MADISON, Wis. — The Republican candidate for governor of Wisconsin who has the endorsement of Donald Trump won’t rule out trying to decertify President Joe Biden’s 2020 victory in the battleground state, even if leaders Legislators and GOP lawyers on both sides dismissed the idea as impossible and unconstitutional.

Tim Michels, co-owner of the state’s largest construction company, Michels Corp, told WKOW-TV on Tuesday that he “would need to see the details” when asked if he would sign a bill. to cancel the certification of the election results. Michels’ refusal to rule out the idea came days after Trump renewed his call for decertification after a 4-3 ruling by the conservative-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court that mail-in ballot boxes are illegal.

Trump and others who support decertification, including Republican State Rep. Tim Ramthun, who is also a gubernatorial candidate, argue the court ruling invalidates 2020 results, as covid-19 vaccines were not yet available and absentee drop boxes were widely used. . Ramthun is only asking for the presidential race to be decertified — not his or anyone else’s race from 2020 or earlier. The ballot boxes were also used in 2016, he does not call for the decertification of the 2016 presidential race which was won by Trump.

Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who said he believed there was widespread fraud in the 2020 election even though there was no evidence of it, declined to decertify the results, saying it would be impossible. Vos, who is being challenged in the Aug. 9 primary by a decertification supporter, declined to comment on Michels’ position.

Biden won Wisconsin by nearly 21,000 votes, a result that withstood recounts in the state’s two largest counties, multiple lawsuits, a nonpartisan audit and cabinet review. conservative lawyers. An investigation by a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice hired by Vos did not turn up evidence that would have justified overturning the election results.

Polls show Michels is in a tight Republican primary race against former Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, with Ramthun a distant third. The winner of the Aug. 9 primary will advance to face Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in a race that is expected to shatter state spending records and is a top priority for both parties nationwide.

“You know, I have to be sworn in as governor first, and we have a lot of work to do to get there,” Michels told WKOW when first asked if he would pursue decertification. . “Fortunately, it’s looking good. We’re skyrocketing in the polls. We’re leading.”

When pressed, Michels said, “You know, I have to work with the Legislative Assembly and see what these bills look like. As a businessman, I just don’t say, ‘ I will do this or I will do that. It’s always a question of details. I need to see what the bills will look like.

Kleefisch said she believed the 2020 election was “rigged”, but she refrained from calling for decertification, saying there was “no clear path” to overturning the results. Ramthun is the staunchest proponent of decertification, a cause he took up on Tuesday by reintroducing a legislative resolution to overturn the results.

All three Republican candidates support scrapping Wisconsin’s bipartisan Election Commission. They also support banning private grants for running elections, like what more than 200 Wisconsin communities received in 2020 from a group funded by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, and making absentee voting more difficult. .

Tim Michels, Republican candidate for governor of Wisconsin, kicks off Michels Freedom Tour on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at his campaign headquarters on East Walnut Street in Green Bay, Wis. (Samantha Madar/The Post-Crescent via AP)

Tim Michels, Republican candidate for governor of Wisconsin, kicks off Michels Freedom Tour on Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at his campaign headquarters on East Walnut Street in Green Bay, Wis. (Samantha Madar/The Post-Crescent via AP)