Top Wisconsin Republicans mixed on accepting 2024 election results

Top Wisconsin Republicans are mixed on committing to accepting the November election results.

Johnson, R-Oshkosh, gave a wait-and-see response when asked whether he'd accept election results in the fall.

"We have to see exactly what happens," the senator told the Cap Times on Saturday. "Yeah, that's an impossible hypothetical to answer. If there are all kinds of abuses, we might have to start questioning those abuses, might have to investigate them. I certainly want to (accept the results)."

Hovde, who is running for U.S. Senate against Baldwin, said he would accept the results and said "everyone should" when asked if he would urge Trump to do likewise.

He pointed to Hillary Clinton's response to the 2016 election, where Clinton blamed her campaign loss on Russian interference in the election, although she never claimed the ballots were improperly counted.

"Let's try to get everybody in agreement, let's clean up our voting system, our voting rolls as much as possible so we can move forward and have confidence in the election," Hovde told WISN 12 earlier this week.

Brian Schimming, chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, told reporters that he is pleased with the party's efforts on election integrity, including recruiting poll workers to work and observe the election administration process.

"We fully expect to be in a situation where we're going to accept the election results," Schimming said.

A close race could require a recount, he said, and added that the party would respond accordingly.

"I expect and want to accept the results because that's the best for everyone," he said. "But, you know, if it's an eight hundred-vote race or something, we'll have another discussion."

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, told the Cap Times he's concerned about the "rules of the road" changing midway through the election cycle, a reference to court rulings that have altered election laws in recent years.

U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, said he's concerned about the "rules of the road" changing in the middle of the 2024 election cycle.

Asked if he would accept the November results, he said only that "I think we've got a great opportunity to make sure that we're increasing election integrity here in the state of Wisconsin and have a great opportunity for solid elections."

During their annual convention, top officials urged the party to come together to boost Trump, Hovde and conservatives up and down the ballot in November. 

"A house divided cannot stand," Johnson said in a speech. "And if we're going to win we must unify."

Trump has backed a smattering of Wisconsin candidates, including Hovde in the U.S. Senate race and gas station chain owner Tony Wied in the race for the Green Bay-area 8th Congressional District.

But down-ballot candidates will have a choice to make in how deeply they embrace Trump's rhetoric, said Brandon Scholz, a retired Wisconsin Republican strategist.

"If you're a state legislator or congressional candidate or even a (U.S.) Senate candidate, you have to take that into account the degree of how much it'll be helpful," Scholz said. "And if it's helpful, then certainly you don't diss the party's candidate. But whether or not you drink the whole glass of Kool Aid is another story."

GOP urges voters to use mail ballots, drop boxes

Meanwhile, concerns about mail-in ballots have continued among many state Republicans. The use of mailed or drop-box delivered ballots during the 2020 election fueled frustration with state election officials and was prominently used by Trump to further conspiracy theories about the outcome.

The refusal of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, to remove Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe has prompted a push to oust the speaker. Delegates at the state convention Saturday approved a resolution calling for Wolfe's impeachment.

Conservatives say election integrity questions remain a key issue. A January Marquette University Law School poll found that 59% of Republicans surveyed were not too confident or not at all confident in the 2020 election results.

"There's a lot of concern in Sheboygan County, and I would assume that's shared around the state," said Russ Otten, chair of the Republican Party of Sheboygan County.

Increasingly, state Republicans have encouraged voters to get their ballot in early, either returning their absentee ballot via the mail or taking advantage of the advanced in-person option.

Republican Party of Wisconsin chair Brian Schimming said he expects to accept the November election results and said Republicans should use all voting tools available.

"If we want to win as Republicans and conservatives, we need to use every legal tool in the toolbox to get the job done," Steil said during the convention. "That is going to involve people going out early, banking their vote and driving up turnout in the state of Wisconsin."

In the past, Trump has slammed early voting as a vehicle for fraud, despite no evidence this happened. He encouraged voters to cast their ballot on Election Day instead.

But in a social media post in April, Trump suggested he is softening his stance, suggesting both absentee and in-person voting "are good options."

Meanwhile, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has indicated that it might reverse a 2022 high court ruling that banned unstaffed ballot drop boxes in the state. Republicans have largely argued the tool is not allowed in state statute and shouldn't be allowed.

The ultimate ruling from the court's liberal majority could come in the run-up to the August partisan primary.

Schimming said the party will examine what the court ultimately decides but that he wants Republican voters to be "realistic" and the party will do "what it takes to win."

"All I can tell you as state chairman is we're not going to leave any potential advantage that we might have on the table," Schimming said. "Period."