GOP candidate Tim Michels reasserts view on marriage as 'between a man and woman' as public opinion on same-sex unions shifts

MADISON – Republican governor candidate Tim Michels says he believes marriage should be between a man and a woman — a position he holds today that matches one he took two decades ago as a U.S. Senate candidate at a time when most Americans agreed.

But in 2022, support for gay marriage has grown to be nearly universal with 72% of Wisconsinites who support marriage for gay and lesbian couples, according to recent state polling.

Michels, a wealthy construction executive who entered the GOP primary for governor in April, lost a bid for the U.S. Senate in 2004. During that campaign, he called for amending the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage and said people should not have "gay values" imposed on them.

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In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Tuesday, Michels reiterated that position, saying he believes marriages belong to opposite-sex couples in response to whether he supports same-sex marriage or believes it should be banned.

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Wisconsin voters approved an amendment to the state constitution in 2006 that banned same-sex marriage. A federal judge overturned the ban in 2014 and the U.S. Supreme Court in a separate case a year later established a nationwide right to same-sex marriage.

Supporters of that ruling have become worried the high court could reverse itself on the issue after a draft opinion leaked this spring showing a majority was ready to overturn Roe v. Wade, the 1972 decision that found a constitutional right to abortion.

Polling conducted in April by Marquette University Law School showed just 19% of Wisconsinites surveyed opposed marriages for gay and lesbian couples while 8% said they didn't know.

Support in the state for same-sex marriage has ballooned from 55% in 2014 when gay couples in Wisconsin could first obtain marriage licenses to 72% in April.

Michels' opposition to same-sex marriage is a contrast between Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers and his top Republican primary opponents.

Evers said he supports gay marriage and was the first governor to raise the Pride flag over the state Capitol, signifying support for gay residents of the state.

Republican candidates for governor Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson balked at Evers' use of the flag but have not said they oppose gay marriage.

In Kleefisch's case, her current position reflects a change in position from comments she made when she first ran for lieutenant governor.

"At what point are we going to OK marrying inanimate objects?” Kleefisch said in a 2010 appearance on a Christian radio station. “Can I marry this table or this, you know, clock? Can we marry dogs? This is ridiculous. Biblically, again, I'm going to go right back to my fundamental Christian beliefs. Marriage is between one man and one woman."

She later apologized for using a "poor choice of words." She now considers the debate over same-sex marriage over, according to a campaign spokesman.

"Rebecca believes in the legalization of same-sex marriages and agrees with President (Donald) Trump that it's settled law no longer up for discussion," a campaign spokesman said earlier this month.

Nicholson also told the Journal Sentinel he did not want the courts to revisit the legality of same-sex marriage.

“The American people have made clear their view on this, that they believe that it should be legal,” he said.

Hannah Menschoff, a spokeswoman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, said Michels was "once again staking out the most radical position on gay marriage" like he did in his 2004 U.S. Senate run.

Barry Burden, a political science professor and director of the Elections Research Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said Michels' statement is "sufficiently ambiguous that it probably won't hurt him much in the general election."

"He is apparently not making clear what he thinks the law about marriage should be but is generally stating that he thinks it should only involve one man and one woman," Burden said.

In the Republican primary, showing opposition to same-sex marriage may help him, Burden said.

"In the general election abortion is likely to dominate among the social issues that will get attention," Burden predicted.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin governor candidate Tim Michels opposes same-sex marriage