Robin Vos beats his primary opponent, overcoming Donald Trump’s campaign against him

MOUNT PLEASANT – Assembly Speaker Robin Vos defeated his Republican challenger Tuesday, overcoming a national effort to unseat him led by the former president of the United States.

Vos narrowly defeated Adam Steen, his primary opponent, all but ensuring his re-election in his Republican-leaning district in southeastern Wisconsin.

The surprisingly narrow victory came after the base of the Wisconsin GOP had turned against Vos following the 2020 election, a loss for former President Donald Trump that the former president and his supporters argue could have been overturned by Vos.

Vos has rejected that idea, repeatedly refusing to take the illegal and impossible act of decertifying the election result, only to anger Trump more.

More: Wisconsin August 2022 primary election results

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On Friday, Trump devoted a portion of his hour-long speech at a rally for Republican candidate for governor Tim Michels to castigating Vos and promoting Steen.

Even former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman, whom Vos hired in 2021 to review the 2020 election, had turned on Vos and endorsed Vos’ opponent. Gableman also recorded an ad for Steen, characterizing Vos as a roadblock to his taxpayer-funded review that has turned up no evidence of widespread voter fraud.

But Vos, known for his attention to constituents, easily prevailed in his primary race.

Vos had harsh words for Gableman on Tuesday at a campaign party with state Sen. Van Wanggaard, calling him “an embarrassment to the state of Wisconsin.”

Assembly Republicans will soon meet to decide whether to allow Gableman to continue his review, for which taxpayers have spent more than $1 million.

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“I will not let my joy tonight be focused on a person like Mike Gableman, who isn’t worth the time to talk about.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Assembly Speaker Robin Vos beats Trump-backed primary opponent