A conservative group’s effort to recall the top Republican in the Wisconsin Legislature brought in a high-profile supporter of former President Donald Trump on Sunday. The aim is to publicize their ambitious signature-gathering effort.
The attempt to recall Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has just about five weeks left to collect a total of at least 6,800 signatures to trigger an election involving the Racine County state lawmaker.
Political analysts call the effort a long shot. But don’t try telling Mike Lindell that. The Trump friend and pillow company executive told a couple hundred people at a rally in Sturtevant, WI that Vos is blocking fair elections in Wisconsin, and Lindell says that matters for November.
“He is blocking your state. He is blocking the country. This could have been opened up long ago. You get rid of him, and you’re going to be well on the way to fix your election platform and secure your election. And then what’s the end here? We get our great real President Donald Trump back, huh?” Lindell says.
Specifically, Lindell is upset that Vos halted the investigation by former State Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman into the 2020 Wisconsin presidential race results after Vos hired Gableman to begin with. Also, Vos is blocking an Assembly effort to try to impeach Wisconsin's top elections official, Meagan Wolfe, for her handling of the 2020 contest.
Numerous recounts and court rulings have debunked Trump and Lindell’s false claims that there was widespread fraud four years ago and that Trump carried Wisconsin. Democrat Joe Biden won the state by about 20,000 votes.
But at Sunday’s rally, a woman from Union Grove who would only give her name as "Sue," says she’s already signed a petition to recall Vos. “I’ve had enough of the man. I’ve had enough.”
Bill Lichter says the Assembly Speaker has mishandled election oversight. So, Lichter, a Trump supporter, says he’s been collecting signatures to recall Vos.
“It’s hard. I’ve done signatures before, but it’s hard. I live outside the district. So, you’re getting one at a time. Like, say, ‘My mom lives in a condo, which is in the district, go see her.’ She gives me some neighbors, blah, blah blah," Lichter says.
On Saturday, Vos sent WUWM the following statement:
"Just like when Democrats used these tactics a decade ago, recall elections are an extra expense to our local municipalities and should only be employed for the most extreme circumstances, not to settle political scores. The rally in Sturtevant is put on by out-of-state grifters from Minnesota, Texas and Arkansas leading an effort to remove me because they can't accept the results of the 2020 election. Harry Wait, charged with stealing my ballot in 2022, has openly said he is working with Democrats to remove me. I'm confident the voters of Racine County agree and will reject their efforts."
Will the recall effort collect enough signatures? Retired Army intelligence officer Conrad Reynolds, an Arkansas resident directing the recall, won’t say how many people have signed.
“Oh Lord no. I’m not going to tell anybody how many we got. You’ll know on March 11," Reynolds says, emphasizing his background in military intelligence.
But Lindell, the pillow executive from Minnesota, is predicting success. “Trust me on that. You can take that to the bank, hah-hah," he laughs.
The recall effort comes as Vos and other Republicans are also trying to fight Democrats and the State Supreme Court over legislative redistricting.
