Tony Kurtz, a GOP Assemblyman from rural Juneau County who voted for Trump last year, stated that he thinks it has been going on so long that people have grown tired of it.Trump has been waging a campaign against Republicans for more than seven years since his election loss. He revived the effort with a rally in Ohio Saturday to fight against Rep. Anthony Gonzalez who voted to impeach him earlier in the year. The Republican base has responded enthusiastically in most cases. The lack of interest by the rank-and file at the convention center attached to a park suggested that Trump's sham-mouthed political acts were beginning to wear off.Even Sen. Ron Johnson - a Trump ally and unfailing ally - sided with Trump's criticisms of Johnsons home state lawmakers. Trump dismissed his suggestion that they could be primaried.Johnson stated that Johnson doesn't think it is a significant threat and described Vos and his coworkers as doing a great job.Trump is still wildly popular in Wisconsin, just as in other states. The belief in Trump's false claim of rigging the election is widespread. This belief underpins a number of election-related legislation that Republican legislators in Wisconsin passed this month. When organizers played a recorded message, Trump claimed that he had carried the state in November. At the state convention activists cheered for Trump. A panel was held on election law reforms. The state party homepage prominently displays an election integrity dashboard. Delegates carried bags with the message "Defend secure elections."Brian Jennings is the chair of the GOP of Florence County. This is a small, but populated, Trump stronghold in northern Wisconsin.However, unlike states like Arizona and Georgia, there was not widespread interest in purging states Assembly speakers to make it a departure of Trump's dominion over Republican Partys apparatus in the States.Helmut Fritz, a Milwaukee delegate who serves on the state party's credential committee, stated that Wisconsin is for you. Trump is not a dictator.Voss's avoidance from punishment is partly due to shrewd political maneuvering. Although he has disappointed Republicans who want Wisconsin's Arizona-style review, Vos is not a Trump critic or defender of the integrity of the November election in the mold Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Utah Senator Mitt Romney. Three retired police officers were hired by him to investigate possible irregularities or illegalities in the November election. He also announced at the convention that Michael Gableman (a conservative ex-justice of the state Supreme Court) will be overseeing the effort.Trump stated at his Ohio rally that he heard that Wisconsin was looking into the election. A source close to the matter said that the arrangement had been in place for several weeks.For the purposes of the Wisconsin state convention he had almost invited the attendees to join in a pile-on. Trump sought to incite grassroots outrage by accusing Vos, LeMahieu, and state Senator Chris Kapenga, of trying to stir grassroots outrage. He claimed that they worked hard to cover election corruption while actively trying to stop a Forensic Audit.Trump wrote, Don't believe their lies. These REPUBLICAN leaders must support those who elected them and provide a thorough forensic investigation. I am certain that if they don't, they will be primaried quickly and thrown out of office.A Trump advisor said that Trump is still determined to conduct audits. He will continue to press Republicans for the courage to do so.As President Donald Trump arrives at a rally, he gestures to the audience. Carolyn Kaster/AP PhotoTrump's rants against Republicans who are not loyal enough to him in the past year have been met enthusiastically by activists in other states. At their May state convention, Utah Republicans heckled Romney (an outspoken Trump critic). Georgia Republicans booed Kemp. His party censured Doug Ducey as Arizona's GOP governor for not being loyal to Trump.It was quite different at the Wisconsin convention. One delegate deleted Trump's text from his phone and said that he wished Trump would stop talking. Another delegate stated that he had not even read the message.David Blaska, an ex-supervisor from Dane County who was a speechwriter for the former GOP governor, is now a public figure. Tommy Thompson said that many people believe the election was stolen, but the fact that they were not mocking Vos was a positive sign.Blaska stood at the back of convention hall and said that the party was hopefully moving forward.Vos stated that he was not surprised by the reception. He cited his relationship with activists from before Act 10, which was the controversial legislation passed by then-Gov. Scott Walker, in 2011, limited collective bargaining rights for public employees. He said that Trump was not well-informed.In a sign that Trump's supremacy is not absolute, Vos aligned himself with Paul Ryan, former House Speaker, Wisconsin Republican, who said last month, "If the conservative cause depends upon the populist appeals of one personality or second-rate imitations," and that he was not going anywhere.Vos spoke briefly to the convention floor about what President Trump stands for: lower taxes and more freedom. Paul Ryan said that the movement should not be about one person.Vos stated that Trump did many good things. But so could [Florida Gov.] Ron DeSantis, Marco Rubio, or any other Florida Sen. could be the candidates. They could all do great things.Wisconsin's state party history is a significant distinction. It is deeper rooted than many others. Ten years ago, Wisconsin was the Republican Party's most prominent light. Ryan was the ascendant. He would soon become the GOPs vice president nominee in 2012 and then House Speaker. Walker was about to begin his first term in office as governor. He waged a war against unions, which would be a model for all conservatives. Reince Priebus was the former GOP chair of the states and ran the national party.The state party is now in decline. The Republicans lost the governorship in 2018 after a resounding victory over Hillary Clinton in 2016. Two years later, the state was flipped to Joe Biden. Johnson, the top-ranked Republican in the state, has yet to announce whether he will run for reelection. (On Saturday, Johnson told reporters that he would not make a decision until a bit later.Walker stated that it is still a popular place where people look. It's usually because of past events.A comeback for Wisconsin's GOP could still be within a year. Trump lost Wisconsin by less than 21,000 votes in 2020. The state legislature is still controlled by Republicans, so the party stands a chance to unseat Tony Evers, Democratic governor next year.Walker stated that Wisconsin will return to being a focal point in the nation because of one of the most competitive governoral elections and, perhaps more importantly, a Senate race that could determine who holds the Senate the next several years.He stated that the party has a huge opportunity to not be married to one person, and I agree with him.His record on politics was however mixed. The glaring example of Trump's problems in the suburbs was Wisconsin in November. Trump had a high turnout in rural areas, but he struggled in the metros. Convention-goers frequently mentioned that Trump's district districts had five more Republican-held House seats than the five held by Republicans.Convention delegates and strategists in a swing state have repeatedly stressed the need to unite and avoid alienating large numbers of voters. A Republican strategist at Wisconsin's convention said that other states aren't used to a decade worth of battles in which every yard counts and where internal disagreements can cost the party an electoral victory.Jennie Frederick, president of Wisconsin Federation of Republican Women, stated that the Wisconsin Federation of Republican Women has been witness to much of what is happening nationally for a long time. It's not us, I feel.
