Republican Kevin Nicholson Announces Run For Wisconsin Governor

WISCONSIN — Republican Kevin Nicholson announced his run for governor of Wisconsin on Thursday.

Nicholson, a businessman and former Marine, lost as a candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018 and clashed with other Republicans like Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch — reportedly calling the latter "dumb as a bag of hammers."

He will run against Kleefisch and Democratic incumbent Gov. Tony Evers, who doesn't have any party candidates running against him so far.

The candidate is a candid supporter of former president Donald Trump and aims to pick up conservatives who aren't behind Kleefisch's candidacy, the Associated Press reported.

See Also: Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch Announces Bid For WI Governor

Nicholson's website touts an agenda in line with typical GOP issues, such as requiring minimum bail and targeting "critical race theory," a scholarly framework of systemic racism in America, in Wisconsin schools.

While Nicholson's agenda aims to keep Wisconsin schools open and send money to "students, not systems," there's no mention of the COVID-19 pandemic, which closed Wisconsin schools and has caused thousands of deaths.

Richard Uihlein, the owner of Uline shipping supply company and a Republican megadonor, said he would give Nicholson his "full support and commitment" to win. Liz Uihlein, Richard's wife and co-owner of the company, gave $220,000 to Kleefisch's campaign.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on the Milwaukee Patch