Transcript coming quickly.
“We all know what occurred in 2020,” mentioned state Rep. Janel Brandtjen, a Republican from Menomonee Falls.
“Highly effective and wealthy forces are aligned in opposition to me,” mentioned Michael Gableman, a former state Supreme Court docket Justice.
“Was it rigged? Was it mounted? I’ll cease it!” mentioned Tim Michels, the 2022 Republican nominee for governor.
Republicans in Wisconsin have been amplifying Donald Trump’s debunked election conspiracy theories for practically two years.
Rachel Rodriguez has heard all of them.
“There may be completely no glamor in elections,” mentioned Rodriguez, an elections specialist within the Dane County Clerk’s Workplace.
“Each time you assume you might have put one conspiracy principle to mattress, it looks as if one other totally different one simply pops up instead.”
She is aware of each step of the method, so when Republicans within the Legislature began holding invitation-only hearings to offer an official platform to election conspiracy theorists, she adopted them carefully.
“It was readily obvious that inside minutes that the consultants that they have been trotting out had completely no experience in precise elections,” mentioned Rodriguez.
She began fact-checking the hearings over Twitter.
Quickly, Rodriguez was being retweeted by the chair of the Wisconsin Elections Fee, and gained an viewers on the lookout for the reality.
“I feel folks have been actually on the lookout for that different aspect of it — the precise skilled aspect — as a result of that wasn’t occurring on the hearings,” she mentioned.
Republicans employed the previous state Supreme Court docket Justice Michael Gableman to guide an investigation on the 2020 election, however what he produced was open information violations, a contempt of courtroom order and a million-dollar invoice for taxpayers.
Gableman was fired after endorsing the first opponent of Meeting Speaker Robin Vos, the person who employed him.
“Mike Gableman is a humiliation to the state,” mentioned Vos.
Rodriguez mentioned the cumulative impact was the reality round election conspiracies began to appear like partisan politics.
“The place the issue is true now’s that when you might have one occasion — and it’s one occasion who’s driving all of this misinformation and all the conspiracies and all the doubt — once you take the aspect of precise information and reality, which is reverse to that, it’ll appear like it is one occasion over the opposite,” she mentioned.
“I’ll eliminate the Wisconsin Elections Fee,” declared Michels at an Aug. 5 rally in Waukesha the place he appeared with the previous president.
Michels is the Republican candidate for governor, and whereas he would not outright say the 2020 election was stolen, he does marketing campaign with people who do. Michels even saluted Republican state Rep. Tim Ramthun, a full-on election conspiracist who needed to by some means “reclaim” Wisconsin’s 2020 electoral votes.
“I see my buddy out right here, ran a spirited major — Tim Ramthun was very large on election integrity as nicely,” Michels mentioned at a Sept. 18 rally in Inexperienced Bay with Florida’s Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis .
At one occasion, Michels informed a supporter so as to win, he needed to overcome a dishonest proportion.
“What is the dishonest proportion? It is most likely some extent or two. I feel we will come out forward,” mentioned Michels on the Rooster Burn, an annual conservative gathering in Wauwatosa held on Aug. 28.
Tim Michels didn’t conform to an interview for this story.
“For folks to proceed harboring that ‘Massive Lie’ — that is not good for democracy. It isn’t good for democracy in any respect,” mentioned Wisconsin’s Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
Evers vetoed a sequence of Republican payments that may have modified how elections are run in Wisconsin.
“Senate Invoice 292: not permitted — there we go, of us,” mentioned Evers whereas delivering his veto message for SB 292 on Aug. 10.
MIchels has mentioned he would signal these payments, and Democrats concern as governor, Michels may overturn Wisconsin’s presidential electoral votes in 2024.
“If they’re in energy and Trump comes calling asking them to vary an election end result, we have seen that they are keen to do something to get Trump’s approval,” mentioned Ben Wikler, chair of the Democratic Get together of Wisconsin.
“This can be a very critical second within the historical past of our nation, and it is laborious to think about phrases that may be too robust to specific the stakes on this fall’s election,” added Wikler.
“You realize, once you take a look at it, election integrity has been an important subject for everyone to get some fodder each methods,” mentioned Paul Farrow, chair of the Republican Get together of Wisconsin.
“After I look again on the 2020 election, there are some challenges. We all know there are points which can be there that now we have to determine the best way to regulate and the way to ensure it would not occur once more,” added Farrow.
“How will you lead the state for those who’re afraid to inform the bottom of our occasion the reality? requested Rohn Bishop, former chair of the Republican Get together of Fond du Lac County.
Bishop is anxious the GOP’s obsession with 2020 will damage them in 2022.
“Republicans needs to be a tidal wave election. The one solution to screw it up is to maintain specializing in 2020. And we maintain doing that. We simply cannot flip the web page and concentrate on 2022,” he mentioned.
Bishop was attacked by his personal occasion members for declaring Trump misplaced in Wisconsin as a result of sufficient Republicans voted, however not for Trump.
“The election’s not stolen when Glenn Grothman’s getting extra votes than Donald Trump within the sixth Congressional District,” mentioned Bishop. “There was only a falloff. There have been individuals who needed to vote for Republican conservative ideas, however not Trump.”
Bishop mentioned when Michels campaigns with Gableman and Trump, he dangers alienating those self same voters.
“Coming into 2022, Tim Michaels has to determine the best way to get these 50,000 Republicans who voted Republican however not for Donald Trump,” mentioned Bishop.
Because the 2020 election, Bishop left occasion politics and in April 2022 was elected mayor of Waupun, a non-partisan workplace.
“I simply actually wish to concentrate on this job and provides all of it that I’ve,” mentioned Bishop.
He is nonetheless a Republican, however worries others may need left the occasion for good.
“Due to the hyper-partisan nature of it and the negativity, we’re busy making an attempt to at all times kick folks out. That is a time period that they use in our occasion of the RINO: Republican in Title Solely. I have been referred to as that by folks as a result of I did not assume the election was stolen. Nicely, for those who kick me out and I do not vote for you, you are in loads of bother,” mentioned Bishop.
So what affect will these conspiracy theories have on the 2022 election?
For one, there might be much more folks within the room when voters forged their ballots.
Paul Farrow mentioned in 2020, Republicans had about 1,300 election observers on the polls statewide.
“We’re nicely over 5,000 this time round,” he mentioned in regards to the occasion’s 2022 plans. “We have much more eyes which can be watching the method.”
Individuals like Christopher Bossert, a Republican from West Bend: “I had issues about election integrity. And the easiest way to resolve these issues in some way is to become involved. So I selected to volunteer for the Republican Get together as a ballot employee.”
Bossert mentioned he nonetheless has issues about voter fraud elsewhere in Wisconsin, however is now not nervous in regards to the Dominion voting machines utilized in his hometown, even when his neighbors aren’t satisfied.
“I’ve constituents who consider Dominion is an issue,” mentioned Bossert, “and though I’ve informed them from what I can see, Dominion’s not an issue, they nonetheless consider it.
