(The Center Square) – The top Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly says he’s not afraid of this fall’s election.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos told News Talk 1130 WISN’s Jay Weber he’s actually looking forward to running under the new legislative maps the Gov. Tony Evers drew.
“Gov. Evers is now emboldened to show more and more of the true liberal that he always has been, because the legislature now has maps which are drawn by him,” Vos said. “So, we need to actually make sure we’re telling the people in Wisconsin what we believe. Because I am very confident that most of the voters don’t want government to grow.”
Evers’s maps pit dozens of incumbent Republican lawmakers against each other, many in new districts.
Vos is also facing a recall bid.
He said that effort is being driven by people who hate him, and by so-called Republicans who are working with Democrats.
“This is not some kind of a grassroots effort where the people in my district are angry because I did something wrong. It’s a bunch of out of state people who have been fed the lie that somehow I, as the speaker of the Assembly, could have given the election to Donald Trump, and stop Joe Biden from being in office. That is an impossibility that could never happen. And there are a few local people who were hired, who are grifters, getting paid to be able to [drive the recall].”
At the statewide level, Vos said Republicans in Wisconsin will continue to have an advantage and will likely keep control over both the Assembly and the Senate.
“Look, under these maps it’s competitive, there’s no doubt. Even the Democrats will admit [the maps start] with a Republican lien because that’s the geography of Wisconsin. So right now, we have 64 Republicans, we will come back with a majority somewhere in the 50s, and we will still have strong conservatives in charge in both chambers. The world is not going to change, other than the fact that the Democrats who for 20 years have blamed the maps as the reason that they’re failed policies aren’t being adopted in Wisconsin. We can say ‘we ran on Gov. Evers’ maps, and the people of Wisconsin rejected your notion to turn us into Illinois.’ So, I’m actually relishing the idea that we’ll come back in January with a good strong majority and be able to be even more steadfast.”
