Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch Announces Bid For WI Governor

WISCONSIN — Rebecca Kleefisch, a Republican, announced Thursday that she will be running against Democrat Gov. Tony Evers in the 2022 election.

Kleefisch, the former lieutenant governor, made her announcement in a campaign video that blasted Evers' leadership. She said that Evers' term was "marked by failure and weakness."

In the 2-minute and 40-second video, Kleefisch criticized Evers' reaction to protests in Kenosha in 2020 following the police shooting of Jacob Blake. She accused him of working with "liberal activists and union bosses" to close schools during the early stages of the pandemic.

Kleefisch also attacked Evers for vetoing a bill that would cut additional unemployment benefits from people who lost their jobs during the pandemic.

There was no mention of the COVID-19 pandemic or the 7,686 Wisconsin deaths confirmed by state health data in the video.

Sam Roecker, a spokesperson for Evers, said that Kleefisch left a "devastating mark" on Wisconsin during her eight-year term as lieutenant governor. Roecker said she attacked public schools, cut transportation funding and gave tax breaks to corporations, WisPolitics.com reported.

The new candidate filed papers with the Wisconsin Ethics Commission to run for governor a week before introducing her agenda for her nonprofit foundation in late August, the Wisconsin Examiner reported.

Patch reached out to Kleefisch and Evers' offices for comment.