MADISON, Wis. — From a slew of fake electors to the chief election denier himself, election conspiracy theorists were out in full force at the Wisconsin GOP’s convention last weekend, demonstrating that even years after Trump’s loss, the Republican Party is still dominated by the toxic election denialism that is profoundly alienating to Wisconsin voters.
Read on for the who’s who of election deniers in attendance at the Wisconsin GOP’s 2023 convention:
- Donald Trump. In a video message to convention attendees, Trump once again repeated lies about winning the 2020 election, saying of Wisconsin, “I love that state. We won it the first time and we won it the second time.”
- Tom Tiffany. Tom Tiffany objected to certifying President Biden’s victory in Pennsylvania and Arizona, said he would have voted to overturn Wisconsin’s election results had there been a vote on the House floor, and in 2023 still refuses to accept that Joe Biden won the 2020 election. As a sitting congressman and potential GOP Senate candidate, Tiffany joined the congressional panel on stage at the 2023 Wisconsin Republican convention.
- Derrick Van Orden. Van Orden crossed police lines on January 6th, and has falsely claimed there was “a tremendous amount of voter fraud” in the 2020 presidential election. Van Orden served as the GOPs convention chair this weekend.
- Bill Feehan. The Chair of the 3rd Congressional District GOP, Feehan posed as a fake Trump elector in 2020. At the 2023 Wisconsin GOP convention, conservative activist Scott Bolstad praised Feehan’s work as a fake elector, saying he “paid a price” for doing so.
- Bob Spindell. Spindell served as one of the GOP’s ten fake electors in 2020 and later bragged about voter suppression efforts in Milwaukee’s Black and Latino communities in the 2022 election. Spindell presented an award on behalf of his district during the convention.
- Pam Travis. Travis served as one of the ten fake Trump electors in 2020. At the 2023 GOP convention, Travis presented an award on stage and served as the convention secretary.
- Kathy Kiernan. Kiernan served as one of the GOP’s ten fake electors in 2020. Kiernan introduced a section of awards at the 2023 GOP convention and subsequently presented an award.
- Kelly Ruh. Ruh was subpoenaed by the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol for her role as one of the ten fake Trump electors from Wisconsin. Ruh later presented two awards at the 2023 Wisconsin GOP convention.
“Based on the lengthy list of election deniers welcomed to the Wisconsin GOP convention last weekend, it’s clear that the Republican Party is incapable of abandoning its toxic election denialism,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Haley McCoy. “By continuing to embrace election conspiracy theorists like Donald Trump, Tom Tiffany, and Derrick Van Orden, the Wisconsin GOP is proving yet again that they can’t be trusted to defend our democracy.”
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