Wisconsin Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate Kevin Nicholson has been endorsed by the Wisconsin Right to Life PAC following an ad campaign critical of his pro-life beliefs by a group supporting his GOP rival, state Sen. Leah Vukmir.
“The Wisconsin Right to Life PAC endorsement of Kevin Nicholson is a direct rebuke of the misleading attacks that Leah Vukmir and her allies have made on Kevin’s pro-life beliefs,” said Cheyenne Foster, campaign manager for the Marine veteran, in a press statement. “While Kevin was not raised in a pro-life home, his faith, the birth of his children, and his time spent in combat where he saw the loss of innocent life made an enormous impact on his views, leading to his strong and undeniable support for life.”
The pro-Vukmir Wisconsin Next PAC, funded in part by Beloit billionaire Diane Hendricks, released the ad which features a clip of Nicholson speaking at the 2000 Democratic Party national convention in which he said, “We care about a woman’s right to choose.”
Both Nicholson and Vukmir are vying for the U.S. Senate seat occupied by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin. The Journal Sentinel notes the Republican primary has thus far been “dominated by third-party groups that have spent millions of dollars for and against both candidates.”
As the Associated Press observes, Vukmir has focused her campaign on winning the endorsement of longstanding GOP supporters she has “known and worked with for years,” while Nicholson is considered a political outsider.
Breitbart News reported in October that Vukmir was “at one time in her career a grassroots conservative who ended up aligning with the establishment over the past several years.”
“Kevin’s going to help drain the swamp in Washington, and he’s going to stand up to leaders in both parties when they get it wrong,” said Nicholson spokeswoman Ronica Cleary, reports the Journal Sentinel. “Leah won’t — she’ll do what they say when they say it. That’s the difference.”
Both Nicholson and Vukmir have been endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life and Pro-Life Wisconsin.
In a statement of endorsement of candidates, Matt Sande, director of Pro-Life Wisconsin’s Victory Fund PAC said, “We proudly endorse these candidates who recognize the personhood of the preborn baby and hold the principled and compassionate no-exceptions pro-life position.”
“Only when we have lawmakers who will fully protect preborn children as persons will we see an end to the scandal of legal abortion,” he added.
Foster said in her statement that Nicholson has joined with the pro-life community in educating and encouraging people to “embrace the importance of protecting innocent life.”
“Attacking or questioning a person’s individual journey to supporting life is an affront to the many who have experienced the same conversion,” she added.
“I am honored to receive this endorsement,” Nicholson said in the statement regarding the Wisconsin Right to Life PAC’s support, adding:
My focus remains on defeating Tammy Baldwin so that sensible people can work together to protect innocent life. The importance of defeating Tammy Baldwin was highlighted again this week, when Baldwin indicated that she wouldn’t support President Trump’s nomination of Constitutional originalist justices like Judge Brett Kavanaugh, who understand that our Constitution is fundamentally a pro-life document.
Nicholson is a decorated Marine Corps veteran who served combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Currently, he is a business consultant and a first-time candidate running for the U.S. Senate.
The Wisconsin primary election is August 14.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.