NEW: Tom Tiffany Calls Out Tim Michels’ Campaign for Dodging Questions
Tiffany: “There’s a few people that have questions. You need to allow them to ask those questions.”
MADISON, Wis. — Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels kicked off the general election with a week of hiding from voters and dodging the press. Since then, he’s attended a handful of invite-only events with GOP leaders and has left serious questions about his radical record unanswered.
Though he continues to hide from most Wisconsinites, it stands to reason that Michels would be willing to take questions during Republican-friendly events, right? Instead, it seems like Michels is just as unwilling to address voters’ concerns in private as he is in public. Maybe that’s because he’s so radical, he’s out of step with even Republicans on issues like abortion.
At an invite-only event last week in Minocqua, Michels’ staff got in a testy exchange with former Rebecca Kleefisch surrogate, Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany, who criticized Michels’ staff for refusing to let their candidate take questions – even during the Republican-friendly events that Michels is willing to attend.
Tiffany told a Michels staffer, “You should be careful about just saying it’s going to be a quick exit. I understand that you guys got a tight schedule. But Tim hit the nail on the head in regards to, there’s a few people that have questions. You need to allow them to ask those questions.”
Tiffany pointed out that voters have questions about where Michels stands and that the candidate needs to provide some answers.
Here’s just a few of the questions Michels is avoiding:
- Does Michels stand by his comments defending Trump for allegedly stealing classified documents that could threaten our nation’s security, knowing that the FBI had the legal justification to remove the documents from Donald Trump after many attempts to do so?
- After attacking law enforcement for doing their jobs, does Michels agree with Mike Pence that Republicans should stop attacking “rank-and-file law enforcement personnel”? Given concerns over a dirty bomb targeting the FBI headquarters and increased threats against their agents following Michels’ and Trump’s outrageous comments attacking law enforcement, Michels must answer whether he stands by his previous comments.
- Does Michels want Trump to visit Wisconsin again, after Michels was caught scrubbing every mention of Trump’s endorsement from his website?
- Now that Michels is campaigning with Ron Johnson, does Michels also think that if someone doesn’t like the abortion laws in their state, that they should simply move? Does he support Johnson’s efforts to bring fake electors to Mike Pence and overturn the results of the presidential election in Wisconsin?
- Does Michels support the GOP bill to allow concealed carry in Wisconsin without any permit or training?
Since the beginning of his campaign, Michels has staked out radical positions on: abortion, calling Wisconsin’s 1849 ban that doesn’t include exceptions for rape or incest “an exact mirror” of his position; LGBTQ+ rights, when he confirmed he supports restricting the rights of LGBTQ+ Wisconsinites; and education, when he called continuing to fund public education the “definition of insanity.” Continuing the trend of not answering questions, Michels also refused to say whether he would certify the 2024 election, something the governor is required by law to do.
“Tim Michels claims he’s an outsider, but he’s dodging questions about his radical record like the insider politician he is,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Communications Director Iris Riis. “Even when talking to the ultra-MAGA base of the Republican Party, Michels and his staff aren’t prepared to take questions on the issues that matter. Michels can’t hide from questions about his extreme agenda forever — Wisconsin deserves answers.”
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