The Republican primary in the race for Wisconsin governor this year has entered an even more uncertain phase, thanks to a weekend announcement.
State Rep. Timothy Ramthun confirmed rumors that he's entering the governor's race. The Republican from Campbellsport, 50 miles northwest of Milwaukee, kicked off his campaign Saturday at Kewaskum High School.
READ: Wisconsin election conspiracy theorist running for governor
Ramthun said God wants him to run."I have to try. He asked me to, so I will. This is an historic and unprecedented time like never before. And, I'm ready. Send me!," he exclaimed.
Ramthun and other speakers quoted the Bible several times during the three-and-a-half-hour event. Another unifying theme was Ramthun's contention that President Joe Biden didn't carry Wisconsin in the November 2020 election and that the state's already-cast electoral votes should go to former President Donald Trump. A Trump-backed recount confirmed Biden won here, and court rulings have blocked other challenges to that result.
Republican legislative leaders are also stifling Ramthun's so-called decertify movement. So, the lawmaker is partly running against the GOP establishment.
J.R. Ross, editor of WisPolitics.com, says a problem for Ramthun is that there are already two major candidates in the Republican gubernatorial primary, Kevin Nicholson and Rebecca Kleefisch.
"Rebecca Kleefisch has basically been running for governor since she lost her election bid for lieutenant governor in 2018. I mean, obviously, she hasn't formally been running, but she's been basically doing the groundwork for it. Kevin Nicholson — he had a conservative group, No Better Friend. He was out there doing events for quite some time before announcing his bid for governor. The question is how does Ramthun go out building his own campaign? Can he get something together that is significant enough that he's going to be a real force in this race?" Ross tells WUWM.
Ross says assuming Ramthun can't win the GOP nomination, one thought in political circles is that the lawmaker's status as a party outsider will hurt Nicholson's campaign.
"Because Nicholson's running an outsider approach to his campaign, right? Rebecca Kleefisch has been well known to party insiders for years. She's worked that crowd, gone to conventions. She held statewide office for years, she is kind of a party insider, right?" he says.
But Ross says another line of thinking is that Kleefisch will have to eventually respond to conservatives' claims that the 2020 election in Wisconsin was stolen from Trump.
"Kleefisch will have to have a good answer to these questions when she is asked about it because if Kleefisch wins the nomination, and Ramthun supporters are unhappy, are they going to be like, 'My guy didn't win but Kleefisch has earned my vote. Or, her answer wasn't adequate, I'm not turning out for her.' I really don't know," he says.
Ross says one thing to watch is whether Trump endorses Ramthun.
On Saturday, former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn called in by phone to endorse Ramthun, and prominent Trump supporter pillow company executive Mike Lindell was in Kewaskum to offer this prediction about the legislator.
"I'll just put it right out there that I'm endorsing. He'll be the best governor your country, your state ever had in history!" Lindell exclaimed to cheers from the audience of more than 200.
The winner of the Aug. 9 GOP primary will take on Gov. Tony Evers in the November election for governor.
