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Wisconsin’s state senate is ONE D-to-R flip away from having a GOP supermajority. [1]
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Date: 2022-10-23
Wisconsin’s state senate is ONE D-to-R flip away from having a GOP supermajority.
Republicans set their sights on defeating Democratic Senator Jeff Smith in SD-31, a staunch democracy defender.
The GOP’s nominee? Dave Estenson… an insurrectionist.
The GOP candidate, Dave Estenson, has a paper trail of absolutely disqualifying and frankly, disgraceful behavior.
Throughout his tenure as a police officer, Estenson was the subject of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse.
DOJ records detailed Estenson’s alarming pattern of pressuring women into sexual favors, threatening blackmail in relationships, and a time he assaulted a woman during a party.
x Newly uncovered reports from the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI) show that GOP state Senate candidate Dave Estenson was the subject of multiple allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse of his position as a police officer. — Wisconsin Senate Democrats (@WISenateDems) September 20, 2022
The fact that Dave Estenson is now the Wisconsin GOP’s nominee for Wisconsin’s 31st State Senate district is, even in this moment, shocking.
x On October 28th, 2004, while on duty and responding to a call, a female victim claimed that Estenson took her into the backroom of the bar and said that there “were ways to get around this,” implying that she could get out of an underage drinking citation for sexual favors. — Wisconsin Senate Democrats (@WISenateDems) September 20, 2022
Following this investigation, Estenson resigned from the police force.
x In June 2007, the Osseo City Council accepted the resignation of Estenson during a closed-door session. The WI DCI investigation was closed in July, 2007. Estenson then pursued a law enforcement career in Minnesota, which he resigned from following a “performance audit” in 2012. — Wisconsin Senate Democrats (@WISenateDems) September 20, 2022
He moved to Minnesota, pursued a law enforcement career, was once again investigated, and once again resigned.
Estenson has been investigated for not just one instance of utterly disqualifying abuses of power, but multiple.
Years after Dave Esenston, the GOP’s 31st District State Senate candidate, resigned from two different police forces, he pursued a new goal: overturning the 2020 presidential election.
He—and his friend Derrick Van Orden, now running for Congress—went to the Capitol on January 6.
x According to Dave Estenson, @derrickvanorden said he (Van Orden) and his frogman buddies have a "pretty good vantage point on the wall. Come on up. We have a great spot to watch." Watch what, exactly? How did Van Orden know there would be something to watch? @FBI @January6thCmte pic.twitter.com/nDonmJ5gda — The Wisconsin Idea (@thanewisc) July 19, 2022
Here’s Dave Esenston and Derrick Van Orden smiling for a selfie on the wall by the Capitol inside the protected zone on January 6. Now Derrick wants to serve in Congress, and Dave wants to serve in the Wisconsin Capitol. Neither should come anywhere close.
Dave Estenson enjoyed the insurrection so much that he even wrote about it for a local paper. He speculated that the violence that day could’ve been caused by antifa or militia—“who caused the trouble, I can’t say,” he wrote, and “I did nothing illegal.”
Despite Dave Esenston’s abhorrent record and his presence on Capitol grounds on January 6, Ron Johnson and GOP gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels have openly campaigned with Estenson. Do they still endorse his candidacy? Paging Tim Michels and Ron Johnson.
So, we’ve got an insurrectionist, ultra-MAGA candidate with a record of abuse allegations.
Meanwhile, on the Democratic side, we have a true public servant: life-long Eau Claire resident and incumbent Senator Jeff Smith.
Senator Smith has put in the work for rural Wisconsin. His Rural Development Plan introduced legislation that would put billions into broadband expansion, workforce development initiatives, and funding for K-12 schools.
Throughout the pandemic, Senator Smith co-sponsored and urged his colleagues to pass the Healthcare Heroes Act. Beyond that, he’s introduced numerous bills to address mental health support and expand coverage for rural Wisconsinites.
Teachers are the backbone of our children’s futures. Senator Smith is leading the way to support teachers and encourage people to enter the workforce with his “Teaching is a Profession” legislation.
Jeff Smith is exactly who you’d want to have serving this district.
Dave Estenson is exactly who you’d never ever want to entrust with public office.
Estenson is dangerous.
His record is disqualifying, but since the Wisconsin GOP won’t comment on that, it’s time for voters to weigh in—at the ballot box.
Senator Smith is ready to continue the work he’s been doing for so long. Help us re-elect Sen Smith this November.
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