Having strongly supported Rebecca Kleefisch in the WI GOP gubernatorial primary I have conceded I’m not totally enamored with the primary winner Tim Michels. And I’ve taken heat for it from some Republican friends.

I will say this about Michels. Anyone who has drawn the hatred of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (a la Senator Ron Johnson) must be OK.

The paper is out today with, no surprise, a hit piece on Michels.

Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels and his wife donated $250,000 to anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion groups, representing about 15% of his total donations in 2020. 

The Timothy and Barbara Michels Family Foundation  funded organizations that oppose all forms of contraception and abortions in all cases. The foundation also spent thousands on churches with anti-LGBTQ beliefs. 

The donations provide a window into how Michels may approach policymaking on such issues if elected governor if he unseats incumbent Tony Evers, who does not have a foundation.

Citing the latest MU poll the Journal Sentinel reports disagreement about the recent US Supreme Court ruling on Roe vs. Wade to bolster their attack on Michels.

How important the abortion will be for midterm voters has been the subject of conflicting news stories. Recent articles suggest voters are increasingly more focused on abortion. Others state with items like inflation and rampant crime hanging over America abortion is further down the list on the minds of voters.

Here’s what Michels has to say about the Journal Sentinel in an e-mail to supporters today:

Dear friend,

Did you see this? The media has reached a new low in Wisconsin.

This morning, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and their affiliated USA Today Wisconsin papers attacked me and my wife Barbara for our charitable giving.

Of course, they did not examine if Tony Evers donated to charity at all. Instead they attacked my family for giving to Christian causes.

The dishonest media are so in the tank for Tony Evers, they have now stooped so low as to attack mainstream churches and religious organizations. Help fight back here.

For four years, they turned a blind eye to the consequences of Evers’ many failures and are now all-in as accomplices in his desperate campaign to demonize me, my company, my family, and now even our personal charitable giving.

Assaulting the reputations of Catholic nuns, some of the largest churches in Wisconsin, and even cancer research is shameful, and the people of Wisconsin should not tolerate this disgusting, anti-religious bigotry.

The organizations we give to depend on generosity. I depend on your generosity to fight back against these unfair assaults by the media. Please donate now.

Tim