Highlights from the Tony Evers-Tim Michels Wisconsin gubernatorial debate
Tony Evers and Tim Michels take the stage for a debate in the Wisconsin governor’s race on Friday. Video provided by the Wisconsin Association of Broadcasters.
Lou Saldivar, Wochit
It was January 22, 2021, two days after President Joe Biden revoked a key permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline, when Tim Michels officially dipped his toe back into politics.
Michels’ company, Michels Corporation, had contracts to build eight pumping stations for the pipeline in the United States and the other half of the pipeline in Canada.
“I’m calling on President Biden to prioritize American jobs and American energy independence and deauthorize the Keystone XL pipeline,” Michelle said at a rally with Wisconsin’s Republican congressional delegation. “Thousands of Wisconsin workers are affected by this action and all of Wisconsin will be affected at the gas pump.”
Since then, Michel has gone on to close the biggest campaign of his life as a low-key owner of the state’s largest construction company.
In just over a week, he will try to unseat Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in one of the closest midterm races in the country.
If he wins, Mitchell will become the first multi-millionaire businessman to hold the title of Wisconsin governor since Republican Walter Koehler Jr. served from 1951 to 1957.
Michelle: I don’t have to run.
Michels, 60, frequently reminds people on the campaign trail that he shouldn’t be there — but he feels obligated to do so.
“The problem with politics and government these days is that too many people run for office and stick to their political positions because that’s what’s best for them,” Michel said in an email to the Journal Sentinel.
“I want to serve. My husband and I started pursuing this at the beginning of the year,” said Michelle. “I am very disappointed in the direction of government, the poor leadership in government and the untapped potential of Wisconsin.”
Michels’ campaign declined multiple requests to appear in person.
John Gard, a lobbyist and former speaker of the Assembly, said he is often asked if he encouraged Michel to run. He said no one did. “Tim and Barbara are very clear thinkers,” he said.
“They make things here, they employ thousands of people here, they make Wisconsin a better place,” Gard said. “It takes a lot to make someone want to run, but something is clearly driving them. It’s a tough thing.”
Republican lobbyist Bill McCoshen said Michelle is perfectly positioned to become governor.
“He runs an incredible national power plant construction company,” McCoshen said. “He doesn’t need this job, but he has a family that is willing to make sacrifices to go to Madison and make real changes.”
But outgoing Democratic Sen. John Erpenbach doesn’t think Michele is qualified for the job.
“People who think they can run government like a business realize very quickly that there are certain aspects where you can’t really try to contain costs — some things are just not a floating bottom line,” Erpenbach said.
A history of Wisconsin’s political ambitions
Endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Michels launched his campaign as a business and political outsider. But this is his third time running for office in Wisconsin.
Michel’s interest in politics began in his mid-30s. In the year He ran for the State Senate in 1998 at 13Th District, he was defeated by incumbent Republican Senator and current US Representative Scott Fitzgerald.
Michel spent $60,000 of his own money to launch his campaign against Fitzgerald in a district where abortion, like now, is a key issue.
After the defeat, Michels retreated from the spotlight for six years before launching his campaign against longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold in 2004.
During his run for the Senate, Michel presented himself as a common man and military veteran, emphasizing his 12 years in the U.S. Army and Feingold’s time as a politician.
He is using the same strategy this time.
“The intent of the founding fathers of this country was to have people with real-life experience enter government, serve for a short time, and then return to the private sector,” Michel said in an email. “This really speaks to my desire to lead this state and fix the problems that are affecting so many Wisconsinites.”
Milwaukee realtor Jim Barry III was chairman of the Republican Party’s Finance Committee when they met Michelle in 2004. They have been friends ever since.
He thinks Barry Michels is better suited for governor than senator.
“He’s more of a leadership type of guy,” Barry said. “I think he brings in the best people, he gets great advice, and he’s very sincere when he talks about wanting to work with the (Milwaukee) mayor and the county executive to get some of these problems solved.”
Mitchell often compares himself to former Gov. Tommy Thompson, who, like Thompson, says he can cross party lines to get things done.
Thompson had toyed with the idea of running for governor again, but instead endorsed Michel.
In an interview with the Journal Sentinel, Thompson said he has things in common with Michaels, including a belief in entrepreneurship, flexible government and making Wisconsin “the best it can be.”
“The message is getting better, the conversation is getting better, he’s learning to be a governor,” Thompson said. “People are amazed at how smart he is. And down to earth. He really cares. And he does it for the right reasons.”
Funding his own campaign
After the Senate defeat, Mitchell dropped out of the public eye and continued to donate to Republican candidates, including former Gov. Scott Walker and former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Klefisch, who would later become his running mate.
Michelle and her husband have given $324,900 to powerful Republicans and candidates over the past 12 years, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which tracks political spending and donations.
After promising not to take more than $500 in contributions, he self-funded his primary campaign to defeat Clefion, spending nearly $12 million of his own money.
After winning the primary, he announced that he would receive the maximum donation of $20,000. The most recent campaign finance reports show that Michelle has put more than $15.7 million of her own money into the campaign since August 31, 2022.
Humble beginnings lead to success in business
The village of Brownsville is an hour northwest of Milwaukee on Highway 49, which doubles as Main Street.
With just over 600 people, Michels Corporation sits in the heart of the city. It was founded in 1959 by Michels father, Dale, who had two business partners. His mother, Ruth, drove her pickup truck.
Today the business is run by the couple’s sons, Pat, Kevin and Tim. Dale and Ruth Michel are both deceased. On the campaign trail, Tim Michels often talks about growing the business to 8,000 employees. The company had nearly $3 billion in revenue in 2018.
A third generation is joining the company, including Tim Michels’ daughter Sophie, who will be born in May 2023 in Wellesley, Mass. After graduating from Babson College, a private business school, she plans to work in the infrastructure division of Michels Corporation. .
Village Clerk Kathryn Hull said the Michels company and family are known in Brownsville and neighboring Fond du Lac for their generosity.
“They do a lot of things for this village,” Hall said. “For our ambulance service, our parks and anything with the kids, they’re really uplifting and wonderful people.”
Growing up in Brownsville, Michels shared a bedroom with his brother. He joined the company at the age of 9 and later in 1996 after he left the army.
“And that’s what I’ve been doing for the last 25 years. Standing shoulder to shoulder with my brothers and growing Michels Corporation, from a few 100 employees to over 8,000 employees today,” Michels said in his Labor Day speech.
Today, Michels and his wife own homes in the village of Chenequa in Waukesha County and own more than $30 million in property in New York and Connecticut purchased between 2015 and 2020.
Michelle regularly reports more than $1 million in state income taxes. That level of pay suggests he could earn up to ten million dollars a year.
“I will no longer apologize for my prosperity. The extreme left thinks that success is a bad thing. not at all. I think hard work is worth it. And it’s in my DNA to give back to my community,” Michel said in an email.
I know Barbara and I, we are blessed, we are thankful, and we will give back. We don’t give for political gain, so it’s not something we’ve made a big deal about. But the corrupt media tried to malign my charitable giving and faith.
Mitchell cited donations to anti-abortion causes reported by the Journal Sentinel, including Wisconsin for Life and Pro-Life Wisconsin and Pregnancy Resource Centers.
The largest donation to the Medical College of Wisconsin Cancer Center Michels Family Foundation was $15 million in memory of the care Sophie Michels received for brain cancer.
Today’s ten-year journey with Sophie has only strengthened our family bond, and fostered a greater love within our family to help others through these difficult journeys and find a cure for cancer, Michelle said in an email. .
‘Blueprints’ for Change
Abortion is a key midterm issue as the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade and Republicans seek to expand rights to severely restrict the practice.
Michel has changed his stance on abortion, saying he will now sign Wisconsin’s law that would create rape and kinship ties, despite opposing such exceptions for at least two decades.
At a Milwaukee Rotary event in October, Michel went so far as to say he wouldn’t enforce the state’s 1849 abortion law, making the procedure more difficult — but the campaign quickly backtracked.
McCoshen said Mitchell’s change is an indication that he has strong personal convictions, but is willing to accept exceptions to move Wisconsin forward.
“Ivers talks about his veto pen, that’s why Tim is finally stepping up, people see a future with him,” McCoshen said. “Tim has a plan for the economy, he has a plan to reduce crime, he has a plan for public education. I think that’s why Evers stood up in the election.”
Erpenbach said Michel is running his campaign like he’s worried about getting 50.1 percent of the vote.
“There are a lot of people who deserve to work with him,” Erpenbach said.
Michel’s changes on abortion do not bode well for staunch conservatives.
The Rev. Matthew Trewella of Mercy City Church in Milwaukee urged Christians not to vote for Michelle, who supports exceptions for rape or incest cases.
Michel prefers not to talk about abortion and instead focuses on issues like crime, education, the economy and what he calls “voting integrity.”
On all these topics, Michel provides broad strokes of the policies but does not fill in the finer details.
“I talk to the bad guys,” Michel said when asked how he would deal with rising crime.
Still, Gard said he was able to strike a nerve with people in the state who feel the country is off track.
“I think it will reach levels that make sense to people,” Gard said. “He has a great Wisconsin story. I’m not surprised he resonated.”
Corrinne Hess can be reached at chess@gannett.com. Follow her @corrihess
