Kevin Nicholson drops out of GOP governor race; Barnes' comments draw fire from Republicans

Kevin Nicholson drops out of GOP governor race

There was a big move in the Republican race for governor Tuesday.

Delafield business consultant Kevin Nicholson dropped out, essentially turning the contest into a two-person race between Hartland businessman Tim Michels and former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch.

The bottom line: Nicholson said he didn't want to go negative to catch up in the contest.

He won't endorse in the primary but promises to work to elect Republicans up and down the ballot in the general election as the party tries to topple Gov. Tony Evers.

In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Nicholson reflected on the decision that he said he reached with his wife, Jessie, over the Fourth of July weekend.

Not only was Nicholson facing the prospect of having to go negative to climb back in the race, but he also was up against the large spending by Michels.

Nicholson said he and Michels have similar messages.

"It's very hard to fight through that," Nicholson said. "I think my wife and I are very pragmatic. Our goal is not to burn people down. My goal is not to damage people or movements."

You can read the article here.

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Barnes' comments on country's founding draw fire from Republicans

A video clip of nearly year-old comments from Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes on the teaching of slavery and the founding of the country brought a sharp reaction from Republicans and silence from Barnes' rivals in the Democratic U.S. Senate race.

"Imagine being so ashamed of how we got to this place in America that you outlaw teaching it," Barnes said in an apparent reference to slavery.

"You know, and things were bad," Barnes said in a video clip of an Aug. 19 event in Portage that was posted on Twitter by conservative talk-radio host Dan O'Donnell of WISN (AM-1130).

"Things were terrible," Barnes said. "The founding of this nation? Awful. You know, but we are here now and we should commit ourselves to doing everything we can do to repair the harm because it still exists today.

"The harm, the damage, whether it was colonization or whether it was slavery. The impacts are felt today and they're going to continue to be felt unless we address it in a meaningful way."

The Barnes campaign defended the remarks, as spokeswoman Maddy McDaniel said: “Painting the Lt. Governor’s comment as anything other than a condemnation of slavery is a sad GOP attempt to distract from Ron Johnson trying to literally overthrow the government of this country and strip reproductive rights from millions of Americans."

Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch called on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers to repudiate Barnes' comments, while a state GOP spokesman was also critical of Barnes.

You can read the article here.

Gableman investigation recap

Molly Beck looks back at former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman's partisan review of the 2020 election.

The Gableman probe has been around for a year, spent $1 million and hasn't produced much.

The key quotes: "I view it as an incompetent circus from someone who doesn't know what he's doing. But I think it's had real effects," said Barry Burden, director of University of Wisconsin-Madison's Elections Research Center.

"His investigation has been hindered and it is certainly not finished and so the questions remain," said Bob Spindell, a Republican commissioner on the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Spindell views the review as obstructed by litigation brought by Democratic officials seeking to stop Gableman's subpoenas, and is needed to restore voter confidence.

And, in case he hasn't gotten the message, a third Dane County judge ordered Gableman to stop deleting records related to 2020 election review.

Air America

Washington correspondent Lawrence Andrea has a good one, the tale of those who served the CIA’s covert airline during the Vietnam War and their fight to get federal benefits.

Andrea writes: Air America was "a covert cargo airline that operated under the guise of a private company for the U.S. government and at the direction of the CIA from about 1950 to 1976.

"And while the CIA in 2001 formally acknowledged Air America and its partner companies’ service to the country during the Cold War and in Vietnam, those who worked for the companies are not recognized veterans and do not receive civil service benefits.

"Now, however, a bill pushed in part by U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman that recently passed the Senate could change that. The Air America Act would retroactively provide Air America employees, as well as the widows and children of deceased employees, with civil service retirement compensation through the U.S. Office of Personnel Management."

RNC draft agreement withdrawn from Nashville Council

Milwaukee and Nashville are going down to the wire in the battle to claim the 2024 Republican National Convention.

While Milwaukee already approved what's known as a framework agreement to host the big political event, the process became stalled in Nashville, where key legislation was pulled before a first vote Tuesday.

Adam Friedman and Cassandra Stephenson of the Nashville Tennessean report Nashville's host committee asked for the withdrawal to allow time "to address multiple concerns and objections" expressed by council members.

The committee hopes the bill will be re-filed for the council's next meeting on July 19.

"It is our optimistic view that Nashville is the ideal American city to host one or both of our nation's nominating conventions and to demonstrate to the world its ability to host civil and respectful public discourse on issues vital to the future of our country," the local host committee stated.

The Republican National Committee is expected to award the convention to one of the two finalists this summer.

Around the horn

Jeff Plale, a former Democratic state legislator who went on to serve in a Republican administration, dies at age 54.

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson is cleared of wrongdoing for using tax dollars for flights from his Florida family home.

Tweet of the week

Kevin Fishbain, Chicago Bears beat writer for The Athletic, tweeted: "I took my son to the Highland Park Fourth of July parade. We’re safe. We’re the lucky ones. We went with my dad and my sister. It’s my hometown. It was my son’s first parade. He’s almost 2 and loves cars and trucks. He was taking it all in, then we heard the shots."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kevin Nicholson drops out of GOP governor race