Wisconsin Republican quits election commission in disgust over Trump's election lies

On Wednesday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Molly Beck reported that Dean Knudson, a Republican member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, is resigning his position.

Knudson, who was appointed by Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, was set to hold office until 2024. However, he has frequently clashed with fellow Republican officials, including Vos himself, for their efforts to legitimize former President Donald Trump's conspiracy theories that the 2020 presidential election was stolen.

"My core values are to practice service above self and to display personal integrity. And to me that integrity demands acknowledging the truth even when the truth is painful. In this case, the painful truth is that President Trump lost the election in 2020," said Knudson in a statement. "My message to Republicans today is simple: If you're a candidate, focus on the issues that affect Wisconsin families and their pocketbooks. It's time to pivot away from conspiracy theories to kitchen table issues."

According to Beck, Knudson's resignation could throw a monkey wrench into the state commission's scheduled vote to elect a new chairman today. Under commission selection rules, the new chair will have to be another Republican. The only other Republican member currently eligible to be chair is Bob Spindell, who signed on as a fake elector to the pro-Trump "alternate" slate falsely alleging that the former president won the state.

Knudson has urged the commission to instead wait until he is replaced to hold the vote.

Wisconsin lawmakers have furiously sought to lend credence to Trump's conspiracy theories, most notably hiring former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to conduct an audit of the election. Gableman came back with a report arguing the state should "decertify" its results, a proposal that is legally impossible and has drawn scorn from even some GOP lawmakers.