New Wisconsin GOP Chair Points To New Election Strategies

Wisconsin has a new chief of its state Republican Party who has clued into how Democrats turned the expected 2022 “Red Wave” election into more of a “Red Puddle.” New state GOP head Brian Schimming has been active in the last week with the media in explaining that he plans to draw a tight focus on early voting and fundraising before the next election this spring.

Schimming was chosen unanimously to chair the state party on December 10. Since then, he has spent his time talking about building a winning Republican infrastructure in advance of the next state election in April.

He said his plans are not “change just for change’s sake.”

However, he told local reporters that he is “sending the signal not only internally but externally that if it works we enhance it. If it doesn’t work, it goes.”

Wisconsin voters reelected Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) in November. Republicans picked up a seat in the House in the Badger State while maintaining a solid majority in the state legislature.

However, the GOP candidates for Wisconsin governor and attorney general fell short last Election Day.

Schimming said the critical race in April is for the state Supreme Court. He said, “We need to be raising money in the most cost-effective, focused way.” He noted how Wisconsin Republicans could not rely on billionaire donors from other states like Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D) and Hollywood and Silicon Valley elites.

The new state chair also prioritized early voting. He said, “We can’t keep walking into Election Day 100,000-200,000 votes down and expect we’re going to make it up in 13 hours between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.”

Schimming’s take should be instructive to Republicans around the country on some vital issues. Rather than focusing all energy on Election Day, which historically was the source of almost all votes, it is time for the GOP to acknowledge that elections are not determined on a single day but across an entire election season. Likewise, spending energy complaining about election fraud appears to not pay dividends.

The court system has proven not to produce results for Republicans who make claims – usually entirely correct and backed by evidence – of election fraud. If the goal is winning, the GOP will do well to understand that it is what happens before the early voting starts that matters, not who is best at sorting out the aftermath.