An embattled Wisconsin Republican Party began its annual state convention today, but not before being ridiculed by Democrats over its dearth of candidates to challenge Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2024.
“The Wisconsin GOP, dominated by MAGA extremism and divided against itself, still has yet to dredge up a single candidate willing to take on (Baldwin),” Ben Wikler, Democratic Party chair, said. “The embarrassingly weak hypothetical field consists of California millionaire Eric Hovde, ultra-MAGA Tom Tiffany, disgraced former Milwaukee County sheriff David Clarke, and Scott Mayer—who has said that he doesn’t ‘have anything negative to say about Sen. Baldwin.’”
Despite Wisconsin perennial status as one of the nation’s tightest swing states, the Cook Political Report rates it as “Leans Democratic” for Baldwin’s race. And Cook analyst Amy Walter wrote yesterday that “the ideal GOP candidate” – Rep. Tim Gallagher (R-WI) – announced Wednesday that he would not challenge Baldwin.
Similarly, one of the biggest names in Wisconsin politics, former Gov. Scott Walker (R), announced March 20 that he would not run against Baldwin. And Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin touted Baldwin’s prospects in an April 23 commentary headlined “Tammy Baldwin has split the lock on split-ticket voters.” Rubin wrote:
“Democrats agonizing over how to appeal to rural and White working-class voters might want to talk to (Baldwin)... One of the most progressive members in the Senate, she nevertheless has figured out how to turn her narrowly divided state into a place where, with the right message, Democrats can notch a big win.”
With each serious candidate who passes on the race, the prospects of winning the Republican primary increase for Sheriff Clarke, whose candidacy was labeled by Walter as “the nightmare scenario for Republicans.” Walter wrote:
“The former law enforcement official has been an outspoken figure on the far right and a prominent supporter of former President Donald Trump who has courted controversy with his social media posts and comments on race, abortion and gun control. He came under fire for plagiarizing his master’s thesis.”
The Democrats seem to agree and are welcoming the prospect of Clarke as an opponent.
“That David Clarke is somehow the frontrunner in this race tells you all you need to know about the extremism that will be put on full display this weekend (at the GOP state convention) in La Crosse,” Wikler said.
Perhaps most tellingly, in a May 8 interview with CNN’s Manu Raju, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell bluntly singled out Wisconsin as a battleground state that wasn’t a good prospect for the GOP.
“I didn’t mention Wisconsin; I think clearly you’d have to have an outstanding candidate. And I think there are some other places where with the right candidate, we might be able to compete – in Nevada, Arizona,” McConnell said. “But as of right now the day that you and I are talking, I think we know that we are going to compete in four places heavily, and that would be, Montana, West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania.”
