Former Wisconsin State Sen. Roger Roth (R), whom former President Donald Trump called a “clone” of former Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), seeks to defeat Trump-endorsed Republican candidate Tony Wied for the U.S. House.
After Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) announced he would not seek reelection this November, Roth, who ran for lieutenant governor in 2022, said he would run for the Badger State’s eighth congressional district.
In a post in April, Trump endorsed Wied and attacked Roth as a “clone” of Ryan:
After selling his highly successful Oil and Gas Business, Tony Wied has decided to run for Congress in Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District. Tony is running against RINO Roger Roth, who is a “clone” of Paul Ryan, and no friend to MAGA – He should drop out of the Race NOW. As your next Congressman, Tony will work hard to Unleash American Energy, Stop Inflation, Secure our Border, Support our Military / Vets, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment. Tony Wied has my Complete and Total Endorsement – He will not let you down!
Roth’s campaign team is backed by Kevin Seifert, a top consultant for Never Trump Republicans Paul Ryan, Liz Cheney, and Peter Meijer.
Seifert was a chief of staff for Ryan’s Washington, DC, office. KCS Strategies is registered to Kevin Seifert in Washington, DC.
Roth’s campaign paid KCS Strategies $10,000 in April. KCS Strategies’ other clients include the Great Task, Cheney’s Leadership PAC, and Peter Meijer for Congress, who voted to impeach Trump.
Roth endorsed Trump only now that he is running for Congress. Breitbart News reported in April:
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wrote that Roth not only refused to endorse Trump in July 2022, he also implied that the president would face a split party if he were to run.
“There are going to be a lot of great candidates running for president here on the Republican side. Our bench is very deep, and if Donald Trump wants to throw his hat in the ring, that’s great, but he’s going to have some stiff competition,” Roth said.
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Prominent anti-Trump former Rep. Reid Ribble (R-WI), who used to represent the eighth district, in February did not describe Roth as pro-Trump and claimed that a “very hard, MAGA type candidate” could lead to a competitive race between the GOP nominee and the Democrat nominee for the district.
Roth also urged lawmakers to bring Afghan refugees to Wisconsin.
“That Wisconsin was given an opportunity to be one of three locations where these refugees would arrive in the United States should be a point of pride for every Wisconsinite,” Roth and the other lawmakers wrote in August 2021.
Less than one month later, two Afghan refugees were charged with child sex and spousal abuse crimes at Fort McCoy in Tomah.
“Roger Roth’s campaign is doomed to fail because of his long history of anti-Trump comments, his weak immigration policy positions and his general and unmistakable aversion to America First policies,” a source close to President Trump said in a statement to Breitbart News in April.Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
