- Trump made a risky endorsement by going against much of the Wisconsin GOP establishment.
- The former president announced his support for businessman Tim Michels' Wisconsin gubernatorial bid.
- This follows a recent spate of embarrassing flops of Trump-endorsed candidates.
Former President Donald Trump made a risky bet on Thursday evening, weighing in on the Wisconsin Republican gubernatorial primary by backing a different candidate while snubbing the current frontrunner who has received support from former Gov. Scott Walker.
"Tim is an America First Conservative who Supports our Second Amendment, Honors our Brave Law Enforcement and First Responders, and Stands Strongly against the Woke Mob trying to destroy our Country," Trump said in a statement announcing his support for Tim Michels, a millionaire businessman.
Walker, once a conservative darling for his campaign against public-sector unions, previously endorsed his former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. Former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who will likely be the next governor of Arkansas, has backed her as well. An April Marquette Law School Poll showed Kleefisch had a commanding lead before Michels entered the race. By all accounts, Kleefisch was considered the frontrunner in the race.
Trump's endorsement will certainly shake up the contest. But the former president's frequent entries into contested GOP primaries have blemished his endorsement record, especially when Trump goes against the GOP establishment.
Trump backed businessman Charles Herbster in Nebraska, Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin in Idaho, and former Sen. David Perdue in Georgia. All three candidates failed to win their respective state's GOP nomination for governor. In McGeachin and Perdue's cases, Trump made the decision to endorse challengers to incumbent GOP governors.
The former president has found much more success at the federal level. He endorsed author JD Vance for US Senate over the wishes of many Ohio Republicans, vaulting the venture capitalist to first place. Trump was also ahead of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Senate Republicans in announcing his support for former Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker, who will challenge Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Georgia this November.
Ahead of a possible 2024 run, Trump's endorsements are being closely tracked. The recent failure of many of his picks to oust Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has not gone unnoticed.
The Wisconsin gubernatorial race will be closely watched come November.
Incumbent-Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, ousted Walker in 2018 by just under 30,000 votes. President Joe Biden later narrowly carried the state in 2020. Since then, Trump-allies have sought to raise baseless claims to question the results and some even have pushed the unconstitutional and unfounded step of "decertifying" Biden's win in the state.