Here & Now

A Wisconsin Politics 2021 Review, 2022 Preview

Frederica Freyberg:

Both Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for the campaign season that will culminate next fall in the midterm elections. We will hear from our political panel in a moment. But first, “Here & Now” reporter Will Kenneally checked in with the state party chairs to hear their perspective on the midterms.

Paul Farrow:

You know, when I look at it, I’ve been out in the last four months as I’ve been running around as the chairman of the state, there is passion.

Will Kenneally:

Paul Farrow was brought on as the Republican Party chair in August and he sees energy around the 2022 election.

Paul Farrow:

When you look at people in Wisconsin right now and I look at the Republicans, they want change. They want to see things happen.

Will Kenneally:

At the top of the ticket in Wisconsin will be the race for governor. Tony Evers’ first bid for reelection. Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler on his view of the front runners.

Ben Wikler:

Fundamentally, 2022 is a choice. It looks like a choice between Governor Evers, who wakes up every morning, waking up focused on doing the right thing for the people of our state, versus Rebecca Kleefisch, who is running for governor on a platform that is really quite radical.

Will Kenneally:

Kleefisch carries the Walker legacy as his former lieutenant governor. Wikler says her policies have shifted further to the right than her processor.

Ben Wikler:

She thinks control of elections should be turned over to our state legislature, which is one of the most extreme and do-nothing legislatures in the country.

Will Kenneally:

Farrow says the Walker legacy could be an asset for Kleefisch.

Paul Farrow:

What did they do in 2011 to 2017 to set up the state to be strong as it went forward? We saw a very robust economy. I think because of the systems that we put in place under the Walker administration and with Kleefisch there, I think that’s what she’ll be able to use moving forward.

Will Kenneally:

The winning issues for both sides? For Democrats, Wikler says it will be health care, schools and roads.

Ben Wikler:

We should be coming together and celebrating these bread and butter successes on common sense issues as our governor does. I think that’s the record Democrats can run on successfully.

Will Kenneally:

Farrow says he believes Republicans will win on education, the economy and public safety.

Paul Farrow:

We have to support our law enforcement to make sure we have our communities safe for individuals to raise their families, to go to work, to go to school. That’s what we’re going to continue to strive for.

Will Kenneally:

But at the end of the day?

Ben Wikler:

There’s no question that Wisconsin is absolutely critical in 2022 and that it will be a hard-fought election.

Frederica Freyberg:

That was Will Kenneally reporting.

President Joe Biden’s poll numbers are upside down and members of former president Trump’s staff are being held in contempt of Congress. Meanwhile, COVID-19 keeps on keeping on. What is going to move voters in the 2022 midterms? We turn to political panelists Democrat Scot Ross and Republican Bill McCoshen. Hey, guys.

Scot Ross:

Hey.

Bill McCoshen:

Great to be with you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Nice to see you in the studio just off from ours for the first time. So, again, thanks for being here. But so it is off to the races as the calendar turns to 2022, and if history is a guide, it could be a bum election for Democrats. What about that, Scot?

Scot Ross:

Well, I think anytime you’re the party in power, you have to answer for the things you have done and the things you haven’t done. I think in the case of the Democrats, they have a great record to run on both nationally and in Wisconsin. We’ve got Governor Evers leading us. This is a guy who cut middle class taxes by 15%. He restored two-thirds funding for public schools, something that hasn’t happened in 20 years. He’s increasing access to affordable health care. In the midst of the COVID — the anti-vax, pro-COVID Republican Party, he’s relied on the science to try and keep us safe and secure, something the Republicans seem to think is an anathema to moving forward. They want to win elections by trying to hurt as many Wisconsinites and keep COVID going as long as possible. That is a recipe for disaster for the Republicans come election time next year.

Frederica Freyberg:

Bill, what say you?

Bill McCoshen:

There’s a disaster coming for Democrats in November of 2022. Sadly for Scot, Tony Evers isn’t going to be the top of the ticket. It’ll be Joe Biden. The White House always loses seats, with a couple of exceptions over the last hundred years during a midterm election of the first term of the president. I expect the same thing to happen in a very big way. Governor Evers is running for reelection. He’s going to have to swim against the current because Joe Biden is pulling down Democrats nationally. His poll numbers range from 38% on the low end to 42%. For job approval here in Wisconsin, there in the low 40s. Joe Biden is going to be a significant drag on Democrats in 2022.

Frederica Freyberg:

Bill, is Senator Johnson going to run again?

Bill McCoshen:

You know, I don’t know that he’s made a final decision yet, but if I had to bet, I would bet that he is likely to run for reelection. You know, frankly, he’s caught some waves. In 2010, he caught a big Republican wave. 2016 Donald Trump won Wisconsin, first time a Republican had won Wisconsin since 1984. 2022 is going to be a big red wave as well. I think Ron is going to get out his surfboard and ride that wave again.

Scot Ross:

Oh, thank you Bill. That is the best news I’ve heard all week. Ron Johnson running again is terrific for Democrats. This is a guy who helped personally enrich himself and his donors and has been the nation’s leading voice for anti-vaccination, pro-COVID conspiracy theories. This is a godsend for Democrats.

Frederica Freyberg:

Do either of you think that all these investigations into the 2020 election here in Wisconsin will keep people home?

Bill McCoshen:

No. Republicans are more fired up than ever. I think we have the roadmap we need to change the laws or the administrative rules that are necessary. WEC, the Wisconsin Election Commission, is following those. The guidance laid out by the Legislative Audit Bureau, I think that is the primary tool we’ll use going forward. The Gableman thing is still hanging out there. I think that ought to wrap up sooner rather than later but the reality is there’s more energy on the Republican side than I’ve seen since 1994.

Scot Ross:

If I can respond, listen, this is a sham investigation costing real taxpayer money. The fact is even Republicans are calling for this sham investigation to end. And lastly, the hypocrisy is off the chart. Let’s remember that Robin Vos and the Republicans created the Wisconsin Ethics — Elections and Ethics Commissions because they were angry that the Government Accountability Board, the predecessor to WEC, was investigating Republicans for wrongdoing, including Robin Vos for collusion with independent groups. He changed the laws so he can do that now. He created the Wisconsin Election Commission. Now because the votes have been cast and Joe Biden won, they want to get rid of it. It’s ridiculous.

Frederica Freyberg:

Scot, what’s the point — the partisan point of these investigations?

Scot Ross:

I think the fact is if you don’t have the ideas, if you don’t have the policies, if you’ve stood in the way of progress like the Republicans have, you’ve only got three things you can do and the Republicans are doing it. They’re doing racism. They’re doing voter suppression and they’re doing racist voter suppression. That’s why it’s happening.

Bill McCoshen:

Here’s what we know. The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty and the Legislative Audit Bureau both did detailed analyses of the 2020 elections. Neither found any widespread fraud. So let’s dispel with that. But they did find a lot of problems with how local commissioners carried out the election. How the WEDC [sic] advised local commissioners what they could do. And frankly, there’s a list of 38 things the LAB recommended that needs to get fixed heading into 2022. That’s the hope that we can get those done before the legislature goes home.

Frederica Freyberg:

I got to run to something else and I want to do this, because you guys provided this. We asked you to bring your favorite headline from the year 2021 and a headline you think will run in 2022. So, Bill, your real headline was “Inflation hits 40 year high.” Why did you want us to see that?

Bill McCoshen:

Because this is what’s going to drive turnout on the Republican side in November of next year. The reality is people are feeling inflation not only at the pump, they’re feeling it at the checkout line at the grocery store and they’re feeling it every month when they send in their heating bill. This is something that the Biden administration, the Democrats will not be able to get around. Inflation is up 6.8%. That’s using a new formula. If we actually used an older formula, it’s probably closer to 15% that inflation is up. That is what is going to drive voters more than anything next November. And the reality is it’s now cutting into wages. Wages are up 4%. Inflation’s up 6.8, which means people are getting a pay cut.

Frederica Freyberg:

Scot, what about that, the fed cooling down inflation with rate hikes would be a good thing?

Scot Ross:

Here’s what I think. I think people are going to the store to purchase things they can afford because they have jobs. They can thank Democrats like that. They have more money in their pocket because of tax cuts for the middle class. They can thank Tony Evers for that. When people go to the polls, they’re going to remember who was with them and they’re going to remember who was with COVID. The Democrats are with them. The Republicans were with COVID.

Frederica Freyberg:

Let me get to your headline, Scot. It is “Biden won, Trump lost.” You like that one.

Scot Ross:

Yeah, exactly. The fact is that this insane big lie that the Republicans have allowed to become mainstream in their party is the functional equivalent of surrender to fascism. You heard people like Robin Vos say, “Oh, no, the election was fine. It worked.” Then as soon as Trump shrieks at him, Vos changes course and does this $700,000 sham investigation with Mike Gableman. They’re intimidating local election officials to try and get their people installed in places where — these are not partisan — these have not been partisan games before. The fact is that if Republicans could win elections on their ideals, they wouldn’t be trying to subvert the vote.

Frederica Freyberg:

Really quick.

Bill McCoshen:

Here’s what we know. Joe Biden did win last November. But we also know the Legislative Audit Bureau said that corners were cut, mistakes were made. There is no doubt about that on the 2020 election. But for Republicans, we need to look forward. We gotta stop looking backwards. If we want to win in 2022, we got to focus on that.

Frederica Freyberg:

Meanwhile, Bill, your projected headline for 2022 is red wave bigger than 1994 or 2010.

Bill McCoshen:

In 1994 Republicans picked up 53 seats in the House of Representatives. The first time they controlled that majority since 1952. In 2010 they picked up 63 seats. They picked up six or seven seats in the Senate in both of those cycles. I’m projecting that the red wave will be even bigger in 2022. Joe Biden is Jimmy Carter 2.0, and voters are going to reject it wholeheartedly next November.

Frederica Freyberg:

Scot, super quick response before we get to your next headline.

Scot Ross:

Dems are going to win the U.S. Senate seat here. Tony Evers is going to get reelected and our dark horse, Josh Kaul is going to finish ahead of both of those races.

Frederica Freyberg:

Your projected headline in 2022 is still Biden won, Trump lost. What’s that about?

Scot Ross:

Well, as you see, Robin Vos is going to continue this sham investigation that’s costing taxpayers real money. Real money that could be going towards things that the taxpayers need. They’re going to keep doing this because they don’t have the ideas. They’re going to continue pushing nonsense like critical race theory. They’re going to continue to press with these racist pandering operations. And what they’re not going to be doing, they’re not going to be getting more teachers. They’re not going to be getting more jobs and they’re not going to be getting more help to the people of Wisconsin who need it.

Frederica Freyberg:

We need to leave it here. We will talk with you both in the New Year. Thank you so much.

Bill McCoshen:

Happy New Year.

Scot Ross:

Happy holidays.