What Went Down In Elections In Minnesota, Wisconsin, Vermont And Connecticut

Well, Sarah, Kleefisch is a former lieutenant governor and is deeply enmeshed in the Wisconsin GOP establishment, while Michels — who has never held office before — is more of an outsider. But interestingly, Kleefisch is actually the one with more dangerous views on democratic norms. She has called the 2020 election in Wisconsin “rigged,” while Michels has carefully avoided answering the question directly (though he has said he believes some fraud did take place). That’s not what you would expect, given that Trump snubbed Kleefisch in order to endorse Michels.

The Republican primary for Wisconsin governor has been interesting for a lot of reasons, but here’s a nugget (a similarity, though, not a difference!) that intrigued me — even though both Republican candidates are very hardline on abortion rights, both Kleefisch and Michels recently signaled that they’d be open to supporting paid family leave if they’re elected governor. Paid leave is typically an issue that Democrats push, not Republicans, but this is likely an effort to appeal to voters who may have been turned off by the party’s stance on abortion. They’re not the only Republicans to make this argument recently either. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem said that states need to better support new parents so they have the time and resources to care for their families. So maybe this is another area where traditional party policy stances could be scrambled a bit going forward. (Although to be clear I don’t think Democrats are going to stop supporting paid family leave!)

Oof. There’s still a lot of vote left to be counted in the governor’s primary, but it certainly seems as if the Trump-endorsed candidate could easily win in Wisconsin. What are some of the biggest differences between Kleefisch and Michels?