this year. 

LeMahieu highlighted several of those, including the 14th district where Sen. Joan Ballweg is running for reelection and the 8th district where Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) is running, saying that Republicans have good candidates who will need support to win. He said that he is still looking for a candidate to run in the 22nd district to challenge Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie). 

“We’re not going to lose the majority this year, but if we lose all of our seats this year — Heaven forbid we do — then in two years when the other half of the Senate is up, our other three seats are up,” LeMahieu said. “It’s bad enough working with our liberal Supreme Court and our liberal governor. I don’t want to be in the minority.”

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