While the Democrats battle extremes within their party in tomorrow’s recall primary in Wisconsin, Governor Scott Walker faces his own challenge in the Republican primary.
Arthur Kohl-Riggs, a 23-year-old self-described “progressive Republican” who dresses like Abraham Lincoln and frequently appears at rallies around the state, is on the Republican primary ballot along with Walker.
I came across Kohl-Riggs at a union protest of the the Tax Day Tea Party in Wisconsin, where he was closely guarded by a minder during his interviews. Kohl-Riggs told me that he believes Scott Walker is a “fake Republican”:
I absolutely deny the idea that Abraham Lincoln would acknowledge Walker….
While Kohl-Riggs, who has written for The Progressive, appears to be of little threat to Walker, it is possible for Wisconsinites to vote (no, not that way) for candidates in both parties tomorrow. This leaves open the remote possibility that Kohl-Riggs could knock Walker off the ballot:
For the first time in recent memory, Wisconsin voters on Tuesday will be able to vote for both Republican and Democratic candidates on the same ballot.
Typically, voters in a primary election in Wisconsin must choose candidates from the same party for all offices up for election. However, the recall elections for governor and lieutenant governor have led to a unique situation in which primary voters can cross party lines to vote for each office.
“The difference is that each of these recall primaries is a separate event that just happen to be occurring on the same day,” explains Reid Magney, a spokesman for the Government Accountability Board. “There was a separate recall petition filed for each of these officeholders.”
To be clear: Voters can only vote for each office once. That means they must choose to vote in either the Democratic or Republican primary for governor, and they must also choose whether to vote in the Democratic or GOP primary for lieutenant governor.
Republicans in Wisconsin ought to consider this potential outcome when deciding whether to vote in the primary tomorrow. Kleefisch, who has not been challenged by another Republican, is being subjected to recall on the June ballot.
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Comments
A democrat/progressive plant for sure. Hopefully, Wisconsin voters are smart enough to detect the ploy..
This highlights, once again, the problems of “open” primaries.
When any Democrat on the primary ballot would suffice (or one of them is essentially unopposed as in Obama’s case), they are free to turn their efforts toward selecting their preferred general election opponent.
Until the GOP wakes up and exercises their right [California Democratic Party v. Jones, 530 U.S. 567 (2000)] to hold closed primaries/caucuses, they are at risk of letting the Democrats select their candidates for them (which I think has occurred in several instances this year).
[…] Before You Cast Your Ballot TuesdayPatch.comWall Street Journal -The Sheboygan Press -legal Insurrection (blog)all 870 news […]
The importance of the Walker recall is vastly understated…in my view-
As is the level of corruption in Wisconsin politics…
Thank you for highlighting this. It is entirely possible the Democrats would be happy with either candidate. So if Republicans vote in the Democratic primary to cause mischief, and Democrats for their guy in the Republican primary, Walker could be ousted in the primary. I don’t know if there would be a “write-in” possibility for Walker or not.
Of course, the Government Accountability Board was generous in allowing this joker on the ballot with just 2000 signatures. Some of those were questionable. Crazy.
We’ll be voting for Walker tomorrow. I suspect the Dems would prefer Barrett over his far left female opponent as Barrett probably has a better chance against Walker.
We live about 125 miles from Madison which has a longstanding history of being a leftist redoubt. The Wisconsin educational establishment boasts of the state’s excellent schools which recent data have indicated are less stellar than reported. The problem that Wisconsin has had in recent years is that the state has been unfriendly to business and there have been few jobs for all these exceptionally educated graduates to fill – so high tax Wisconsin ends up subsidizing the workforces of other states where there are actually professional opportunities. The Mercury outboard motor company is headquartered here and nearly relocated to Oklahoma a couple of years ago. Last minute extension of tax credits prevented its departure. But it’s touch and go. Walker has been excellent so far and the taxpayers and parents of the state, if not the unions, should strongly support him.
A guy dressed up as a fake Abe Lincoln calls Walker a fake Republican? LOL….
[…] There’s a detail Professor Jacobson at Legal Insurrection caught that should definitely be brought to light. If you’re in Wisconsin, you need to vote tomorrow to put Scott Walker on the ballot. It seems his being on there come June at all isn’t exactly guaranteed. […]
What is scary about this is that while the Democrat candidates have been in the news, there has been little mention of the guy against Walker. I found out about him when I looked at a sample ballot in our paper. I have googled a couple of times and always came up with just Walker.
The enemedia would prefer that you not know he [fake Abe] exists until he has been “chosen” as the GOP’s candidate.
[…] If you live in Wisconsin, the recall primary is just as important as getting the Dimmos and RINO’s out of Congress. Governor Walker, who has angered dimmos with Concealed Carry and fiscal reforms, is facing a challenge from a “progressive.” As Professor Jacobson’s Legal Insurrection explains here. […]
[…] Legal Insurrection writes: Kohl-Riggs “appears to be of little threat to Walker,” however in today’s […]