Kevin Nicholson Can't Be Trusted

In the article, interviews with Wisconsin GOP players share that they wouldn’t trust Kevin Nicholson as far as they could throw him:

State Senator Leah Vukmir: “I Don’t Know What Kevin’s Conservative Record Is, Other Than Him Saying He’s A Conservative.” “I can’t tell whether Vukmir sees through Voight. But it’s apparent, after another minute of prodding her about Nicholson, that she’s struggling to mask her irritation. ‘I don’t know what Kevin’s conservative record is, other than him saying he’s a conservative,’ Vukmir says. ‘So he’ll have to get people to believe that.’” [Politico, 9/22/17]

People Who Have Met Nicholson Said They “Aren’t Convinced He’s Truly A Conservative.” “But above all, the rookie candidate must overcome a fundamental deficit of trust: In countless conversations, people who have met with Nicholson tell me they aren’t convinced he is truly a conservative.” [Politico, 9/22/17]

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald Called Nicholson A “Show Horse” And Said “I’m Not Buying It.” “‘I’m not buying it,’ Scott Fitzgerald, the state Senate majority leader, tells me. Fitzgerald, who has announced his support of Vukmir, says Nicholson reached out to him earlier this year after Rep. Sean Duffy, a presumed challenger to Baldwin, opted not to run. They had a cup of coffee, and Fitzgerald saw the upside others are investing in. But it wasn’t enough. ‘I’ve met those types of candidates—sometimes they’re successful, but other times they turn out to be show horses instead of workhorses,’ Fitzgerald says. ‘It’s a roll of the dice with Kevin, because you just don’t know enough about him. You don’t know who he really is.’” [Politico, 9/22/17]

Prominent Wisconsin Republicans Don’t Trust Nicholson As “One Of Their Own.” “All of that said, and given his manifest upside as a candidate, I was stunned at the degree to which the most prominent Wisconsin Republicans I spoke with—in particular, close allies of Speaker Paul Ryan, Governor Scott Walker and former White House chief of staff Reince Priebus—were dismissive of Nicholson’s chances. Some of this skepticism, in both Madison and Washington, speaks to the pack mentality of veteran politicians trusting only one of their own.” [Politico, 9/22/17]

And from previous news stories:

Conservative Radio Host Jerry Bader: Proving Conservative “Bonafides…Is A Big Challenge Ahead For Kevin Nicholson.” “Earlier this month, Jason Stein at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, potential U.S. Senate candidate took few visible on veteran homes concerns. State veterans board member and potential, now announced, U.S. Senate candidate did not directly respond to safety concerns that critics raised to him about Wisconsin’s largest veterans home at King over the past four years. A Journal Sentinel review of his email show the first documented action on King home taken by former Marine Kevin Nicholson is a request he made in March for a report on the state home in Waupaca county which followed months of critical news stories about it. He’s going to have to prove that his conservative voting views are just that, bonafides… there in fact is a big challenge ahead for Kevin Nicholson when you have rock solid conservatives in the field.” [WTAQ, Jerry Bader Show, 7/26/17]

Conservative Radio Host Dan O’Donnell: “There Are Questions: About Nicholson’s Democratic Past And He Has No “Proven Track Record.” “In the primary, you are very likely going to take on State Senator Leah Vukmir, who has a very long track record of conservative votes. Whereas you fully admit that you were a Democrat there are some questions about your time in 2008, and you don’t have a proven track record, at least on paper, for voting for the same conservative causes. I mean Vukmir was standing with Governor Walker through the Act 10 battle. She’s been a reliable conservative vote…” [WISN, Dan O’Donnell Show, 7/26/17]

UW-Milwaukee Professor Said Questions About Nicholson’s Honesty Could Be A “Disqualifier.” “Nicholson is fighting to maintain his conservative credentials ahead of a potentially crowded Republican U.S. Senate primary. At least six candidates, including Nicholson, are considering bids. ‘When you’ve got a long list of candidates and people are trying to make up their minds, any little thing can be a disqualifier,’ said Mordecai Lee, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor. ‘I suspect this is going to be one of them.’” [FOX 6 NOW, 5/14/17]

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Martha Laning had the following statement:
“Kevin Nicholson is not to be trusted. We are hearing that from those who know him and those who don’t. His inauthenticity is so blatant that even Republican leaders in Wisconsin are aware he’s only in this race to promote himself.”