Wisconsin Rep. Timothy Ramthun of Campbellsport, a Republican candidate for governor, says former President Donald Trump acted on “bad intel” when he gave his coveted endorsement to construction magnate Tim Michels on June 3.
“I heard [Trump’s former chief of staff] Reince Priebus was involved. I heard money was involved. I’m not a millionaire,” Ramthun said in a speech June 7 at a Republican Party of Dane County event in Sun Prairie. “[Trump] did what he felt he needed to based on the recommendation he was given. I think it’s bad intel.”
An endorsement from Trump would have been a big shot in the arm to Ramthun’s campaign. He faces three prominent Republicans in the Aug. 9 primary — Michels, former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, and former U.S. Senate hopeful Kevin Nicholson. All three are faring better than Ramthun in the polls, have access to deeper pockets, and are setting up statewide campaign operations.
Ramthun is surprised he didn’t land Trump’s endorsement. He told around 50 people at the local GOP event that Trump was pleased by his efforts to try to overturn the 2020 election and hinted at endorsing him even before Ramthun officially jumped into the gubernatorial race.
“[Trump] called me on Dec. 3 for seven minutes, 45 seconds. He talked about endorsements. He said, ‘You’re my kind of guy,’” Ramthun recalled. “I kind of shut [talk of endorsements] down. I didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t ask for it. I didn’t expect it. I had his number. I’d never call him for that.”
During a March 13 appearance on the podcast Cut The Crap, Ramthun said Trump’s endorsement would go to the “only America First candidate on the ballot.”
“I’m the only one who’s shown — in more than one way — that I can swim in shark-infested waters against the currents and get stuff done. I’ll tell you what, if he’s looking for a fighter, you’re looking at him right now,” Ramthun said on the podcast. “I expect if [Trump] is going to do anything in Wisconsin, it’ll be for me. But you don’t tell the president what to do. It’ll be on his time and I’m patient. I’ll wait because good things come to those who wait.”
While he was waiting, he got to make his case directly to Trump at Mar-a-Lago. Ramthun was invited to attend an April 7 fundraiser for Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. After Trump spoke at the event, the former president shook hands with attendees who were along a rope line. Ramthun gave the details to GOP voters at the June 7 event in Sun Prairie.
“I took his hand and pulled him toward me. And I said, ‘You and I need to talk’ and he saw my name. He knew instantly who I was,” Ramthun recalled to the crowd in Sun Prairie. “We talked for about a minute, roughly a minute, it seemed like an hour. But he said to me, ‘I’ll call you.’ That’s the last exchange I had with [Trump].”
That April 7 exchange was still a few weeks before Michels officially entered the race for governor. But even after his brief meeting with Trump, Ramthun says he was told by those “connected” to the former president to not worry and that he “was the guy.” Ramthun said these reassurances by Trump insiders continued even after the Republican Party of Wisconsin’s annual convention in late May.
“Ten days later, [Trump] goes with Michels,” Ramthun told the June 7 crowd of Dane County Republicans.
Michels did not immediately return Isthmus’ request for comment. But during a TV interview the day he received Trump’s endorsement, Michels told WISN-TV that “all the candidates had been coveting” the support from the former president.
“We were pretty excited when the phone rang. [I] had a nice conversation with [Trump] for three or four minutes. He talked about the race. He said, ‘I knew from the first time I met you that you were the guy that could win this thing and beat Tony Evers,’” Michels said during a June 3 interview on WISN-TV’s Upfront. “Trump loves winners. He sees that we’re winning this thing and that we’re gonna win this thing.”
Unlike Ramthun, Michels has not said he thinks the 2020 election was stolen in Wisconsin.
“I think what everybody is confident of is that there were problems with the election,” Michels said during the Upfront interview. “We’re not sure what the extent of it was. All we can do is make sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
No other elected official in Wisconsin has embraced Trump’s false narrative about the 2020 election as tightly as Ramthun. He led the failed legislative effort to decertify the results of the 2020 presidential election in Wisconsin and continues to tell voters “nefarious things, irregular things, and most likely illegal things happened in November of 2020,” despite any evidence that stands up to scrutiny.
Ramthun has even said that some Republicans may be in on the alleged plot, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Burlington). In January, Ramthun was disciplined by Vos (R-Burlington) for promoting “bold-faced lies” about the 2020 election.
“People continue to tell me, ‘Oh, Tim, you’re a conspiracy theorist.’ Or, ‘it’s not not constitutional [to decertify Wisconsin’s election results],’” Ramthun said during his speech to the Dane County GOP. “The only word that comes to mind for me is ignorance.”
Ramthun also weighed in on the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s attempt to boot Michels from the ballot. The Dems are challenging the validity of Michels’ nomination signatures, arguing the incorrect mailing address was used on some of the paperwork. Michels’ campaign acknowledges the error but says it was inadvertent and he should be allowed to stay on the ballot. Ramthun called this development “unfortunate.”
“If you didn’t get [the nomination papers] done right, don’t rules matter?” Ramthun asks the crowd. Many respond, “Yes.”
“Don’t laws matter? If I did it wrong, you’d hear about it. I’d be out real fast,” said Ramthun. “They don’t want me.”
Ramthun may not have Trump’s seal of approval as he heads into the Aug. 9 primary, but he still counts one big supporter on his side.
“The Lord has called me to serve,” Ramthun said when wrapping up his speech in Sun Prairie. “I have what it takes to deliver on day one. I will be the best governor this state ever had. So help me God.
“I ask for your vote. Thank you so very much for your time and buckle up! Good stuff is gonna happen.”
