Vos won't vote for Trump in primary, 'too early to tell' for general election

MADISON — Assembly Speaker Robin Vos really doesn't want to vote for Donald Trump in 2024 — but if the former president is the Republican nominee, he won't rule it out.

"I can tell you that when the election comes around in the fall, I'm not going to vote for Joe Biden," Vos told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. "So it probably means whoever the Republican nominee is, just like I've done every year that I've ever been alive that I can vote, I'm sure I'll vote for the Republican nominee. I just hope that it's not Donald Trump."

Does that mean he'll vote for Trump if he's the one on the ballot next year?

"It's too early to tell," Vos said.

Trump currently holds a dominant lead in Republican presidential primary polls. An average of national polls compiled by FiveThirtyEight puts him in the lead with the support of 62% of GOP voters. He's most closely trailed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former United Nations Ambassador and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, each supported by about 11% of Republican voters.

Wisconsin's presidential primary falls relatively late in the national schedule, on April 2 (although Vos and other Republicans have supported efforts to move it to March). Vos said he's watching to see what happens in the states with primaries and caucuses early in the year, like Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

"Probably there will be a consensus on an alternative to former President Trump, and then hopefully they get to Wisconsin and maybe they have a chance," Vos said. "So I am going to vote for somebody else in the primary than Donald Trump."

Vos and Trump have had a contentious relationship since the former president lost the 2020 election. He told the Journal Sentinel a year ago that he would try "as hard as I can to make sure Donald Trump is not the nominee."

Trump has badgered Vos since he lost the 2020 election to take illegal steps to overturn his legitimate loss in Wisconsin. His efforts lit fires under discontent brewing among Republicans in the party's base who at times didn't like the state party's approach and emboldened beliefs among some that Trump did actually win in 2020 and Vos could do something about the perceived injustice.

Trump then endorsed a challenger to Vos, whom the Assembly Speaker easily defeated in 2022.

Vos has continued to face pressure campaigns from Trump and his allies, most recently in an effort to impeach the nonpartisan leader of the state's elections agency. But he's not concerned about his reelection prospects.

"They're gonna do what they're gonna do, but they brought it against me last time and I survived," Vos said. "I'm probably stronger than I was last time."

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Robin Vos won't support Donald Trump in primary election