Special counsel Michael Gableman endorsed the primary rival of Republican Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, coming after the lawmaker hired him to investigate the 2020 election, according to former President Donald Trump.
Vos picked Gableman, a former judge, to lead the state assembly’s investigation into the 2020 election last year. Gableman made an appearance at a rally with the former president in Waukesha on Friday as Trump stated that Gableman was endorsing Vos’s primary challenger, Adam Steen.
“And you know, Michael is endorsing Steen,” Trump said. Gableman spoke at the Trump rally and did not mention Steen or Vos, delivering the prayer.
“I wasn’t expecting anyone to be interested in me at all,” Gableman told the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal. “That was a surprise.”
Gableman has called on Wisconsin lawmakers to decertify the 2020 election, although his investigation has faced blowback from top Democrats such as Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.
But Steen told the Journal Sentinel that he’s concerned Vos could end the Gableman inquiry after the special counsel endorsed him.
“I’ve said multiple times that I am willing to give up everything that I have for this election. And it’s so important, because Justice Gableman is in the same spot, right? We understand what’s at stake here. It’s not just a race,” Steen said. “This really is the most important race because we’re looking at a fork in the road.”
Vos, meanwhile, issued a statement in response to Gableman’s statement last week. Steen, Vos said, has “extreme and unconstitutional” viewpoints about the 2020 election.
“While they focus on the impossible, I will continue to focus my campaign on the conservative principles of fighting for lower taxes, enacting real election reforms, holding criminals accountable, and giving parents more control of their kids’ education,” he added.
Last week, Trump endorsed Steen, a Republican, who is battling Vos in the 63rd Assembly District. In recent months, Trump has criticized Vos for not doing enough following the 2020 election.
Also during the Trump rally, the former president used the event to back Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels. The winner of the GOP primary will face Evers, a Democrat seeking his second term in office during the November 2022 midterms.
Wisconsin’s primary elections are scheduled to be held on Tuesday, Aug. 9
