Frederica Freyberg:

Paul Ryan leaves big shoes to fill, but by whom? And what does it mean for other Republicans in November races? Now a closer look at the road ahead for the outgoing speaker’s party. We talked with the executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin. We started by asking Mark Morgan his reaction to Ryan's announcement.

Mark Morgan:

Well, I learned like a lot of Wisconsin Republicans and others. Learned it that morning. For us, Paul Ryan has been a thought leader in the conservative movement nationally. He’s been a leader in the party nationally. Certainly been a leader here for the Wisconsin Republicans. So surprised that he’s making the move. But at the same time for a guy who has been elected since 1998, he’s served as a public servant for a substantial period of time and really accomplished a lot on behalf of his constituents and his ideas in D.C. Can’t blame the guy for wanting to spend some more time with his family and with kids. For me personally, he’s someone who–certainly an inspiration for why I wanted to get into politics in the first place. He’ll be missed, but wish him best in what comes next.

Frederica Freyberg:

The governor, as you know, has been warning of a blue wave. What are your concerns that Paul Ryan's departure will help that along?

Mark Morgan:

Sure. I think for that district especially you know this is a district where Speaker Ryan was re-elected time and time again from 1998 until now. It’s a district where Governor Walker has done very well, winning by double digits multiple times. President Trump won this district. Even Mitt Romney won the district in 2012. This is a district where the voters in that district have time and again rewarded folks who have a strong conservative message. Who have a message of delivering real results and trying to reform Washington and really make government work harder for the people and putting tax dollars back in the hands of those taxpayers. So this is a district where we’ve got a great bench. A lot of strong candidates could come out of it and end up being the next standard bearer for the 1st Congressional District. We feel very good about our prospects there.

Frederica Freyberg:

Who would you like to see run for that seat?

Mark Morgan:

We've got a lot of good candidates who I think could pop out of it. You’ve seen a lot of names getting floated around. I’ll let them speak for themselves and let them tell their own stories.

Frederica Freyberg:

What kind of candidate though would you like to see, would the party like to see?

Mark Morgan:

Yeah. I think the biggest thing for us, it’s not a biography background. It’s more, you know, that you’re going to end up kind of carrying that standard message that’s become the strong brand of Wisconsin conservatives across the board. That reform-minded message, the kind of message that made Paul Ryan the champion in Washington and in his district. That, I think, would make somebody strong. Whether it’s a long-time activist or activists in the area running, whether it’s local elected officials. I think there’s a lot of folks fit that mold.

Frederica Freyberg:

Nationally, at the congressional level, how might GOP fund-raising and campaigning be affected with Paul Ryan being a lame duck?

Mark Morgan:

Yeah, I mean I think as far as the campaigning goes, nationally I don’t want to speak too much to it just ’cause I live and breathe on the borders of Wisconsin here. Certainly Speaker Ryan was a strong campaigner but I think, again, it’s the strength of that message he imbued across his caucus and with his candidates. Here in Wisconsin, I think you know, you’re still going to see him active, He’s still committed to really run through the tape and being strong. Making sure we keep the first and do what we have to do both here in Wisconsin and nationally.

Frederica Freyberg:

At one point there was kind of this cheesehead domination, as Paul Ryan dubbed it, with Scott Walker, Reince Priebus and the speaker himself, kind of the power triad of conservative Republican voices. What do the changing tides mean for the governor as he goes forward with his re-election campaign?

Mark Morgan:

Yeah. In terms of the cheesehead domination, certainly that’s been a hallmark of the Wisconsin Republican Party. It’s just the broad range of strong leaders we have with national platforms, but a Wisconsin focus. Whether that’s, like you said, the governor, Chairman Priebus when he was at the RNC or in the White House, the speaker certainly. Even Senator Johnson and others who very much had a national stage to talk about Wisconsin conservatism. As for the governor and others, with the speaker stepping aside, he’s still going to be a strong element, I think, here in Wisconsin through this election cycle. I’m sure he’ll continue to be a thought leader within the conservative movement. And for the governor, he’s always, like everybody else in Wisconsin with that Wisconsin Republican brand, they stood strong on their own records that they’ve run on. So I think for him, it’s not really much of a change there.

Frederica Freyberg:

Is it surprising to the Republican Party that there seems to be a resurgence on the part of Democrats?

Mark Morgan:

You know, this is the kind of story that I've heard from Democrats time and time again. This is I don’t think terribly different than what we saw during the recall. Frankly, I’ve heard this narrative about Democrat energy in 2016 as well. What the Democrats are going to have to end up doing is actually convert that energy when elections come around in November with folks. Whether it’s Governor Walker, whether it’s Speaker Ryan, who’s running in the first, across the board who have these strong records, who have been rewarded by voters time and time again because they fight for the voters. They keep their word and they continue to have the strong message they’re talking about. Democrats are going to have to find a standard bearer that actually has their own strong message to run on. That actually gives the voters a reason to vote for them and for their ideas. I just don’t think they’ve found that solution.

Frederica Freyberg:

What role, if any, do you think Donald Trump plays in Republicans not running for re-election or being worried about the midterms?

Mark Morgan:

As far as it goes here in Wisconsin, I just don’t think it’s a nonfactor — I think it’s a nonfactor, I should say. You know, with Speaker Ryan, I think explicit about the fact that if you know the speaker in any way, you know that he’s a family man. You know he’s focused on wanting to spend more time with his family. I think that’s you know really the key part of his decision. For the rest of that, I mean here in Wisconsin, whether it’s what’s happened in Washington with things like tax reform or regulatory relief, securing a conservative majority on the Supreme Court for a generation and more importantly, the strength of every Republican’s brand here in Wisconsin, which I think is unique and stands on its own. That’s what they’re focused on, is talking about the good things being done in D.C. and Madison here and not focused on anything else.

Frederica Freyberg:

Speaking of kind of a blue wave, what’s your reaction to liberal candidate Rebecca Dallet winning the state Supreme Court race?

Mark Morgan:

Certainly, I just echo what the governor said after that night. I think it’s a wake-up call. Again, it’s something that we need to be focused on making sure we get our message out. Look, we are strong believers, as I think you probably got the picture for the previous answers. If we get our message out, if we make sure that the voters hear about this is what we’re focused on, this is what we’ve accomplished and this is what we’re going to continue doing should you put your faith in Republicans to continue governing. If they hear that message and they hear that platform, they’re ultimately going to vote for those strong Republican candidates who have that brand. And it stands in such stark contrast to Democrats, including Rebecca Dallet in her race. And I think the ones you’re seeing in the governor’s race or Senator Baldwin’s or others, I mean their primary platform seems to be elect us because we’re Democrats. And that’s it. There really isn’t a substantive platform they have to run on. That’s a strong contrast to our message. We just need to double down, focus and make sure we’re getting it out.

Frederica Freyberg:

Later in the program, we will introduce you to two of the Democrats on the primary ballot running to fill Paul Ryan's seat. Here’s what Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Martha Laning said about Representative Ryan’s decision not to seek re-election. “His retirement is an admission by Speaker Ryan that his constituents do not approve of tax cuts for the rich at the expense of Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. Ryan could not win over his constituents to his damaging tax plan, let alone the nation.”