A Wisconsin lawmaker pushing to reverse President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory in the state is gearing up for a gubernatorial campaign.
Republican state Rep. Timothy Ramthun, fresh off of introducing a resolution to recall Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes for Biden, filed paperwork Thursday with the state to run for governor and appears to be setting his focus on election security.
“I’m a servant of, by, and for the people who believes in truth, transparency, and integrity,” said a message attributed to Ramthun on a campaign website that has since been taken down, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “I will call for an independent full forensic physical cyber audit for the November 2022 election, beginning with my race regardless of its outcome.”
The Washington Examiner emailed Ramthun for comment on his plans. His entry would pit him against former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and U.S. Marine veteran Kevin Nicholson in the GOP primary.
Ramthun is expected to appear at a rally in Kewaskum on Saturday with MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, a 2020 election skeptic who says he has endorsed the legislator in his gubernatorial bid. “He’s going to win — 100%. It’s not even going to be close,” Lindell told the news outlet. “We’re going to get rid of the (voting) machines. In Wisconsin, and nationwide, we’re going county by county. And when you do that, now you’re going to have elections that people get one person one vote.”
Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, is running for reelection this year and has made preserving democracy central to his pitch. “We are that close to not having our vote count in the state of Wisconsin,” he said at a recent event, according to the Associated Press.
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Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by nearly 21,000 votes in Wisconsin, a result that has been upheld by recounts and court rulings that have rejected assertions of widespread fraud. However, such setbacks in Wisconsin and other battleground states for the Trump faithful haven’t stopped them from trying to undo the results. In Arizona, for example, state Rep. Mark Finchem, who is running for secretary of state, introduced a resolution to decertify the 2020 election results in three counties.
Rep. Timothy Ramthun has filed paperwork for his campaign for governor: pic.twitter.com/ZIQCUVapNC
— Molly Beck (@MollyBeck) February 10, 2022
Last week, Ramthun introduced a resolution that called for “reclaiming the electoral ballots for President and Vice President that were certified under fraudulent intent.” Under General Assembly rules, it had to be referred to committee, where it was swiftly rejected.
“Rep Ramthun just attempted to pass an Assembly resolution to recall WI’s presidential electors. Not only is it illegal, it’s just plain unconstitutional,” Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke said in a tweet. “As chair of the Rules Committee, there is ZERO chance I will advance this illegal resolution. #EndofStory.”
The resolution also cites specific irregularities and makes demands for Wisconsin election reform, including legislation with the intent to “clean up the WisVote database and create separate servers for active and inactive voters” and Legislature support for a “full forensic physical and cyber audit of the 2020 general election,” among other changes.
Ramthun previously introduced a resolution to decertify the 2020 election results in November, a move that failed but received praise from Trump. “Great job, Rep. Ramthun! Even the Democrats and RINOs cannot object to all the evidence that has been exposed!” the former president said in a statement shared by his Save America PAC.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos stripped Ramthun of his lone legislative staff member last week, saying Ramthun spread election “lies,” according to WisPolitics. Ramthun denied the assertion that he accused Republican leadership, specifically Vos, of signing a deal with attorneys for Hillary Clinton to authorize ballot drop boxes.
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“Upon review of all written and posted communications by my office, including those most recent in an email of election evidence sent to the Legislature, there is no indication of me or my office making such a statement. If your claim is your justification for reassigning my staff, and it is not true, he should be dutifully returned,” Ramthun said in a statement.
Vos hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to conduct an investigation into the 2020 election, which is ongoing. The Legislative Audit Bureau also conducted a review of the contest, and in October made dozens of recommendations for improving the voting process, but said it did not find evidence of widespread fraud.
