In the race to replace Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Leah Vukmir now has the endorsement of the state GOP, the dean of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, and the speaker of the House of Representatives. With less than two months before the Aug. 14 primary, Wisconsin’s Republican power brokers have lined up behind her bid.
Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner and House Speaker Paul Ryan endorsed the state senator in a joint op-ed published in RightWisconsin on Monday morning. “Leah is a longtime friend of ours and she has been a conservative partner among grassroots Republicans for years,” the congressmen wrote. “She has proven that in the face of opposition, she will never waver and will work relentlessly for the causes that she believes in.”
Vukmir easily won the endorsement of the Wisconsin Republican Party at their annual convention in May. But a Marquette Law School poll released last week found her opponent, Kevin Nicholson, ahead among likely GOP primary voters by 37 to 32 percent, though 30 percent were undecided, and the margin of error was 6.9 percentage points.
The same poll found Ryan’s favorability among Republicans to be at 73 percent, with only 16 percent unfavorable, so the retiring speaker’s endorsement should carry weight with the right people. About the same percentage of Wisconsin Republicans are unfavorable towards Trump, at 14 percent, with 83 percent favorable. Ryan is far less polarizing to Republicans in his home state than nationally, so his endorsement won’t risk hurting more than helping Vukmir.
Nicholson, a Marine veteran and business consultant, has his own big endorsements to tout, including from Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Mike Lee, R-Utah, and national security adviser John Bolton. He’s also raised much more money — $2.3 million to Vukmir’s $1.2, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Nicholson, who has the backing of GOP mega-donor Richard Uihlein, has cast himself as an outsider and Vukmir as an establishment politician. Vukmir, also endorsed by Reince Priebus, has played up her ties to Gov. Scott Walker (who’s remained neutral, though his wife endorsed Vukmir and his son works on her campaign), and styled herself as a grassroots champion. Both points were echoed by Ryan and Sensenbrenner on Monday.
Vukmir’s strategy also includes casting doubt on how Nicholson would vote in the Senate, emphasizing her tested record of conservative votes in the state legislature. Nicholson served previously as the head of the College Democrats of America, but has a compelling conversion story to conservatism that probably resonates with many voters in a purple state like Wisconsin.
Nevertheless, Ryan’s stamp of approval will be helpful, especially in the populous and conservative southeastern counties where he’s been a big presence for two decades. “I am so humbled to have the endorsement of Speaker Ryan and Congressman Sensenbrenner,” Vukmir said in a statement. “With their leadership, so many important conservative reforms pass the House. Unfortunately, they stall in the Senate because of Tammy Baldwin’s partisan obstruction. Wisconsinites can trust me to go to Washington and cut taxes, defend the unborn and protect our Constitution because that’s what I’ve done here with Scott Walker.”
Wisconsin Republicans worry the tight race will be a repeat of the 2012 primary, leaving their eventual nominee too bruised to defeat Baldwin in November.
