Tim Ramthun, who represented the Sheboygan area in the Wisconsin Assembly, wasn’t really thinking about leaving his seat to run for governor this year until practically everybody he bumped into urged him to join the race.
“I could stay where I am right now, as an Assembly representative, for as long as I want. I wouldn’t have to spend a dime to get reelected,” the 64-year-old Republican said.
But the more he has emerged as a strong voice in calling for the wholesale cleanup of state elections and demanding that Wisconsin’s 2020 election of President Joe Biden be decertified, the more people told him to run.
“Everywhere I went in the state to speak about election integrity and other issues, they said, ‘You got to run, you got to run,'” he said in an interview. “They were a big catalyst for the process to actually throw into the race. It was driven by the people.”
A month since he announced his bid with the support of Trump ally and MyPillow boss Mike Lindell, Ramthun said that he has seen more support for his campaign despite facing former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch in the August primary to challenge Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the fall.
Wisconsin and Pennsylvania can save this nation if we just count, audit, reference, and document the votes. pic.twitter.com/ZPv9yGkDzT
— Ramthun for WI Governor (@Ramthun4WI) March 1, 2022
While he’s been dubbed an election truther by critics, questioning the 2020 balloting is not a bad thing in Wisconsin, which saw several controversies play out two years ago, including dark-money funding by Facebook owner Mark Zuckerberg, the questionable use of ballot drop boxes, and unusual 100% voting in nursing homes.
Just this month, former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman issued a report condemning the election process, echoing much of what Ramthun has been saying for a year. His arguments have already won praise from former President Donald Trump.
Ramthun said he is not trying to relitigate the 2020 election, but rather, he is trying to fix election fraud and change improper procedures that have been needed for years, if not decades.
“It’s getting progressively worse, and that’s actually the point,” he said. “It’s become a learned behavior. They don’t even know what the laws are anymore,” Ramthun said of politicians and election officials.
While election reform is his top concern, Ramthun said he is not a “one-trick pony,” listing several other areas that drive his campaign, including going to bat for parents in classrooms and fighting for the unborn and against COVID-19 mandates.
A businessman like many other Midwestern elected officials, Ramthun said he isn’t wowed or intimidated by lifelong politicians. “I don’t see anything prestigious about being a legislator. I don’t see anything prestigious about being governor. They are servants. They work for the people,” he said in a telephone call between campaign stops.
That view, and a belief that he has been “called” to run for office, has helped to keep his spirits high on the trail and his attention focused on the all-or-nothing bid.
“If I win the gubernatorial race, the state will win. If I don’t win the gubernatorial race, I get to stay home and play with my cat,” he said upon arriving in Madison, Wisconsin, for his next campaign event of the day.
