Leaders of the National Republican Congressional Committee think 2018 is the year in which they’ll knock off veteran Rep. Ron Kind, D-Wis.
Kind is the last Democratic member of Wisconsin’s delegation outside liberal strongholds like Madison, the state capital, and Milwaukee, the state’s largest city.
Republicans have had recent success in the state. Gov. Scott Walker has won two terms in a row and survived a recall, the GOP has gained seats in the legislature, and Sen. Ron Johnson won an upset victory in November. Trump also won the state, and national Republicans now think they have a shot at unseating Kind.
No Republican candidate has emerged yet, but it’s the first time the NRCC has singled Kind out since the 2010 cycle.
“Voters of WI-03 were heard loud and clear when they selected Donald Trump to be their President in November,” NRCC spokeswoman Maddie Anderson said. “The NRCC is working hard to recruit a strong challenger for Rep. Kind in 2018 so that WI-03 will have the chance to be represented by conservative leadership. Clearly, this is what they are looking for.”
Kind welcomes the test.
“I’m somebody who grew up in the area; I raised my family in the area; I’m very connected to it, so it’s more of a personal relationship rather than an ‘R’ or ‘D’ thing to most people back home,” the 10-term lawmaker told the Washington Examiner. “So if they’re going to do it, they’re going to have to spend a lot of money and make a lot of things up.”
The senior Ways and Means Committee member is one of 36 “out of touch” House Democrats the NRCC listed Wednesday as top offensive targets.
“Our strategy will allow us to be competitive in races throughout the country and achieve our overall goal of keeping Republicans in control of the House,” NRCC Chairman Steve Stivers, R-Ohio, stated.
Even before the NRCC made it official, the conservative American Action Network was running ads in Kind’s western Wisconsin district, hitting him over the Affordable Care Act.
“I’m going to continue doing my job,” Kind said. “I’m going to focus on being the best representative I can. I’ve always felt that if you do the job that people expect me to do, elections kind of take care of themselves.”
Editor’s note: A previous edition of this story said Gov. Scott Walker won three terms in a row.
