Primary elections in Minnesota and Wisconsin: What to watch

Businessman Tim Michels has won Wisconsin’s Republican primary for governor, NBC News projects, advancing to a general election against Democratic Gov.

WAUKESHA, Wis. — Businessman Tim Michels has won Wisconsin’s Republican primary for governor, NBC News projects, advancing to a general election against Democratic Gov. Tony Evers that will be among the most consequential in the country.

Michels, endorsed by former President Donald Trump, overcame the deep reservoir of establishment support around Rebecca Kleefisch, the state’s former lieutenant governor. State Rep. Tim Ramthun, who has vowed to challenge the results, finished in a distant third place.

It’s another swing state victory for Trump, who continues to lie about his losses in Wisconsin and other battlegrounds in 2020 while aiming to install allies he hopes will be loyal if he mounts another White House bid in 2024. Michels has embraced Trump’s debunked claims that a second term was stolen from him. And while he’s waffled at times, Michels has said he is open to efforts to decertify President Joe Biden’s win in the state, even though there is no actual legal vehicle, under state or federal law, to rescind a state’s electoral votes.

Evers was renominated without opposition.

Michels' supporters — gathered inside a small catering hall in Waukesha, a Republican stronghold whose voters are key in the primary race — sipped drinks and munched on sliders and other sandwiches as they waited for results Tuesday night. As Michels skated out to a lead, an increasingly amped-up audience broke into sporadic and enthusiastic chants of “U-S-A” and celebratory screams.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/primary-elections-minnesota-wisconsin-rcna42161

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