Wisconsin brewery owner seeks to remove Trump on 2024 ballot
MADISON, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The owner of Minocqua Brewing company is seeking to remove former President Donald Trump from Wisconsin's primary ballot in 2024.
In a complaint filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission Thursday, Kirk Bangstad argues Trump should be left off Wisconsin's ballot because he's an ineligible candidate under the U.S. Constitution's insurrection clause.
However, the complaint was quickly dismissed by the commission without consideration, a move Bangstad was prepared for when discussing his next steps with reporters.
"It's pivotal that someone at least try in Wisconsin to do this," Bangstad said. "If WEC, and they will deny our complaint, we will sue in Dane County."
The bipartisan commission does not decide who's on the ballot, that's a process determined by the presidential preference selection committee.
"It is the position of the Commission that a complaint against the Commission, against Commissioners in their official capacities, or against Commission staff, warrants an ethical recusal by the body," an attorney for WEC wrote.
Bangstad's complaint is similar to legal arguments that have largely been unsuccessful in other states that challenge Trump's eligibility based on the fallout of the January 6th Capitol insurrection. Courts in Arizona, Minnesota and Michigan have ruled against efforts trying to get Trump kicked off the primary ballot.
However, Colorado's Supreme Court recently declared the GOP frontrunner ineligible under a provision in the 14th Amendment and removed him from the state's presidential primary ballot, a decision that is likely to play out in the nation's highest court.
The Republican Party of Colorado has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in. Political experts say their decision could decide the fate of Wisconsin's challenge.
"By the time this case gets to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, we might already have a resolution from the U.S. Supreme Court and that would take the state's highest court out of the picture entirely," said Anthony Chergosky, Assistant Professor Political Science at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.
The Trump campaign did not immediately respond to request for comment, but last week his campaign sent out a fundraising email citing the ruling issued by the Colorado Supreme Court as a "tyrannical ruling."
Brian Schimming, chairman of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, attacked Bangstad's complaint and argued it's a partisan attempt to try and interfere with the next election.
"Regardless of what you think of President Trump or the 14th amendment, the process that Bangstad and their folks are trying to follow is ludicrous," Schimming said. "But I'm not surprised because we've seen leftist groups and other individuals in several states trying the same thing."
Bangstad, who often supports liberal politicians and causes, launched the Minocqua Brewing Co. SuperPAC in 2021 and has since filed a series of legal challenges.
Last month, the state Supreme Court rejected his request to hear a lawsuit challenging the legality of Wisconsin's private voucher school program. His PAC also funded a lawsuit against the Waukesha School District for removing COVID precautions, and challenged three Wisconsin Republicans who signed paperwork falsely stating Trump won the 2020 election.
The Northwoods brewery owner was also recently ordered to pay $750,000 in a defamation case that centered around social media posts Bangstad wrote about a newspaper publisher for the Lakeland Times.
JUST NOW: The owner of Minocqua Brewing has filed a petition with the Wisconsin Elections Commission seeking to bar former President Donald Trump on the primary ballot. pic.twitter.com/8ouesIScKV
— Emilee Fannon (@Emilee_Fannon) December 28, 2023