Kleefisch-Michels battle to the end; Mandela Barnes locks up U.S. Senate nomination

Kleefisch-Michels battle to the end

It's all still in play in Tuesday's Republican primary for governor.

Ex-Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and business executive Tim Michels are fighting for the nomination to take on Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in the fall. State Rep. Tim Ramthun is also in the race.

Corrinne Hess caught up recently with Kleefisch, who has been working the county fair circuit hard.

“Anyone who knows me, knows that I will not be outworked," Kleefisch said. “What I’m doing right now is earning people’s respect, votes, and you can probably tell by the reception is that I've been with them in the trenches, fighting for good conservative reforms for 12 long years, and I've never abandoned Wisconsin.”

When she entered the race, Kleefisch was the front runner. But it's Michels who has made up ground fast in his late bid, using his cash to flood the airwaves.

While Kleefisch was endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence, ex-Gov. Scott Walker and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Michels received the race's biggest endorsement, getting the nod from ex-President Donald Trump.

We'll see what happens Friday when Trump comes to Waukesha to boost Michels.

During a Monday night town hall, Michels refused to commit to backing Trump in a potential 2024 run. But Michels tweeted late Tuesday, "if President Trump runs again in 2024, I will proudly endorse him."

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Mandela Barnes locks up U.S. Senate nomination

It was five days in July.

One by one, the Democratic U.S. Senate primary runners pulled out.

Tom Nelson. Gone on a Monday.

Alex Lasry. Gone on a Wednesday.

Sarah Godlewski. Gone on a Friday.

And suddenly there was one major runner left, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who capped his methodical march to the nomination ahead of Tuesday's primary.

Barnes will face Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson in the fall, in one of the nation's marquee races.

We take a look at how the primary broke Barnes' way.

It was a story of political momentum, internal polls and the inescapable popularity Barnes commands among the Democratic base.

Johnson wants Medicare, Social Security to be discretionary programs

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson gave a radio interview Tuesday and made a lot of news, the kind that might reverberate through his campaign for a third term this fall.

Johnson indicated that Medicare and Social Security should be subjected to annual budget deliberations, a move that could upend guaranteed benefits relied upon by millions of Americans.

Johnson's comments came as he was asked about the PACT Act — aid to veterans who have been exposed to toxic burn pits — and a controversy over discretionary vs. mandatory spending.

Here's his answer:

"Defense spending has always been discretionary," Johnson said. "VA spending is discretionary. What's mandatory are things like Social Security and Medicare. If you qualify for the entitlement you just get it no matter what the cost. And our problem in this country is that more than 70 percent of our federal budget, of our federal spending, is all mandatory spending. It's on automatic pilot. It never ... you just don't do proper oversight. You don't get in there and fix the programs going bankrupt. It's just on automatic pilot.

"What we ought to be doing is we ought to turn everything into discretionary spending so that it's all evaluated so that we can fix problems or fix programs that are broken that are going to be going bankrupt," he said.

Johnson said that "as long as things are on automatic pilot we just continue to pile up debt, mortgage our kids' future, this massive debt burden, combined with this massive deficit spending that sparked this inflation that's wiping out people's wage gains, making it impossible for them to make ends meet. Again, this didn't just happen.

"The fact that you're struggling economically it's because of Democrat governance and Democrat policies in the federal government that is spending way more money than it should and doing things that never was even envisioned by our founding fathers to be doing."

You can read the story here.

Convention fever

It sure looks like Milwaukee is going to host the 2024 Republican National Convention as Nashville's last-ditch effort to remain in the race failed Tuesday night.

Nashville's council voted down a draft agreement to host the event.

That leaves Milwaukee as the only contender ahead of Friday's expected vote by the full Republican National Committee in Chicago.

A site selection panel has already recommended Republicans come to Milwaukee.

Around the horn

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos' refusal to decertify 2020 election pushes Donald Trump to endorse primary opponent.

Security task force says election workers require protection from violence.

Wisconsin DOJ launches probe of a scheme to fraudulently request ballots to prove voter fraud exists.

Already voted for a candidate who dropped out? Here's how you can change your vote.

Christopher Schmaling, a figure in Wisconsin election controversies, is active in a sheriff's group compared to the Oath Keepers.

Accusations shake up Milwaukee County Clerk of Court race.

Tab to taxpayers in Gableman records cases grows by $163,000 after another judge imposes legal fees.

Tweet of the week

Christian Schneider reacting to the news that former President Donald Trump endorsed Assembly Speaker Robin Vos' primary opponent Adam Steen: "Everyone who tries to pacify Trump lives to regret it. Every. One.."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kleefisch-Michels battle; Barnes locks up U.S. Senate nomination