Western Wisconsin lawmakers trade barbs in GOP primary for state Senate

Patrick Marley
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MADISON – Two GOP lawmakers in western Wisconsin are swinging at each other in a primary for the state Senate, leading to accusations about Republican orthodoxy and where one candidate lives.  

State Rep. Adam Jarchow (left) and state Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (right)

State Reps. Adam Jarchow of Balsam Lake and Shannon Zimmerman of River Falls are running in Tuesday’s primary for the Republican nomination. Three Democrats are also running, and the general election will be held Jan. 16.

In a recent radio ad by Zimmerman’s campaign, an announcer tells voters “the swamp has made its way to Wisconsin” because of opposition to GOP Gov. Scott Walker’s agenda. 

“It was Zimmerman who stood shoulder to shoulder with Scott Walker to pass needed tax reforms in the state budget. Shannon’s opponent in the Republican primary? He sided with the Democrats and voted against Gov. Walker and his recent budget tax reforms,” the ad says.

Jarchow fired back with an oversized postcard that shows a photo of Zimmerman with the words “can’t be trusted” stamped across his torso. The mailer contends Zimmerman doesn’t live in the 10th state Senate district — or the 30th Assembly district he currently represents.

“YOU DECIDE: Do you want another misleading politician in Madison?” the mailer says.

Running in the Democratic primary in the district are Reuben Helge Herfindahl of River Falls, John Rocco Calabrese of Glenwood City and Patty Schachtner of Somerset.

Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) said that the race is one to watch as her party seeks to harness a national wave of Democratic enthusiasm to make gains in the Republican-held state Senate. 

"It really is the canary in the coal mine as we look to the 2018 elections," Shilling said. "There definitely is a momentum and an energy that we see (nationally) in special elections."

RELATED:Wisconsin Dems say Alabama results show they have momentum; Republicans dismiss that idea

The two Republicans' swipes at each other come just weeks after the two signaled they would not go on the attack.

Zimmerman’s hit on Jarchow is based on Jarchow’s vote against the state budget, which included tax cuts. Jarchow said he supported the tax cuts but voted against the budget because it didn’t eliminate the jobs of more than 100 tax auditors and spent more money than he wanted.

Zimmermann claimed when he announced his run for the Senate last month that he had voted for the budget in September. Zimmerman missed the vote because he was stuck in an Amsterdam airport at the time and entered a statement in the Assembly record the next day saying he backed the budget.

Jarchow seized on that contention in his mailer, which says: “While Zimmerman claims he voted for the budget, records show he was in Europe.”

But the main focus of Jarchow’s mailer is where Zimmerman lives. The mailer notes Zimmerman acknowledged before the 2016 election that he didn’t live in the district and contends he hasn’t moved into it a year after getting elected to the Assembly.

Zimmerman and his wife, Angel, listed an address just outside the district before last year’s election. Zimmerman now lists himself as sharing a house with his adult son, while his wife continues to live at the couple's old address. 

“I think anyone would find that pretty implausible that you live with your son and not your wife,” Jarchow said in an interview Wednesday.

Jarchow said last month that he would “let the voters decide” what they thought about Zimmerman claiming to vote for the budget when he hadn’t. But he said Wednesday he decided to make an issue of it after Zimmerman ran his radio ad. 

“It’s pretty low to attack someone based on their budget vote when you haven’t been honest about your budget vote,” he said.

Zimmerman did not immediately respond to an interview request Wednesday. Last month, he called Jarchow a friend and said he would not try to draw a contrast with Jarchow over the budget.  

 “I want to be crystal clear,” he said then. “I'm not running this race to be contrasting and doing differences with Adam. I'm running because I think I'm the right person for this job." 

The special election is being held to replace former Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls), who stepped down last month to take a job as Walker’s agriculture secretary.

Libertarian Brian Corriea of Wilson is also running. 

Daniel Bice and Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel staff contributed to this report.