Wisconsin governor announces reelection bid

Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers (D) announced on Saturday he plans to run for re-election next year. 

Evers, a first term Democrat from a state that voted for President Biden in the 2020 presidential election, made the announcement during the Wisconsin Democratic Party’s Convention, which was being held virtually due to the pandemic.

“Even though I haven’t played much hockey, I have come to appreciate the role of being a goalie,” Evers said during an interview with The Associated Press.

He cited his response to the coronavirus pandemic as “easily the most important thing that we’ve done,” during his first three years in office. 

“We have lots of work to do that the people of Wisconsin expect us to work on,” he said. “And, of course, we’ve done that with the backdrop of having not a whole lot of help from the Republicans in the Legislature.” 

Evers has clashed with Republicans in the state legislature over his use of executive authority to implement statewide mandates during the pandemic relative to face masks, capacity limits and social distancing orders. 

A former state superintendent of schools, Evers was first elected in 2018 after defeating Gov. Scott Walker (R) following Walker’s failed presidential run in 2016. 

Anna Kelly, a Wisconsin Republican Party spokeswoman blasted Evers for deciding to run for re-election in a statement to the AP over the weekend. 

“Evers has nothing to campaign on except a record of incompetence, absent leadership and four years of zero accomplishment,” Kelly said.

The Republican primary to challenge Evers in Wisconsin is expected to be crowded and include Walker’s former lieutenant governor, Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson, who ran and lost for U.S. Senate in 2018.