Aug 9 2022

He hasn’t been here for Covid. He hasn’t been here for Kenosha” — where riots broke out in August 2020 following the shooting of an unarmed Black man by a white police officer — she said. “The people of the state want someone who has thought about these things in depth, has spoken with people in depth, has worked on these things in depth and is ready to go into the fight.”

Some Kleefisch supporters said those attack lines resonated.

“He’s a carpetbagger,” said Rick Eaton, a retired truck driver from Franklin. “It feels like he hasn’t really been involved in the future of Wisconsin. Hasn’t done much for the state.”

But politics watchers and strategists in the state said Kleefisch’s ties to Walker aren’t certain to push her over the finish line.