ELECTIONS

Dan Kohl battles incumbent Republican Glenn Grothman in hopes of turning reliable red House seat blue

Lee Bergquist

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

In a closely watched congressional race that includes far north suburban Milwaukee, Democrat Dan Kohl has raised more money than Republican incumbent Glenn Grothman.

But is an advantage in funding and an anticipated surge from Democrats in November enough for Kohl to defeat the two-term congressman in the 6th District, where Republicans have dominated for decades?

Dan Kohl (left) is a candidate for the 6th Congressional District, challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman.

Kohl, of Mequon, the nephew of philanthropist and former U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, has not yet asked his uncle to lend a hand in a race that includes the lakeshore counties of Ozaukee, Sheboygan and Manitowoc.

Herb Kohl, the former owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, says he would be happy to pitch in, if asked.

With about two weeks to go, Dan Kohl is making the bigger splash on the airwaves — lately decrying efforts of Republicans to dismantle the Affordable Care Act and pare health care protections.

Grothman, meanwhile, has said Kohl is pushing for a health care system in the mold of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and painted Kohl as a liberal insider who has used his connections to take a commanding lead in spending.

Kohl has spent nearly $2.1 million, compared with Grothman’s $752,681, according to campaign reports for the period ending Sept. 30.

As of the end of the September, Grothman recorded more cash on hand: $929,454 compared with $392,752 for Kohl, according to Federal Election Commission records.

Grothman, of Glenbeulah in Sheboygan County, has sometimes described himself as the underdog in the race.

He points to his challenger’s circle of wealthy donors; his role as a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama; and his nearly four years as vice president of political affairs at J Street, a liberal pro-Israel group in Washington, D.C.

Individual contributions organized through J Street have donated nearly $190,000 to the Kohl race, records show.

“I have to just keep trying,” said Grothman, a 21-year veteran of the Legislature before going to Washington. “He knows more of the hyper rich than I do.”

But the district is solidly GOP. Independent newsletters, including The Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball, rate the contest as “likely Republican.” Grothman’s predecessor, Rep. Tom Petri, a Fond du Lac Republican, held the seat from 1979 to 2015.

“Glenn’s a hard worker,” said Manitowoc County Executive Bob Ziegelbauer, a one-time Democrat who served 20 years in the Assembly. “He doesn’t have any airs about him. He’s a real down-to-earth guy.”

Grothman is also someone known for making polarizing assertions. He once said the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is "an insult" to taxpayers, and people who use food stamps don’t "act as if they are genuinely poor.”

“Maybe he could do better than that — I think he has done better than that," said Ziegelbauer, now an independent who aligned with Republicans at the end of his legislative career.

“But I think that comes from a genuineness, a real person that you would meet on the street. He is not talking in political correctness all of the time.”

Before heading to Washington, Kohl worked for the Milwaukee Bucks, where his duties included managing the team’s salary cap and overseeing recruiting programs.

“He tends to look for ways to bring people around the table to an agreement that represents consensus,” Herb Kohl said. “He’s not a divider kind of person.”

Herb Kohl said he has been an adviser but not been asked to do more in the election.

“He is his own man,” the former senator said. “We are really good friends. We have always been that way. I am a very strong supporter. But he is his own man, and he is out campaigning as Dan Kohl, not as Herb Kohl’s nephew.”

Grothman, 63, and Kohl, 53, are graduates of the University of Wisconsin-Madison law school. Grothman is single. Kohl is married with three children.

Grothman’s adjusted gross income last year was $153,937 and his total federal tax was $23,211, or 15%. His salary and tax liability were comparable in 2015 and 2016, according to tax returns provided to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

In 2017, Grothman made charitable donations of $29,650, much of it directed to religious organizations. His largest donation was $11,000 to a Pentecostal church, the Kewaskum House of Prayer.

Kohl and his wife, Stacey, filed for an extension in 2017.

In 2015, Dan and Stacey Kohl had adjusted gross income of $607,999, mostly from investment income of $437,427 and Kohl’s salary of $169,955 from Baker & Hostetler, a law firm. The couple’s total federal tax was $157,392, or 26%.

The next year, the couple’s adjusted gross income fell to $77,050, with most of the money coming from a capital gain and Stacey Kohl’s pay at New York Life Insurance Co. The couple’s total federal tax was $16,106, or 21%.

In 2015, the couple donated a total of $46,455, including $31,000 in appraised value of antique Persian and Chinese rugs donated to the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. They also made a cash donation of $8,155 to Washington Hebrew Congregation in Washington, D.C.

Political scientist Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin-Madison said Kohl’s campaign aligns with the playbook of many Democratic challengers this year.

“They’re trying to ride the blue wave as much as possible,” Burden said.

“They're focusing on bread-and-butter issues; complaining about what the incumbent is doing, or not doing, in Washington; and hoping that this combination of arguments will be enough to win the seat.”

Kohl sees Grothman as hyper-partisan, a type of politician who feeds into dysfunction in Washington.

“We need leaders who aren’t beholden to special interests; leaders who are willing to cross their parties when necessary; leaders who above all are focused on solutions who aren’t so partisan,” Kohl said.

Said Grothman: “I think I’m much more independent. He’s coming from a very partisan background. J Street is one of the most partisan lobbying organizations.”

The polling website FiveThirtyEight shows Grothman has voted with President Donald Trump 94% of the time. That’s within a point of other GOP House members from Wisconsin, except for Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, who votes with Trump 88% of the time.

The campaigns have increasingly focused on health care. And, nationally, UW’s Burden said Democrats think Republicans are vulnerable on the issue because of their efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

According to a Marquette University Law School poll Oct. 10, Wisconsin residents have stayed divided on whether to keep the Affordable Care Act. But 78 percent said the requirement for pre-existing coverage was very important.

In a recent ad, Kohl says Grothman voted to gut such protections with his support for a 2017 House bill — the American Health Care Act — the GOP’s plan to replace the Affordable Care Act.

The Grothman campaign countered and said there was no language in the legislation saying anyone will be denied access to health care.

Several fact-check analyses, including Politifact, have concluded that the protections for some people with pre-existing conditions would be weakened under the Republican bill.

Meanwhile, Grothman has criticized Kohl for supporting universal health coverage, a system where everyone would have access to health care.

Grothman recently released a TV spot saying Kohl “would rather put the government in charge of medical decisions that should be made between a patient and their doctor.”

Kohl’s spokesman, Micki Duncan, said in an email, “Dan thinks every American should have access to health care,” but he does not support a government-run, single-payer health care system.

Grothman and Kohl will debate at 7 p.m. on Tuesday in Appleton at WHBY radio. The debate will air via live stream at WHBY.com and on the station's Facebook page.