According to conservative talk radio host Mark Belling, former Governor Tommy Thompson and Tim Michels, a pipeline company executive, have reportedly come to an agreement that only one of them will run for the Republican nomination for Governor. On Tuesday, Belling said that it is likely that either Thompson or Michels will enter the race within a week. He said he did not which one would run.
Thompson was Governor between 1987 and 2001, when he resigned to become the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) until 2005. He most recently served as the interim President of the UW System. Belling claims that Diane Hendricks, the GOP megadonor and owner of ABC Supply, is no longer backing former Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch’s campaign, and is now urging Thompson to run.
Michels, of the family-owned Michels Corporation, ran for U.S. Senate against incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold (D-WI) in 2004 and was defeated by over 300,000 votes. He is described by Belling as a “behind the scenes GOP force” who has been a part of Republican task forces on energy and infrastructure issues. Belling believes that he would be able to self-fund his campaign to some extent, which would be critical given that the primary is four months away.
