Wisconsin Republicans to Trump: Respect results
Madison — Wisconsin Republicans Thursday dismissed GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump's talk that he would "keep you in suspense" on whether he'd honor the Nov. 8 election results.
As a fight for control roils the Republican Party, a new poll showed that Trump is outpolling U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan of Janesville for now but might not hold that high position in the party if he loses next month.
Trump declined to say in the third presidential debate whether he would respect the results of his contest with Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and then the billionaire doubled down on that in Ohio Thursday, saying he would uphold the results "if I win."
That proved too much for many Republicans. U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, an Oshkosh plastics maker locked in a difficult race with Democratic former Sen. Russ Feingold, rejected Trump's stance and sought to turn the talk back to his own race.
"Ron believes we need to respect the results on election day, and is confident Wisconsinites will once again pick an Oshkosh manufacturer who gets results over a career politician who says one thing and does another," spokesman Brian Reisinger said.
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Meanwhile, Gov. Scott Walker said he was not surprised by Trump's position, stopping short of rejecting it but making clear that Trump had little to gain from his statements, according to WLUK-TV.
"It's similar to what he said in the first presidential primary debate in Cleveland when he was asked about whether he would support the nominee or run as an independent, so none of that surprises me," Walker said Thursday morning at a manufacturing conference in Green Bay.
"Whether it's him or Hillary Clinton, there'll be a new president, and I think all of the other elements of government will go forward just as we've seen it here in Wisconsin and other states in the past," Walker said.
Feingold and another Democrat running for Congress in northeast Wisconsin, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, condemned Trump's comments. Nelson said his GOP opponent, Marine veteran Mike Gallagher, should join Democrats in doing so.
"Unfortunately, Mike Gallagher, who declared 'we have to' support Donald Trump, is silent when his choice for president makes dangerous comments intended to undermine our election system. Every candidate for office, Democrat or Republican, at all levels, especially Congress, must denounce Trump's latest reckless comments and reject his candidacy outright," Nelson said.
In a statement, Gallagher spokeswoman Madison Wiberg said he was focusing on his own race with Nelson.
"Regardless of the results on election day, Mike respects the democratic process, and will fully accept the outcome of the race to represent Wisconsin's 8th District in Congress," Wiberg said.
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Ryan's team referred to a statement made Saturday by spokeswoman AshLee Strong that the speaker is "fully confident the states will carry out this election with integrity."
Trump has repeatedly attacked Ryan on Twitter after Ryan said earlier this month he was no longer going to defend Trump or campaign with him, focusing instead on keeping Republican control of the House and pushing conservative policy proposals.
A poll released Thursday by Bloomberg Politics found that when asked who had the better vision for the GOP, likely voters who are or lean Republican sided with Trump, a critic of immigration and international trade deals, over Ryan, a proponent of tax cuts and overhauling entitlements. Of these likely voters, 51% picked Trump, 33% picked Ryan and 15% said they weren’t sure.
Trump's favorability with Republican voters remains relatively high at 76%, the poll found. That's far below the 91% of Republican primary voters who were behind GOP nominee Mitt Romney in September 2012. But in a blow to those who prefer Ryan's leadership for the Republican Party, the speaker currently is well below Trump, with Ryan at a 50% favorability rating among Republicans in the Bloomberg poll.