Here & Now

A 2022 Candidates and Campaigns Forecast

Frederica Freyberg:

Fresh off the announcement that he will not run for governor of Wisconsin, we get the political panelist band back together on “Here & Now.” Republican strategist Bill McCoshen announced this week he is taking a pass on being a candidate in 2022. So he’s here along with his counterpart Democratic strategist Scot Ross and welcome to both of you.

Bill McCoshen:

Good to be back.

Scot Ross:

Welcome.

Frederica Freyberg:

So, Bill, come on, this is a lot more fun than running for governor, is it not?

Bill McCoshen:

Well, it’s a lot less dangerous, that’s for sure.

Frederica Freyberg:

So, Scot, were you surprised that Bill bowed out?

Scot Ross:

Yeah. I mean, I would assume he’d get more television if he were running for governor so I was surprised about that for sure. Bill’s a good guy. He would have brought a lot to the field. I think he would have brought something badly needed to the field, which is a little bit of moderation, a little bit of less radicalism. So it is definitely bad for the Republican Party, probably good for the Democrats.

Frederica Freyberg:

Bill, one thing you said in your announcement that stood out was that, “History says the GOP needs a competitive primary to beat an incumbent Democrat governor in 2022.” So you think former lieutenant governor under Scott Walker Rebecca Kleefisch needs some competition? Is that what you’re saying and if so, why?

Bill McCoshen:

I do.

Frederica Freyberg:

Why?

Bill McCoshen:

But I don’t want your viewers to take that the wrong way. It doesn’t mean I’m against Rebecca. Not at all. In fact, in my lifetime Republicans have only defeated an incumbent Democratic governor two times. Once in 1978 after a competitive primary between then-chancellor Lee Sherman Dreyfuss and former congressman Bob Kasten. Kasten was the Republican party-endorsed candidate and Dreyfuss upset him. And he ultimately ended up beating interim governor Martin Schreiber. We removed that tag after that term. But that was the first time. The second time was my old boss, Tommy Thompson in 1986. He won a five-way primary before going on to defeat incumbent governor Tony Earl, not to be confused with Tony Evers. So it’s happened twice in my life. Both were after a competitive primary on the GOP side. So there is no precedent for beating an incumbent Democrat without a primary. Doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen. It just has never happened.

Frederica Freyberg:

I want to back up a little bit Bill and give you a brief chance to tell us why you didn’t throw your hat in the ring.

Bill McCoshen:

You know, it came down to two things really, Fred. I have been on successful statewide campaigns. In ’90 I was Tommy’s communications director and in ’94 I ran his campaign. I was the campaign manager and he became the first man ever elected to a third four-year term. We got 67%. I know a little bit about statewide gubernatorial campaigns and how to win them. And the reality is you need two things. You need time and you need money. I felt pretty confident about the financial commitments I had from across the state to run a competitive campaign. But the reality is I ran out of time. There’s 417 days until the general election, but there’s only 326 days until the primary next August 9. And Rebecca has got a very big head start in that front. She been on the statewide ballot five times with Scott Walker and she actually won a primary in 2010 to get on that ticket and she’s been working the chicken dinner circuit for ten years. So I needed more time. The sale of my business, through no fault of anyone, took longer than I expected, but I’m excited to be joining Michael Best Strategies on October 1st.

Frederica Freyberg:

Scot, do you think also that Rebecca Kleefisch needs some competition here?

Scot Ross:

I think Rebecca Kleefisch is radically wrong for Wisconsin. She was Scott Walker’s lieutenant, and she championed a far right agenda that attacked the ability of you to get affordable health care. She attacked the rights of women. She attacked the rights of workers. She attacked the rights of Black and brown people. She even attacked the ability of your kids to get a quality public education. And worst of all, in order to try to win this election, to win this primary she expects might happen, she has [?] up with the anti-vaccine, COVID deniers and the racist, “Big Lie” Biden election victory deniers. This is the wrong way for Wisconsin. The good news is that Governor Evers has done what he needed to do. Governor Evers’ steady leadership has put Wisconsin back on track. It continues to deliver for the people of Wisconsin. His investments he made in public education and infrastructure and in health care are all paying dividends for Wisconsin. We are amongst the lowest unemployment rate after COVID and we have lost far less jobs than our neighbors.

Frederica Freyberg:

I want to jump in and ask Bill, does Scott Walker campaign for his former lieutenant governor in this race?

Bill McCoshen:

He endorsed her on day one and his son Alex is going to be the campaign manager. This is a risky move, I think, by the Kleefisch team. I think she needed a little bit of daylight between she and former governor Scott Walker. She needed to be her own person. And tying herself completely to Walker, again, if there is no primary means she owns everything that Walker did while he was governor. While those of us on the right think who think he did a lot of good things, a lot of people on the left didn’t think he did a lot of good things. So it fires up the left by having them so close. I think she should have had a little bit of distance there so she could be her own person.

Frederica Freyberg:

Bill, you yourself are cast, as we’ve discussed, as a moderate Republican. What do you think the Wisconsin electorate is looking for?

Bill McCoshen:

I’m not sure that’s a fair characterization. I consider myself a conservative but compared to some, I guess maybe I’m a little more closer to the center of the spectrum than the far right. I think Republicans want somebody who can win, number one. And number two, I think they want somebody who can do the job if they do win the election. That was the lane I was going to try and run up, is I had been in the governor’s office under Tommy for six years. I had served in all the top positions. I’d been commerce secretary for four years. I’ve been on the inside for ten years in literally the top positions and I know how to run a government.

Frederica Freyberg:

Scot, I’m sorry, I just want to get Scot in and ask him what he thinks the Wisconsin electorate is looking for.

Scot Ross:

I think they’re looking for people who make good on their promises and that’s what Governor Evers has done. I think with all the cacophony on the right, with all the antivaccine, with all the COVID denying, with Republicans standing in the way of the common sense, science-based solutions that Governor Evers has worked with health care professionals to put forth to make us get through this pandemic with our livelihoods still intact and with our health still intact. I think that’s what they’re looking for. Rebecca Kleefisch — if Scott Walker doesn’t campaign with Rebecca Kleefisch, Democrats will make sure that those two are tied together because Scott Walker is incredibly polarizing for the electorate and Democrats will run out to unelect him again with his lieutenant on the ticket, absolutely without a doubt. But, again, Rebecca Kleefisch has learned from Scott Walker. She learned at the feet of the master. Right now she has been campaigning the last year illegally using a non– a tax exempt nonprofit to campaign for governor, which is against the laws of the state of Wisconsin when it comes to campaigns and against the IRS laws when it comes to nonprofits.

Frederica Freyberg:

We unfortunately are out of time. We got a lot more to talk about but we need to leave it there. We are so thrilled that you are both back on this panel for us on this program. Scot Ross, Bill McCoshen, thanks very much.

Bill McCoshen:

Good to be back.

Scot Ross:

Thank you.