MADISON, Wis. — Across the country, the so-called “Red Wave” that former President Donald Trump hoped for did not happen, and the candidates he backed in Wisconsin did not fare well on Election Day either.
In the wake of the November midterms, some voters may wonder if Trump has caused more harm than good for the Republican party.
There is no doubt Trump still has a presence in the Badger State, but it is not necessarily one Republican legislative leaders want.
“Donald Trump did good things,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, explained during a WisPolitics event last week. “He brought new people into the party. He expanded the reach. He made people who didn't think they were Republican feel like somebody was fighting for them.”
Vos credited Trump for his latest reelection victory. However, it was for the opposite reason many people might think.
“I am convinced that if Donald Trump had not endorsed my primary opponent, I could have lost,” Vos said.
Vos, who has been on the receiving end of criticism from Trump for not decertifying the 2020 election results, easily defeated his challenger Adam Steen, who ran a write-in campaign for the general election. The primary race, however, was much closer.
“I got more votes in 2022 than I did in 2018, so, obviously, Donald Trump's reach is nowhere near as deep as he believes it is,” Vos said.
Tuesday morning on "The Jay Weber Show" on WISN-AM, Tim Michels spoke extensively for the first time since his defeat in the gubernatorial race. Michels said Trump told him five days before the election he did not need to visit the Wisconsin again because Michels was going to win. Instead, Michels lost by nearly three percentage points to incumbent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
“I talked to someone, a Ron Johnson-Tony Evers voter, and the only reason why [they voted for Evers over Michels] was because Trump endorsed Michels,” Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, said.
Republican leaders like LeMahieu said they still believe Trump can fire up rural Wisconsinites, but at the end of the day, it is a numbers game.
“Ron Johnson captured that Trump enthusiasm out there, but there are just simply more suburban voters in the WOW counties and the BOW counties," LeMahieu explained. "There is a percent of Republicans who are so turned off by Donald Trump."
When crunching the numbers, nearly 69,000 Wisconsinites who voted for Republican Sen. Ron Johnson did not vote for Tim Michels. They either voted for someone else, including Gov. Evers, or just did not vote in the gubernatorial race.