The New Faces of the Wisconsin GOP

The dramatic resignation of Wisconsin GOP treasurer Kelly Ruh last week gave us a window into generational dysfunction in our state’s Republican Party. An attempted mutiny of the old guard by young, Turning Point USA-aligned newcomers shatters the illusion of a strong and unified GOP in Wisconsin. This weakness in their ranks means they can be defeated; it is vital that we keep this in mind as we organize on the left. Let us learn more about these mutineers – who are these new faces trying to take over the Wisconsin GOP?  

The Cracks Starting to Show

First, this is NOT some noble battle between MAGA Fascists and Never-Trumpers. They are all Fascists and their infighting is a predictable power struggle, a la Night of the Long Knives. In case there is any doubt, Ruh, who would be considered ‘old-guard’, signed on to be one of Trump’s false electors. 

The first major sign of the growing rift was the election of newcomer Ken Sikora to the GOP executive committee for Wisconsin’s 8th District. The party had to spend upwards of $1,600 on security to keep physical violence from erupting. Keep in mind this was a caucus that only members of the Republican party were able to attend. Could it be that they are more scared of the men in their own ranks than they are of ‘antifa’ (eye-roll)? And why was Sikora such a controversial nominee? Because he has been convicted of battery and domestic abuse. I wonder if women in the party feel safer after that.

The next blow to Wisconsin GOP unity was the resounding Republican defeat in the Supreme Court race, with gen Z fascists openly calling for the resignation of Wisconsin GOP Chair Brian Schimming. The elders then established a policy to remove GOP party officials for harassing or defaming (read: criticizing) leadership. Wisconsin Right Now, a self-styled ‘unintimidated’ conservative mouthpiece, questioned the finances and utility of Turning Point USA with alarm, referring to them as a Trojan Horse. When brash conservatives worry about financial integrity, you know it’s bad.

In the upcoming Governor's race, we are already seeing this division play out. Traditionally the ‘WOW’ counties (Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington) are seen as the center of GOP power in Wisconsin. As this infighting has been playing out, we have seen power shift to Wisconsin’s northern counties. This is representative of current GOP governor front-runner, Tom Tiffany hailing from Minocqua, leading ahead of Washington County Executive Josh Schoemann, and Whitefish Bay manufacturer Bill Berrienc leaving the race soon after Tiffany got in. This primary will be something to keep an eye on, as these already existing divisions are sure to expand even further as these two factions continue to battle for control over Wisconsin’s GOP.

Fascist Youngsters

The Trojan Horse metaphor might have the most truth for Brett Galaszewski, the Vice Chair of the Milwaukee Young Republicans and Turning Point USA Enterprise Director. He has referred to the Wisconsin GOP as a ‘hell hole’  that he only joined to change from within, and has all the despicable takes that you would expect from a far-right Brad (I mean Brett). During his time with Turning Point USA, he cozied up with QAnon supporters to recruit conservative poll workers to ‘supervise’ Milwaukee Elections. He also wants churches to have more political influence (which is not only very illegal, but flies in the face of their ‘religious freedom’ colonizer origin story), saying that “I think we’re long past the point where church and politics are separate. We have a country to save.” And of course on his quest to ‘save’ this country from ‘the left,’ Galaszewski has joined the long tradition of conservative trolls inadvertently creating some of the coolest images in their attempt to fear-monger. Just look at these sick “Antifa for Biden” signs. If only Biden was actually anti-fascist…

Galaszewski has also made it his mission to open as many Turning Point chapters in as many high-schools and colleges as possible. Sometimes the org is so eager they establish a chapter before a school is even opened. To be clear, consistently pursuing access to high-schoolers is GROOMING. Anyways I could go on and on about how he is a terrible human being, but you get the idea. The recent leaked chats from Young Republicans have confirmed that this organization is a cesspool of antisemitism and racism. The Young Republicans of Wisconsin toothlessly condemned these text messages, but we know they just did that because they got caught. They didn’t seem humbled, as they fought for Milwaukee to host the 2027 Young Republicans Convention and UW-Eau Claire College Republicans recently publicly posted a photo of an ‘ICE arrest’ as part of their Halloween Party.

Cognitive dissonance

Ballot Chase Manager Hilario Deleon has been a proud civil war reenactor since he was 14 years old, claiming an ancestor who fought for the Union side. Unfortunately, all his LARPing as a Union soldier seems to be just that – LARPing – as his goals are absurdly confederate. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, did say that Black Americans were better off before the Civil Rights era, and potentially even better off during slavery. Deleon has obviously abandoned his patrilineage in favor of Daddy Kirk – hopefully LARPing is enough to manage that cognitive dissonance for him.

Deleon’s inconsistency extends to how he perceives the COVID-19 stimulus checks. The first few were okay because he needed one because he was out of work. Those later checks, on the other hand, were “just to pay people not to work.” Of course fascists who accept help from the government deserve it, but anyone else must be a freeloader. This is just another case of folks pulling up the ladder behind them and blaming those left behind.

Deleon is also the voice behind trying to start a wannabe DOGE like counterpart for Milwaukee called the Milwaukee Accountability Committee, which seems to have been more of a publicity stunt than anything, as there have been no updates on this initiative since Musk’s falling out with Trump. 

Deleon, along with the rest of Turning Point USA, claims to be deeply rooted in religious freedom and Evangelical Christianity, yet fully supports the Trump administration’s decision to allow ICE to operate in traditionally safe spaces like Churches. Jesus kicked folks out of a sacred space just for selling things, imagine how he would feel with masked jackbooted thugs literally kidnapping folks from houses of worship. As with everything, the irony is clearly lost on Deleon. And then there is the whole ballot chasing. Chase The Vote was an initiative started by Turning Point USA to reach previously disengaged voters in key swing states and get them to vote conservative. To no surprise, Chase the Vote used many of the same tactics (absentee voting, mail-in box,  ballot collection drives) that they would later cry wolf as voter fraud when used by Democrats. Also, to no one’s surprise, one of the leaders of this initiative was convicted of forging signatures on election documents.

So there you have it; details on the young-ins trying to take over the Wisconsin GOP. They are well-funded, well-organized, and have all the terrible views you would expect of baby fascists. But they are not invincible. They are power-hungry, just like the rest of their party, and this is their biggest weakness. The left must take advantage of their lack of solidarity and congruence. We must also ensure that we do not fall prey to the same hunger for power and toxic in-fighting. Let our struggles for power be so we can bring about a better, more just world for all, not so that we can have control over others.