UNION GROVE — Organizers of a recall effort targeting Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos say they are confident they will gather enough signatures to force a new election.
Midway through the 60-day timetable for their petition drive, recall leaders say they are finding support among Republicans and Democrats.
“The energy is good on both sides,” said organizer Matthew Snorek of the town of Burlington.
The group has until March 10 to collect about 6,800 signatures on a petition recalling Vos, whom they accuse of opposing election reform efforts sparked by Republican Donald Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.
Vos, who narrowly defeated a Trump-backed challenger for his legislative seat in a 2022 Republican primary, said the recall is being driven by a small group of voters who refuse to accept that Trump lost to Biden.
People are also reading…
Vos also said “professional grifters” from out of state are managing the petition drive.
“I think the grassroots nature of this operation is suspect at best,” he said. “People in Racine County are smarter than that.”
Based in a storefront in a Union Grove strip mall, the recall effort is getting help from Conrad Reynolds, leader of a group called Arkansas Voter Integrity Initiative Inc. He arrived in Wisconsin a week ago and is now director of the petition drive.
“All I’m doing is giving them a little guidance and leadership,” Reynolds said.
Although they will not say how many signatures have been collected, Reynolds and others said they are confident they will reach 6,800.
“Oh, yeah,” volunteer Rob Schroeder said. “We got the numbers.”
The group aims to remove Vos from his seat in the 63rd Assembly District, which includes much of Mount Pleasant, Sturtevant, Union Grove, Yorkville, Burlington and Rochester.
If the recall moves forward, Vos will face a midterm election.
Although voters reelected Vos in November 2022, opposition toward the Republican lawmaker has grown among those dissatisfied with him on many issues, Reynolds said.
“They feel like they have no voice,” he said. “That’s why I’m here — I’m going to give them a voice.”
Recall supporter Aimee Katterhagen, who displayed a “Recall Vos” yard sign outside her Union Grove home, said she is a Republican who is turning against Vos because of an issue stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the operator of a child day care center, Katterhagen received state subsidies to support small business during the pandemic. But Vos and other state officials have since ended those subsidies, putting the future of her business in jeopardy, she said.
“This is my life,” she said. “And it’s coming down to the wire.”
Vos said he is hearing much support from others in the district, and is making efforts to counter the recall drive while still tending to his duties in Madison.
“I have a long record of supporting conservative causes,” he said. “And I’m proud of my record.”
Volunteers and paid staff operating out of the recall’s Union Grove storefront are circulating petitions, distributing campaign signs and handing out literature door to door.
“I’m very, very confident,” Snorek said. “We’re going in the right direction.”