MADISON, Wis. – When asked today whether he supports same-sex marriage or believes it should be banned, Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels said he believes “marriage should be between a man and a woman.”

This comes two weeks after Governor Tony Evers raised the Progress Pride Flag above the State Capitol and Tim Michels dodged journalists and bent over backwards to avoid answering questions about his radical views on marriage equality.

In his run for U.S. Senate in 2004, Michels made inflammatory comments regarding same-sex marriage, including that he doesn’t believe LGTBQ+ people should “bring it out of [the] house”: “When you bring it out of your house and onto the public street, that’s where I differ” and that people shouldn’t have “gay values” imposed upon them. He also supported a Constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.

Rebecca Kleefisch also has extreme opinions on same sex marriage — including that it is a slippery slope that could lead to “marrying inanimate objects” like clocks and tables. She also compared gay marriage to humans marrying dogs.

Support for gay marriage has steadily increased in recent years, and according to an April 2022 Marquette Law School poll, 72% of Wisconsinites support gay marriage. By partisan group, 82% of Independents and 58% of Republicans now support gay marriage.

“Just like in his failed Senate run in 2004, Tim Michels is once again staking out the most radical position on gay marriage,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Rapid Response Director Hannah Menchhoff. “Wisconsinites overwhelmingly support gay marriage, including 58% of Republicans. It’s no surprise that the extreme Republicans running for governor are all out of step with voters. Tim Michels continues to prove that he is too radical for Wisconsin.”

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