GOP candidate for Wisconsin governor says he will rig future presidential elections if he wins

[Ferguson97]

Candidate promises Republicans can take permanent control of Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. — Hinting at his plans to overhaul how elections are run, the Republican running for governor of Wisconsin this week said his party would permanently control the state if he wins.

“Republicans will never lose another election in Wisconsin after I’m elected governor,” construction executive Tim Michels told supporters Monday at a campaign stop.

Michels is seeking to unseat Gov. Tony Evers (D), who over his four years vetoed a string of Republican-backed bills that would have changed voting rules in a battleground state that Donald Trump narrowly won in 2016 and narrowly lost in 2020.

Michels has promised to sign similar legislation and has said he would restructure the state’s bipartisan elections commission. He has never spelled out what specific changes he would make to the commission, which is run by three Democrats and three Republicans.

Michels, who won his August primary with Trump’s endorsement, has left open the possibility that he would try to decertify the 2020 election in Wisconsin, which legal scholars say is impossible. He has declined to say whether he would certify the results of the 2024 election.

Source: Washington Post

[Orwell]

No he just believes that Trump rightfully won the 2020 election. He also wanted to sign legislation to reduce mail-in ballots and other non-EDay voting.

[John Dule]

The fact that this thought would even occur to a candidate for office-- let alone leave his lips in public-- spells doom for American democracy. The Republican Party's core platform is the establishment of a dictatorship. It is indefensible.

[T'Chenka]

Anti-democracy party not even trying to hide it anymore, because they don't need to hide it in order to be successful.

[It’s so Joever]

I mean what do you want him to say? That Democrats will win elections once he takes power? Biden has repeatedly mentioned how Dems will keep winning elections in 2021 and 2022 (even if wrong) to keep his party’s spirits up, this is no different.

[Frodo]

I mean what do you want him to say?

What every Republican in the pre-Trump era used to say, remember?  That they will respect the results of the election, and give their full support to whoever wins, regardless of their political allegiance.  Though it sounds about as quaint now as a 'Murder, She Wrote' episode.  

[ProudModerate2]

Anti-democracy party not even trying to hide it anymore, because they don't need to hide it in order to be successful.

And that is both sad and scary.

[doopy pants]

If Michels loses I'll be the first to say #Rebeccawouldhavewon

[Burke Bro]

I mean what do you want him to say? That Democrats will win elections once he takes power? Biden has repeatedly mentioned how Dems will keep winning elections in 2021 and 2022 (even if wrong) to keep his party’s spirits up, this is no different.

There's a difference between keeping your party's spirits up by saying that you're confident your party will win future elections and saying you're going to completely overhaul the election system for no apparent reason other than giving your party an entrenched electoral advantage.

[Ferguson97]

I mean what do you want him to say? That Democrats will win elections once he takes power? Biden has repeatedly mentioned how Dems will keep winning elections in 2021 and 2022 (even if wrong) to keep his party’s spirits up, this is no different.

There's actually a huge difference between "our party will win elections because we will deliver to the American people" and "our party will win elections because I will rig the elections"

[Orwell]

Democrats are bad for the economy, I wish we would have 16 years of lower taxes, less regulation, and a better economy like under 40 & 41.

[GeorgiaModerate]

Democrats are bad for the economy, I wish we would have 16 years of lower taxes, less regulation, and a better economy like under 40 & 41.

They were president for a total of 12 years.

[MikeIrvine]

Zero excuse for that kind of comment. Load it up and blast it on every ad.

[Indy Texas]

Democrats are bad for the economy, I wish we would have 16 years of lower taxes, less regulation, and a better economy like under 40 & 41.

The last three Republican presidents' tenures ended with plummeting stock markets and recession.

[Del Tachi]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box. 

[John Dule]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box. 

Oh phew, I'm sure that's exactly what he meant. What a load off my mind.

[Kahane's Grave Is A Gender-Neutral Bathroom]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box. 

Oh phew, I'm sure that's exactly what he meant. What a load off my mind.

Not to mention Evers has been utterly useless as Governor, so the fact that it's off track with high taxes and bad schools is mostly Scott Walker.

[South Dakota Democrat]

I mean what do you want him to say? That Democrats will win elections once he takes power? Biden has repeatedly mentioned how Dems will keep winning elections in 2021 and 2022 (even if wrong) to keep his party’s spirits up, this is no different.

That's willfully ignorant/naive.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box. 

Oh phew, I'm sure that's exactly what he meant. What a load off my mind.

How can we know what he meant?  Do we have anything besides 5 seconds of audio released from opponents of Michels when he said this sentence (“Republicans will never lose another election in Wisconsin after I’m elected governor")?  What sentence did he say before or afterwards?

[Del Tachi]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box. 

Oh phew, I'm sure that's exactly what he meant. What a load off my mind.

Well, this is actually exactly what Michels' campaign spokesperson said when asked about the comment.

A five-second clip posted to Twitter by a liberal activist group is what got this story started (I thought you said Twitter wasn't news, JD?)  In more complete remarks, Michels spoke for about two minutes but offered little context for what he meant about elections.  Most of his comments focused on campaigning in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee and trying to win the votes of union workers.  If Republicans improve with those two groups, then Wisconsin *would* become a permamently Republican state.  His statement is rhetorical.   

[Ferguson97]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box. 

Oh phew, I'm sure that's exactly what he meant. What a load off my mind.

Well, this is actually exactly what Michels' campaign spokesperson said when asked about the comment.

A five-second clip posted to Twitter by a liberal activist group is what got this story started (I thought you said Twitter wasn't news, JD?)  In more complete remarks, Michels spoke for about two minutes but offered little context for what he meant about elections.  Most of his comments focused on campaigning in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee and trying to win the votes of union workers.  If Republicans improve with those two groups, then Wisconsin *would* become a permamently Republican state.  His statement is rhetorical.   

So we're just ignoring this bit, huh?

Michels is seeking to unseat Gov. Tony Evers (D), who over his four years vetoed a string of Republican-backed bills that would have changed voting rules in a battleground state that Donald Trump narrowly won in 2016 and narrowly lost in 2020.

Michels has promised to sign similar legislation and has said he would restructure the state’s bipartisan elections commission.

[DrScholl]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box.  

Once again the Republican answer to everything is to make up a detailed answer that to what one of their candidates said. If he didn't say this directly you can't just make up an answer. You are giving a Soviet-style propaganda response.

[Del Tachi]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box. 

Oh phew, I'm sure that's exactly what he meant. What a load off my mind.

Well, this is actually exactly what Michels' campaign spokesperson said when asked about the comment.

A five-second clip posted to Twitter by a liberal activist group is what got this story started (I thought you said Twitter wasn't news, JD?)  In more complete remarks, Michels spoke for about two minutes but offered little context for what he meant about elections.  Most of his comments focused on campaigning in the Democratic stronghold of Milwaukee and trying to win the votes of union workers.  If Republicans improve with those two groups, then Wisconsin *would* become a permamently Republican state.  His statement is rhetorical.   

So we're just ignoring this bit, huh?

Michels is seeking to unseat Gov. Tony Evers (D), who over his four years vetoed a string of Republican-backed bills that would have changed voting rules in a battleground state that Donald Trump narrowly won in 2016 and narrowly lost in 2020.

Michels has promised to sign similar legislation and has said he would restructure the state’s bipartisan elections commission.

Wisconsin has one of the unfairest election regiemes in the country.  The state's 2020 election was administered contrary to state laws duly passed by the Legislature.  Evers and the state's election commission sought to extend these unfair systems into 2021 and 2022, but are being rebuffed by courts.

Elections being under the purview of a nominally bipartisan commission is not some universal practice.  In most states, the election commission is a division within the Secretary of State's office (i.e., a non-regulatory body with direct accountability to the public.)  As it was in Wisconsin before 2015.  Returning to such is not an earth-shattering idea.   

[jamestroll]

I changed my tune slightly about states overturning Biden victories in 2024.

It is just.. like.. the midterm backlash of actually overturn popular will of a state federal elections would be immense. And in all the states it could happen (AZ, PA, MI, WI, GA, maybeee VA), there would obviously be a major midterm backlash..

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

When Wisconsin gets back on the right track with lower taxes, better schools, uniform election laws and safer communities thanks to the Michels Administration, voters will reward the Republicans at the ballot box. 

Scott Walker sure delivered those things and thus permanent Republican victory huh?