MADISON, Wis. — Yesterday, Rebecca Kleefisch released her self-described policy “manifesto.” outlining her radical agenda for the Badger State. Mere hours later, it was revealed that Kleefisch had also filed paperwork to run for governor in 2022.
If there was any doubt left about her intentions, Kleefisch made it clear yesterday that she’s running for governor, and she’s been using the 1848 Project to hide her donors, abuse the tax code, and avoid the scrutiny that comes from being an announced candidate. An IRS complaint was filed against the 1848 Project earlier this year.
We know Kleefisch isn’t interested in unifying our state or finding solutions for Wisconsin – her record speaks for itself. As Scott Walker’s lieutenant governor, Kleefisch:
- Cut $800 million from public education;
- Championed Gov. Walker’s legislation that led to a historic teacher shortage;
- Notoriously supported repealing the Affordable Care Act, which would result in 430,000+ Wisconsinites losing their insurance, gutting protections for 2.5 million Wisconsinites with pre-existing conditions, and severely damaging our state’s economy;
- Negotiated a massive piece of corporate welfare for the Taiwanese company Foxconn, which could have cost Wisconsinites $3 billion—and later escalated to $4.5 billion;
- And cut transportation and infrastructure, leaving Wisconsin’s roads in dangerously bad condition.
This is only the beginning. Her campaign platform doubles down on the Walker-Kleefisch agenda and is even more extreme. It includes yanking resources from public schools, cutting taxes for her wealthy friends and donors, blocking BadgerCare expansion, and more. (And doesn’t include anything on vaccines, preventing serious illness or deaths from COVID-19, or pandemic relief for small businesses.)
“Radical Rebecca’s policy manifesto is even more extreme than the worst parts of the Walker-Kleefisch administration’s far-right agenda,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Kayla Anderson. “As lieutenant governor, Kleefisch championed policies that deeply hurt Wisconsinites, from underfunding roads and bridges and slashing education funding to negotiating the largest corporate tax break to a foreign company in history. We can’t let Rebecca Kleefisch erase all the progress made by Gov. Evers and impose her radical agenda on Wisconsin.”
