Mark Belling of News Talk 1130 WISN reports that former President Donald Trump is set to endorse Tim Michels for Governor.
If true, this would be a major coup for the Michels for Governor campaign and a major blow to perceived frontrunner Rebecca Kleefisch who just had a solid showing at the Wisconsin Republican Convention.
Kleefisch won over 50% of the convention delegates votes (51.7% in the first round, 54.6% in the second round), but falling short of an endorsement which required attaining 60% of the delegate vote.
Wisconsin Right Now, a news website that focuses on conservative Wisconsin politics, also reported that, "A well-placed source tells Wisconsin Right Now that former President Donald Trump is expected to endorse Tim Michels for Wisconsin governor."
Wisconsin Right Now went on to say that a promised endorsement from Trump is not as good as gold:
He’s (Trump is) expected to call Michels today, June 2, 2022, with the news.
The source cautioned that Trump can be unpredictable and change his mind at the last second. But, as of 3 p.m. on June 2, that was the latest word – that the former president’s endorsement is expected to go to Michels.
The Trump political endorsement has had varying peaks and valleys across the country and over time.
According to the Axios Trump Endorsement Tracker, some Trump endorsed Republicans recently lost to their primary opponents:
Seven candidates endorsed by former President Trump were defeated in Republican primaries in the month of May alone, including four high-profile challengers in Georgia who were crushed by incumbents.
Why it matters: The string of losses has punctured perceptions of Trump's dominance over the GOP for the first time in years, raising questions about the competition he could face in a 2024 Republican presidential primary.
The big picture: An Axios analysis of Trump's 173 endorsements found his record — while still positive overall — is far weaker when candidates running unopposed or in non-competitive races are filtered out.
Eight of his candidates in competitive races have lost so far, while 19 have won.
Another 27 competitive races are still in progress, including several runoffs in Georgia and a Senate recount in Pennsylvania.
Michels and Kleefisch have been setting a similar Trump-style tone in much of their campaign messaging - especially on election reform, gun rights, and border control - in addition to using rhetoric that projects strong leadership.
Michels was a late entrant into the GOP Primary for Governor but has made waves early with aggressive ad buys and some strong polling results.
A Trump endorsement of Michels certainly wouldn’t do any favors for other Republican Primary candidates Kevin Nicholson and State Rep. Timothy Ramthun, however, both of them seem to be falling behind as Michels and Kleefisch seem to be the two leaders of the primary field.
As CBS 58 News recently reported, a Trump endorsement could be a "Game changer."
Sources tell CBS 58 Trump could endorse "soon" in Wisconsin's gubernatorial race as all four Republican candidates are trying to associate themselves with Trump to gain his support.
Rebecca Kleefisch, Tim Michels and State Rep. Tim Ramthun have all traveled to Mar-a-Lago asking for Trump's blessing. Kevin Nicholson is the only candidate in the race who has not met with the former president.
"If Donald Trump endorses one of these candidates in the next few weeks, it's a game changer," said Republican strategist Bill McCoshen.
CBS 58 News also reported that Kevin Nicholson is the only one of the four Republican candidates vying for the governorship who did NOT travel to Mar-A-Lago to meet with Trump.
Regardless of the actual impact of the Trump endorsement on the final vote of the August 9th Republican Primary, if given, the endorsement will be highly discussed for the remainder of the campaign.
Comments