Mark Scheffler has no intention of being one of the Democratic representatives if he succeeds from wresting Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District from Tony Wied’s grasp.
Scheffler is one of four Democrats who will face off Aug. 11 in a primary to face Wied in the general election in November, and he paid a visit Feb. 12 to Shawano — a trip to what he called the “lion’s den” because Shawano County is a heavily Republican area. Scheffler hopes to change that, and he said he plans to shed off the Democrat persona and be an independent in Congress, similar to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or Maine Sen. Angus King.
That campaign promise garnered quite a bit of attention during his recent forum at Shawano Community High School.
“The thing that I told every county party and every chair is, if I get to Washington after winning the election in November is that I’ll be serving as an independent in the House of Representatives,” Scheffler said. “I just think that it’s really, really important that we get our priorities straight, and for me, it’s an oath of allegiance to the Constitution, an oath of allegiance to the voters who sent me there and those who didn’t.”
Serving a political party is not a priority for Scheffler, he said, and he noted how harmful it can be to constituents, holding up Wied as an example for his tendency to uphold the agenda set by President Donald Trump. Scheffler noted that, while he’d prefer to run as an independent, history has shown that voters tend to gravitate to members of one of the two political parties when they’re in the voting booth.
“What’s most important for me is listening,” Scheffler said. “It’s important for me to be here for the rural communities and to do the things that all of us need to do, which is talking to people who don’t necessarily agree with us.”
Scheffler’s intent did not sit well with Paul Kaneshiro, a Shawano Democrat. Kaneshiro took Scheffler to task during a question and answer session and felt his running on the Democratic ticket was dishonest.
“Help me understand why that’s not a betrayal,” Kaneshiro said. “I vote for you twice, once in the primary and once in the general, and then, all of a sudden, you’re not a Democrat.”
Scheffler said he doesn’t see it as betraying the Democratic Party, noting that he’s been upfront on his intention since he started his campaign. He said that there’s a loyalty factor in both the Democratic and Republican parties.
“One of the legitimate complaints in Congress right now is that there are people who put their party first, and the example I give time and time again is that the gentleman I’m running against in the final, Tony Wied, has said very clearly that he’s there for one reason only, and that’s to hold up the Trump agenda,” Scheffler said. “I think that’s suspicious, because what if that’s not the right thing to do? What if the people of the district might think differently?”
He said a lot of the policies he’s in favor of are progressive, common-sense initiatives that benefit everyone, not just one side of the spectrum, especially the fringes.
“My intention as an independent is to extend an olive branch to people in the community who don’t trust the political process,” Scheffler said. “One of the things I heard at my event in Oconto is that people go into Congress to enrich themselves. They might go in penniless and come out of Congress uber, uber wealthy. I think people are right to be suspicious.”
Scheffler founded Appleton Group Wealth Management in 2002 and said he has created sustainable wealth to keep him afloat in life, so there’s no need to try and get richer through a term or two in Washington, D.C.
Kaneshiro had a hard time buying Scheffler’s explanation and pressed him further on why he shouldn’t run a third-party campaign.
“Why put on this coat of a Democrat to get our votes and then turn around and say, ‘Hey, I’m an independent’?” Kaneshiro said.
Scheffler’s explanation found more sympathy later on from a conservative who asked him about his key campaign intention.
“From day one, I’ve been absolutely consistent about what I’m going to do, what my intentions are,” Scheffler said. “I think it would be completely disingenuous for me to not be honest, and when I’m elected, suddenly say, ‘Oh, by the way, I’m withdrawing my party affiliation and serve as an independent.’ That would be really, really hard to understand. Saying I’m going to be independent means I’m not under anyone’s thumb.”
In terms of campaign finances, Scheffler said he’s not taking any donations from the Democratic Party itself or from any corporations or organizations. He’ll only accept donations from individuals, he said, noting that Sen. Herb Kohl was the same way, promising that he wouldn’t be anyone’s senator except Wisconsin’s.
Scheffler noted it was important for him to do in-person events like the one in Shawano so that people could confront him directly on any concerns on issues like defense, taxes, agriculture and gender, to name a few. He said the incumbent is not meeting with constituents in forums here in Wisconsin.
“Rep. Tony Wied, two weeks ago, did a virtual town hall, and on that call, he said he’s never going to do an in-person town hall because he wants to do these virtual town halls,” Scheffler said. “In rural communities, many people can’t even get into these dial-in town halls and asking the questions they want to be asking.”
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
