Democratic voters in Wisconsin will have lots of choices for president this year. Republicans will have just one.
The committee that selects candidates for the upcoming elections on Tuesday selected President Donald Trump as the only Republican candidate for 2020.
Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Andrew Hitt said the party has not “seen the commitment” from former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh or former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld.
Both are running campaigns for president, but neither are polling above single digit support in any recent Republican presidential poll.
Walsh, on Twitter, said the decision is predictable.
“So yet another state in America wants to disenfranchise its voters,” Walsh tweeted. “That would make 10 states in which Republican Party bosses have cancelled primaries. All to protect their King.”
Walsh and Weld are not out of luck in Wisconsin. They can still make the ballot, but will need to collect 8,000 valid signatures in Wisconsin by the end of the month.
There will be no shortage of Democrats for voters to choose from. The committee selected 14 candidates to appear on the April primary ballot.
Frontrunners Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren all made the cut. As did former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg; New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker; former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard; Minn. Sen. Amy Klobuchar; former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick; investor and activist Tom Steyer; author and spiritual leader Marianne Williamson; entrepreneur Andrew Yang; Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet; and former Maryland Rep. John Delaney.
The latest Marquette Law School poll from December puts Biden in the lead in Wisconsin. He is the first choice of 23 percent of Democrats, followed by Sanders, who is the first choice of 19 percent. Warren is the first choice for 16 percent of Wisconsin Democrats, followed by Buttigieg at 15 percent. All other candidates are polling under 5 percent in Wisconsin.
Benjamin Yount reports on Illinois and Wisconsin statewide issues for The Center Square. Reposted with permission.
