Brian Schimming on Wisconsin Voters and Republicans in 2024

Frederica Freyberg:
In a lead up to the Republican National Convention happening this summer in Milwaukee, the party’s state convention is happening this weekend in Appleton. The chair of the Wisconsin Republican Party says in this battleground of all battleground states, they’re ready and able to win up and down the ballot. The Wisconsin GOP chair joins us ahead of the state convention. Brian Schimming, thanks very much for being here.

Brian Schimming:
So great to be here. Thanks for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:
So we know Wisconsin is important, but just how important is Wisconsin this election?

Brian Schimming:
Well, I always like to say Wisconsin’s not one of 50 states this year, we’re one of five. It’s probably more like seven. The truth of the matter is in Wisconsin, in the last 24 years, we’ve had 12 statewide races. We’re about 6 million people, right? We’ve had 12 races in the last 25 years that were decided by 30,000 votes or less. So we are one of a handful of states. We are certainly a state that’s had a lot of close races, including Ron Johnson’s two years ago. I’m certainly feeling the attention nationally, and I like that. It’s good for us and frankly, as you know, it’s why the Republican National Convention is coming to Milwaukee.

Frederica Freyberg:
What’s at stake up and down the ballot here?

Brian Schimming:
Just about everything. It’s interesting, I was saying the other day that, you know, here we are in Wisconsin. Remember, we used to be called flyover country. Remember those years? And now we’re kind of fly in country. But there’s a reason. We have a close presidential race. I think by anybody’s telling, it’s a close race here in Wisconsin. We have a close U.S. Senate race, which six months ago, people wouldn’t have guessed. But that — we instantly had a close U.S. Senate race. Two target House races. Obviously, both Houses of the Legislature. So Wisconsin, almost more than usual, is really a focus of national attention. And we feel it at the state party, too.

Frederica Freyberg:
You were just talking with me about money. Will Republicans in Wisconsin start to see the spigot flow?

Brian Schimming:
Yeah, I mean, we’re feeling it already in terms of the support nationally. The great thing for us, with the new leadership of the Republican National Committee Mike Whatley, they are completely focused on not just us, of course, but other target states as well. So we just hired a new political director this week. We’re hiring, hiring additional field staff. We’re actually one of the more built out states in the country already on field staff opening local offices. So yeah, I mean, we’ll have the resources we need.

Frederica Freyberg:
Which voters, other than all of them, will Republicans be specifically targeting?

Brian Schimming:
Well, all of them is the right answer but the truth is I think the challenge for the Democrats, you see it in polling here in the state, the Marquette poll as well as national polls, the president’s hurting with a lot of his base groups. Young, young people, very, very close between he and President Trump. Hispanics as well. Biden is not doing nearly as well as he did with women when he first ran. So as you look at those different groups, there are plenty of opportunity for Republicans. But as I say to Republicans around the state, you have to go get those voters. You can’t count on them not being unhappy with the incumbent or whatever, but they are very, very unhappy with the incumbent.

Frederica Freyberg:
Speaking of voters, you have been pushing early voting for months, which is a total sea change for Republicans.

Brian Schimming
Yeah.

Frederica Freyberg:
But the Republican Party of Wisconsin also officially opposed the use of ballot drop boxes in a case before the state Supreme Court.

Brian Schimming:
Right.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, I understand, you are in support of those. What’s the actual deal here?

Brian Schimming:
No, no. We oppose the drop boxes because we feel as though there are — that possibly is a subject for some fraud. But almost more importantly, here we are just a couple of months before the election again, and the state Supreme Court is acting like a second legislature and going in and changing campaign laws. Frankly, I don’t think the drop box issue will be the last one we see from this Supreme Court. So I think there’s a legitimate issue, and I get this from clerks around the state that they don’t want all these changes, you know, to the law made in the run up to the election. But yeah, we’ve opposed drop boxes. But to your point, I say to Republicans across the state, I was the first state chairman in the country to push early vote. And whether it’s drop boxes or other potential changes, I have to deal with the laws as they are, and I’m going to.

Frederica Freyberg:
And so that means you’re saying you are promoting early voting and if it turns out drop boxes are legal again, you say, go ahead and drop your ballot.

Brian Schimming:
I don’t know that I’m necessarily encouraging drop boxes. We’re working on how we use that strategy as we go forward. But I will be dealing with laws, assuming there are some changes and I wouldn’t be surprised if there were.

Frederica Freyberg:
Now, you say that Wisconsin Republican voters are all in on, on Donald Trump. What about our spring primary where Nikki Haley got 13% of the vote?
Brian Schimming:
Yeah, you saw that, some of that in states around the country. I wasn’t completely surprised by that. What counts for us is what we see in the polling and in the internal polling which has Donald Trump in the 90s, in the percentile that we need to win the state. So our base, that we see in our numbers anyway, is very hard for Donald Trump. Joe Biden has a serious, serious problem with his base voters to the subject we dealt with before. That’s a huge problem for them and it’s showing here in Wisconsin.

Frederica Freyberg:
If your internal polling shows that, does that suggest that Republicans have forgiven and forgotten January 6th and all that happened before and after?

Brian Schimming:
Yeah, I don’t know. It’s a matter of, you know, all those things that there goofing around with in the courts. It’s not a matter of forgiving or anything. You know what’s interesting about this race? It’s not the typical incumbent challenger race, right? It’s essentially a race between two incumbencies. And what we see in the polling is that people now know. They didn’t know four years ago. Now they know what they were going to get with Joe Biden, which has been high inflation, high interest rates, bad GDP numbers. Now they know what they’re getting between the two. And that’s working for President Trump.

Frederica Freyberg:
What about these court cases like the one President Trump is currently sitting in a courtroom with? That doesn’t matter to Republican voters?

Brian Schimming:
Well, it’s not a matter of whether it matters to Republican voters. It’s a matter, and you see this in the national polling right now, people have factored it in. It’s overwhelming actually that people have factored it in. If that was a problem, if every court case that was filed against Donald Trump was a problem, he’d be 20 points behind right now. And the people are saying, we’ve had enough of the lawfare.

Frederica Freyberg:
As to Wisconsin’s key Senate race, other Republicans on our air have said that it would be very, very tough to beat Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin. You obviously don’t think that.

Brian Schimming:
I don’t. In fact, I was telling a reporter last fall and I reminded a few the other day at a press conference. I was telling folks, look, if this Senate race gets real with the right level candidate to run a competitive race against Tammy Baldwin, she’s in trouble. And the first three polls that came out put the race the first one was about six points. The others were three and one. So it’s essentially a toss up on that race. The resources will be there to run that race. I mean, Tammy Baldwin’s numbers collapsed immediately after she got a tough opponent in the race, and that has turned that into one of the most competitive U. S. Senate races in the country. Even 4 or 5 months ago, people were saying, Tammy’s too tough to beat. The polling doesn’t show that. And she’s a 95% voter with Joe Biden.

Frederica Freyberg:
How do you think Wisconsin’s new maps will change the Legislature?

Brian Schimming
Yeah, it’s I think it’s hard to tell. I think the Senate seems like it’s in a little better — Senate Republicans are in a little better position or in an okay position. The Assembly, I think, is more competitive. And as you know, I’ve done a lot of Assembly races around the state. So I’m familiar with the Assembly. But I — the Democrats, I feel as though we’ll keep both. And the Democrats are going to have to find another excuse for losing, because I think we will be victorious in both Houses. And I know the state very, very well. And while you’re right, I think the numbers will change, does it automatically flip Houses? I don’t think so.

Frederica Freyberg:
We will watch. In this pivotal election year, what is it like for Republicans to be hosting the national convention in Milwaukee?

Brian Schimming:
Well, as you know, I’m a homer, so I’m all about having the convention in Milwaukee. In fact, when I was doing radio in Milwaukee, when the Democrats announced in Milwaukee, I was even happy about that because I want it to be good for Milwaukee and for the whole state. The Republican convention will be, too. I’m excited, obviously, as state chairman, to be hosting the national convention, but it’s money, about $200 million spend. It’s 50,000 people coming to the state. But even more just, you know, for the Wisconsin economy, it’s terrific. The whole world, not just the country, the whole world will be watching Wisconsin and for Republicans, it’s a way to pull our message together in front of a national audience with a five-day show that I think is just going to be great for Wisconsin. I’m so excited.

Frederica Freyberg:
All right, Brian Schimming, thanks very much.

Brian Schimming:
So good to see you.