Former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch (R), who is running for governor in Wisconsin, vowed during a Breitbart News Saturday interview to focus on law and order in her state should she be elected to replace Gov. Tony Evers (D).
Kleefisch said during the interview she believes Wisconsinites need a “tough on crime” leader after Evers “allowed Kenosha to burn” in 2020. The city of Milwaukee, under Evers’ leadership, also saw one of the highest increases in homicides in the country from 2019 to 2021, per a Wallet Hub report.
“Tony Evers has sided with the far-left fringes of the Democratic Party,” Kleefisch said. “And it’s really sad because this is the defund the police movement-style rhetoric that we know damages morale in police departments across the state.”
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Evers gained a reputation in 2020 for avoiding National Guard assistance at times and sympathizing with Black Lives Matter protesters and rioters at the expense of peace, primarily in the small city of Kenosha.
Following violent riots stemming from George Floyd protests occurring across Wisconsin during the late spring and early summer of 2020, renewed rioting occurred in August 2020 in Kenosha after Jacob Blake, a black man facing multiple criminal charges, was shot seven times by a police officer there and left paralyzed.
The rioting, which became destructive and deadly, occurred after Evers posted a string of statements online following the Blake incident, failing to call for peaceful protests. Evers instead condemned “racism” and wrote that he stood with those who demand “justice, equity, and accountability for Black lives in our country.”
In this August 27, 2020, file photo, Gov. Tony Evers speaks during a news conference in Kenosha, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Both state and federal investigations led to the police officer who shot Blake being cleared of all charges.
Kleefisch pointed to the list of law enforcement representatives backing her instead of Evers in her race, saying, “We need someone who’s tough on crime, and I’m the choice of law enforcement in Wisconsin, been endorsed by more than half of our sheriffs and the Milwaukee Police Association, the Kenosha Police Association.”
“So many people across this country have heard of Kenosha because Gov. Evers allowed Kenosha to burn,” Kleefisch added.
Kleefisch, the front-running candidate in the Republican gubernatorial primary, launched her campaign to unseat Evers in September. The Wisconsin Republican served as lieutenant governor alongside Gov. Scott Walker (R) for two terms through 2019 and spoke about the “tremendous reform” their administration accomplished while she was in office.
“We became a concealed carry state. We did prevailing wage reform. We became a right-to-work state. We defunded Planned Parenthood in the state of Wisconsin. We dropped taxes by $13 billion, and I’m proud of my record,” Kleefisch said. “And if you want to see even more of that in Wisconsin, if you want to see Wisconsin become the birthplace of universal school choice, if you want to see transformational income tax reform, and if you want to see law and order once again restored in the state where Evers has promoted lawlessness, well, I’m your guy.”
Kleefisch, should she win the nomination, is expected to have a competitive race against Evers in Wisconsin’s political battleground. The state’s gubernatorial contest is one of three taking place this year that Cook Political Report shifted in December from “lean Democrat” to “toss-up,” citing Evers’ low approval rating.
Breitbart News Saturday airs on SiriusXM Patriot 125 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
Write to Ashley Oliver at aoliver@breitbart.com. Follow her on Twitter at @asholiver.