U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher’s announcement that he won’t seek another term in Congress is opening the way for a new face in Washington, and local GOP leaders are optimistic it will be a Republican again.
Richard Kucksdorf, Shawano County Republican Party chairman, said the the party is expected to have a rigorous vetting process.
“First, we’ll want to know if the candidate lives in the district,” he said. “Then, we’ll ask how long they’ve lived here. If they just moved here as a carpetbagger, how well can they represent the 8th District?”
That may have been an early critique of potential candidate Alex Bruesewitz, a supporter of former President Donald Trump and a GOP consultant. Bruesewitz is a former Wisconsin resident now living in Florida.
It was also an acknowledgement of the mistakes the party made in 2022 after Rep. Peter Schmidt won the Republican primary for the Wisconsin Assembly.
After the primary, it was revealed Schmidt had previously been charged with a felony but later convicted of misdemeanor disorderly conduct. As a result, the local party withdrew its support of Schmidt. He was also censured by the county party and prohibited from participating county GOP activities.
At that time, Kucksdorf said the Shawano County GOP failed to vet the six candidates before the primary.
Gallagher announced Feb. 10 he would not seek a fifth term in Congress.
“Eight years ago, when I first ran for Congress, I promised to treat my time in office as a high-intensity deployment,” he said. “Through my bipartisan work on the Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, chairing the Cyberspace Solarium Commission and chairing the Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, we’ve accomplished more on this deployment than I could have ever imagined.
“But the Framers intended citizens to serve in Congress for a season and then return to their private lives. Electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old. And so, with a heavy heart, I have decided not to run for re-election.”
Kucksdorf said Gallagher often partnered with a Democrat to bring forward bills regarding term limits. However, former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi would turn the Democrats’ vision, he said, and he or she would back down before the matter came up for a vote, so it never worked out.
“I know his wife (Anne) is not a fan of the political life,” Kucksdorf said. “He wants a civilian job. Washington, D.C., is very intoxicating. When he was named chair of the Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, they dangled other committee chairmanships in front of him, then told him just a few more terms and then it’s the Senate. After that, it’s the presidency.”
Kucksdorf also related that Gallagher had recently been receiving death threats. He also was victim of swatting, in which someone had called Brown County authorities and told them Gallagher was dead and his wife and children were being held as hostages. A SWAT team was called to Gallagher’s home that night, Kucksdorf said.
“I think that was the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Kucksdorf said.
However, even before Gallagher’s announcement, Ken Sikora, Oconto County Republican Party chairman, was urging party leaders to consider an alternative in the 2024 election cycle.
Gallagher was one of a handful of Republicans who voted with Democrats against impeaching Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for not stemming the flow of immigrants on the nation’s southern border.
Sikora, in a letter to GOP county chairman in the 8th District, said Gallagher was expected to do the right thing, hold people accountable and vote for impeachment instead of giving lip service.
“I believe it is time that we start seriously considering Gallagher alternatives,” he wrote.
Sikora said Bruesewitz would have his support if he opted to run and invited Bruesewitz to address the county GOP.
“We are excited to welcome him to Oconto County and North East Wisconsin to help promote conservatism and the MAGA movement,” Sikora wrote.
Bruesewitz was scheduled as the featured speaker at the Oconto County Republican Party 2024 Caucus on Feb. 17 in Lena.
Bruesewitz had repeatedly attacked Gallagher on social media following Gallagher’s vote against impeaching Mayorkas earlier this month.
Roger Stone, a former Trump adviser, wrote on X that Bruesewitz “would have the full support of the MAGA movement” if he ran.
Former state Sen. Roger Roth, an Appleton Republican, said just hours after Gallagher’s announcement that he would run for the seat.
Roth served as state Senate president from 2017-21 and ran for lieutenant governor alongside GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels in 2022.
He previously ran for the 8th District in 2010 but was defeated in the GOP primary by former Rep. Reid Ribble.
State Sen. Andre Jacque, a Republican from De Pere, is also reportedly considering a run.
No Democrats were firmly running for the seat before Gallagher’s announcement. However, former journalist Kelly Peterson, Navy veteran Alicia Saunders, and women’s health Dr. Kristin Lyerly all expressed interest in running at an event held last month by Women Win Wisconsin.
Congressional candidates must file their paperwork to run in Wisconsin by June 1 to be on the ballot for the primary, set for Aug. 13.
Kucksdorf said he doesn’t intend to bring any undeclared candidates to meet with local party members.
kpasson@newmedia-wi.com
Gallagher won’t seek re-election to Congress
