A win for voter integrity, a disappointing Supreme Court loss in Wisconsin

OPINION:

It takes three M’s to win in Wisconsin: message, manpower and money. These are the keys to success in the closest of battleground states. On Tuesday, voters approved an amendment to the state constitution codifying the law I signed years ago requiring photo identification to vote. That was a big win. Voters also elected a liberal to the state Supreme Court who will be part of a 4-3 activist majority. That is bad.

Very little money was spent on the referendum vote. Grassroots supporters of the photo ID-to-vote requirement were always pumped up. Most importantly, the message behind the law makes sense, even to most Democratic voters.

Ultimately, the referendum question passed by about a 2-1 margin, carrying all but two of the 72 counties. The photo ID requirement was the lone bright spot in Wisconsin’s otherwise gloomy election results.

Liberal billionaire Reid Hoffman has invested in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin for years. His efforts supported one of the most robust ground games in the history of our state last fall. Republicans were heavily outspent in the November election. Thankfully, the sheer force of President Trump’s personality and the horrible circumstances under the Biden-Harris administration helped Mr. Trump carry the Badger State.

Democrats kept their political machine in place after November to use in the spring elections. Mr. Hoffman, Gov. J.B. Pritzker and George Soros directed millions of dollars to the state party. Under Wisconsin law, that money can be transferred to the candidate, so Justice-elect Susan Crawford’s campaign got a massive infusion of cash early this year. This money was used to attack Judge Brad Schimel.

These early attack ads took Mr. Schimel’s best message off the table. He was a longtime prosecutor, district attorney and attorney general, with all the major law enforcement organizations backing him and all but one of the sheriffs who endorsed in the state behind him. He was the law-and-order candidate.

After a sea of cash was transferred from the party, the Crawford campaign immediately started a barrage of attack ads that greatly distorted the truth. They made false claims about his sentencing practices and time as attorney general. In turn, voters were confused when his ads rightly raised concerns about her weak sentencing practices as a judge. They neutralized the issue by confusing the voters. Historically, conservatives win these races by being tough on crime. That issue was taken off the table.

At the same time, liberal campaign volunteers were highly motivated by their hatred of Mr. Trump. They came out of the woodwork to contact fellow voters, and they were passionate in their efforts. The same was true for left-of-center voters. As was the case after Mr. Trump’s first victory, these voters desperately wanted to vote against him and be victorious.

Looking ahead, conservatives will not win another competitive race in Wisconsin until they figure out how to bring more money into the Republican Party of Wisconsin. Not only did the state Democrats outraise Republicans, but their ability to transfer it to the campaign allowed them to get the lowest cost for each television ad. Outside groups trying to offset the shortfalls in the state party and campaign accounts had to run ads that cost more than the advertisements run by the campaign. This means the dollars went further for the liberal candidate.

Conservatives must also figure out how to dominate the message. Mr. Trump did it in the fall when he addressed the border crisis, high prices and public safety. I did it during each of our three wins as governor. We focused on getting people back to work and solving the budget crisis while keeping our word to voters.

Candidates who do not dominate the message are disadvantaged, as media outlets tend to carry liberal talking points in a vacuum. In Wisconsin, Democrats used their significant fundraising advantage through their state party to transfer funds to the Crawford campaign to dominate the message. That neutralized the crime issue. Once that was off the table, natural voting patterns benefited the liberal jurist.

My home is a true swing state. Since 1990, only one candidate for governor has won when his party was in the White House. Swing voters in Wisconsin are often driven by opposition to the party in the White House. Winning as a conservative would always be tough in the year after the presidential election.

That said, the passage of the photo identification-to-vote amendment to the state Constitution gives me hope. Now, conservatives in Wisconsin need to find more ways to fund the state party to help candidates motivate supporters to get their message out and win. America is counting on it.