Gov. Tony Evers all but announced his re-election bid yesterday. But in typical Tony fashion, he let the Journal Sentinel make the announcement for him.
Democratic Gov. Tony Evers effectively launched his re-election bid Wednesday by announcing his campaign team.
Evers for months has signaled he will seek a second term and inched closer to making it official Wednesday by saying Cassi Fenili would serve as his campaign manager.
Fenili was his deputy campaign manager in 2018 when he defeated Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Fenili worked for the first half of 2019 in the governor's office as Evers' appointments director and then took on roles as an adviser to Evers' campaign and the state Democratic Party.
It is a fairly basic story. There’s little more than the inside baseball news of a former staffer going back to the campaign.
This is not the big, glittery re-election launch that many office holders plan.
And it’s by design.
What is there for Gov. Evers to highlight?
I asked this on Twitter yesterday.
So what is @GovEvers re-election pitch?
A failed unemployment system? Record crime in Milwaukee and Madison? Violence in Kenosha last summer?
His first three years have been nothing to brag about.
I got a few responses. Most said he has nothing to brag about.
Rebecca Klefisch, who at this point looks like the strongest Republican candidate, asked the same question.
Kenosha burned under his watch. He couldn’t answer the phone to help unemployed Wisconsinites during HIS shutdown. He pushed billions in tax hikes. That’s Tony Evers' Wisconsin. Does he think he deserves another four years?
Gov. Evers has been an incredibly weak governor for the past three years.
That’s not just a partisan observation.
Tell me one thing Tommy Thompson did, tell me one thing Scott Walker did, if you remember tell me one thing that Jim Doyle did. Now tell me one thing Tony Evers has done?
But even with all of that, you have to think Evers is the favorite heading into November of next year.
One, because Becky Kleefisch has yet to step-out and offer any new ideas. She and the Republican Party need to step-up their game. And soon.
And two, because as a Twitter follower put it, the legacy media and the establishment in Madison and Milwaukee wants Tony Evers re-elected.
Don't worry.....Gannett/JSOnline/Madison.com all have a plan that will bury any opposition and make Tony a savior to all of WI. Also remember Dane County will somehow find a way to allegedly have 95% turnout at 90% for Tony to ensure he will be reelected.....
And that’s sad. Because Tony Evers really is a weak governor. All he had to do was be a placeholder, all he had to do was not screw it up. But he did. Badly. Now he’s running for re-election. And at this point, there’s a really good chance he’ll win.
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