GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – As Wisconsin’s primary election inches closer, three Republican gubernatorial candidates spent two hours talking to Brown County voters on Monday night in a debate.
The community packed the gym at Providence Academy in Howard on Monday for the first Republican gubernatorial primary debate of 2022. As the doors opened, people were getting excited to learn more about the candidates.
“Obviously, everybody knows Rebecca Kleefisch because she’s been lieutenant governor. But the other two, I’m looking to learn more about. So it’s awesome to see them all on stage together,” said Stephen Anderson. “I’d love to hear substantive policy. They can get into how they’re really going to be different than the current governor. Obviously, we’ve got the hot topic of abortion out there right now and I’d love to see how they address that situation.”
Former lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch was joined by State Assemblyman Timothy Ramthun and Kevin Nicholson for the debate.
Former Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch speaks during a Republican gubernatorial primary debate at Providence Academy in Howard. (WTAQ News/Casey Nelson)
“I just want to learn more about them, and more than just their advertisements. It’s awesome to see people and get a feel for them,” said Mike Kubiak. “[I’m looking for] honesty in government. All of the other factors fall into place when there’s honesty.”
“You can talk about stuff all day long. I’ve been listening to this stuff for a lot of years, and I’d like to see a little action,” said one of Kubiak’s friends.
One concern for both voters heading into the debate involved the empty podium at the end of the stage. Trump-backed construction magnate Tim Michels wouldn’t be making an appearance.
An empty podium is held for candidate Tim Michels during a Republican gubernatorial primary debate is held at Providence Academy in Howard. (WTAQ News/Casey Nelson)
“It definitely would’ve been nice to see all four of them, but I’m going to do my research as a voter and I’ll learn about him other ways. But it’ll be nice to see the three that are here,” Anderson told WTAQ News.
“I think it says a lot about him. I think it’s going to be a detriment to his campaign. If you don’t show up for discussion, how can you get your point across?” said John from De Pere.
“It certainly wouldn’t give me a reason to vote for him if I don’t know who he is! I think that’s going to affect his election,” Kubiak added.
You can view the live-stream of the entire debate here:
While most of the evening saw fairly tame discussion over hot topics like abortion, marijuana legalization, and more – not everything went smoothly. When asked to provide a yes or no answer to a question regarding whether candidates believed the 2020 election was stolen in Wisconsin, only Timothy Ramthun provided a direct response.
“Yes. Categorically without exception, without question. If you look into this issue at all, in any way, shape, or form – the election was stolen, without question,” Ramthun said.
State Senator Timothy Ramthun speaks during a Republican gubernatorial primary debate at Providence Academy in Howard. (WTAQ News/Casey Nelson)
Kleefisch opted to not directly answer the question with a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ and saw her microphone cut after multiple attempts to have her re-frame the response. Nicholson had an even shorter answer.
“Illegal conduct occurred, but I’ll stop right there,” Nicholson said. “I could elaborate, but I don’t think you would…”
Nicholson was cut off, as the rules were again explained and things moved on to the next topic.
Candidate Kevin Nicholson speaks during a Republican gubernatorial primary debate at Providence Academy in Howard. (WTAQ News/Casey Nelson)
The other consistent topic referred back to the aforementioned empty podium. None of the candidates on stage were shy about taking open shots at Tim Michels.
“We showed up because we care about the voters of Green Bay. We care about the people of Wisconsin, and we want to have a debate on the issues. But unfortunately, Tim Michels does not,” Kleefisch said. “Tim Michels, when asked about the Second Amendment, asks if he can get back to you…we also wonder about issues raised about how Tim Michels-funded organizations opposed the idea of not allowing contracts to be given to companies that employed illegal immigrants. Why would he do that?”
Each candidate time to answer a question about their specific record. He also gave them each a minute to answer Michels’ question as if they were him.
“You’ve run ads and made statements about the fact that you don’t need it, don’t want it, won’t take it, referring to special interest money and or lobbyist money. Is this because you and your Michels Corporation have been members of and contributed heavily to the very organizations you claim that you want no part of and there for essentially you’d be making your own money.”
“Anyone who runs for office and says they aren’t going to make any money isn’t being truthful to you,” said Ramthun. “Perhaps maybe that’s why he’s not here tonight. Because we have some hard questions we need to ask. I need to know too, because if I’m not going to be governor and he is, hypothetically, that doesn’t bode well and it’s not good for our state either.”
“If I were Tim Michels, I’d say I was confused because I spend a lot of time in Connecticut, and New York and I’m not around very often,” said Nicholson. “Maybe I would say that there’s two ways to buy candidates: During the election cycle when you throw money into their campaigns so you own them, or you can pre-fund candidates to the tune of $1.6 billion of government contracts that flow from the State of Wisconsin into Tim Michels’ pockets.”
Candidates also took shots during separate comments, without Michels there for an opportunity at rebuttal.
“The bottom line is that I’m really concerned about this campaign devolving into a series of stupid TV ads and uninformed endorsements. And at a moment when you’re really worried about the future of your society, having an absentee candidate that is sponsoring a lot of that is really worrisome,” Nicholson said.
Shortly after the debate started, Michels tweeted, “Some candidates think the path to victory is to tear other Republicans apart and divide the party. I’m a builder. I’m building a strong collation of voters from all across the state to beat Tony Evers, and that’s what I’m focused on.”
Some candidates think the path to victory is to tear other Republicans apart and divide the party. I’m a builder. I’m building a strong collation of voters from all across the state to beat Tony Evers, and that’s what I’m focused on. #LetsGetToWork pic.twitter.com/EznHu3FLL2
— Tim Michels (@michelsforgov) June 28, 2022
So after two hours of debate and discussion on a variety of issues facing the state, where did the voters in attendance stand?
“Rebecca obviously has that polished politician feel, Nicholson I thought was very eloquent and he brings a business acumen. I thought those two were probably at at the top. Representative Ramthun is a fantastic guy, I appreciate what he brings to the table, but I just think it’s probably between Kleefisch and Nicholson for who can take it to Evers,” Anderson said. “It was a great educational experience. Each candidate made a compelling point and I’m ultimately going to do more research to further inform myself as a voter, but it was it was a great night to learn more…I don’t know that I was surprised really by anything. They aligned with the platforms they’ve announced, targeted their opposition to the current governor, and we know that all three of them are vastly different than that.”
“Out of the three candidates that were up there, I think our state would do very well with every one of them,” Kubiak reflected. “We need to have a person that we can bring to the office, to beat Evers and take our state to where it should be. I think any one of these candidates could do it…We have to have an open mind on any one of the candidates. I think it’s too early to say which is the right one.”
“These people that we have up there are going to perhaps wake up the American people,” said John. “I feel that there’s an individual that I can really get behind. Not that the other two up there aren’t worthy of the governorship, but I think that one maybe could do a little better.”
The primary is on August 9th. Whoever wins will face Democratic Governor Tony Evers in November.
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