For reasons previously described at RightWisconsin, I have endorsed state Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Brookfield) for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination. I think she’s the better choice among two good options.
Kevin Nicholson’s political history, of course, is fair game. It’s understandable that Leah would tout her long-term conservative pedigree. For many hard-core voters in the GOP base, her credentials on that score will matter a good deal.
Those who doubt Kevin’s bona fides might want to think twice. Is there really a litmus test for admission to Wisconsin conservatism that blocks entry to former liberals? That would fence out a current talk radio host, and a former one, from the discussion. Would I have to stamp a warning label on my forehead because I voted for Hubert Humphrey and George McGovern and worked for Pat Lucey and Les Aspin? Do conservatives not want the strength of their ideas to be the basis for switches of the kind Kevin has made?
And then there’s the matter of who Kevin’s relatives support in November. You could actually argue that it’s a feather in his cap that he has enough of an independent mind to take a starkly different course.
For me, there are two elections that really matter in Wisconsin this year. One involves Judge Michael Screnock’s campaign for the Supreme Court. The other involves helping elect either Leah Vukmir or Kevin Nicholson to the U.S. Senate. Both are legitimate conservatives who have earned the right to take their case to the voters.