Wisconsin Republican Eyes Senate Bid After Gallagher Passes on Run

Wisconsin businessman Scott Mayer wouldn’t have run for Senate if Rep. Mike Gallagher had decided to take on Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin, he told The Messenger on Wednesday.

But now that Gallagher has announced he won’t run for Senate, Mayer said he is taking a close look at the race and will decide on a run after Labor Day.

“This is not something I ever had a desire to do, for me it was more of an obligation,” Mayer said. “I had hoped someone like Gallagher would step up and do it and if he did, I would have gotten behind him and supported him.”

“It’s too bad,” Mayer added, but said with Gallagher out “the field is wide open” and “there is really no… awesome people stepping forward.”

While Republicans have been happy with recruiting top candidates in key races like Montana and West Virginia, in Wisconsin, one of the nation’s premier battleground states, the field remains wide open.  

No candidate has officially jumped in the race against Baldwin yet. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents northwest Wisconsin, is considering a bid, as is Eric Hovde, a businessman who lost to former Gov. Tommy Thompson in the 2012 GOP Senate primary. Former Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, the potential candidate with the highest profile, has been promoting a poll from Democratic firm Public Policy Polling that had him with a healthy lead over the rest of the hypothetical field.

Gallagher’s decision to stay in the House has left a sizable vacuum in the Wisconsin Senate race and Baldwin, a two-term incumbent who has shown the ability to fundraise and win over parts of that state that have otherwise soured on Democratic politicians, is seen as a formidable opponent.

Republicans are otherwise confident in their recruitment efforts. The National Republican Senatorial Committee recruited West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice into the state’s key Senate race; looks poised to recruit businessman Tim Sheehy, a decorated military veteran, to take on Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester in Montana; and expects former hedge fund executive and 2022 Senate candidate Dave McCormick to jump into the race against Democratic Sen. Bob Casey in Pennsylvania.

But Republicans are now confronting the reality that they could be left with largely unknown challengers to take on Baldwin.

Mayer said the decision about whether to run is a “huge decision” because any campaign will take “a lot of time” and “a lot of money.”

“It’s a huge commitment,” he said.

Republicans across the country have been attempting to recruit wealthy candidates to run for Senate, believing that the ability to self-fund a campaign helps Republican candidates level the playing field with Democrats who often have significant fundraising advantages.

Mayer said that while he is able to put in “some” of his own money, he isn’t able to fully fund a campaign against Baldwin.

“I can’t self-fund it,” Mayer said. “I would have to put some of my own money in, there is no question about that. … If I did it, I would have to do what I have to do.”

“I would have to put some of my own money in, there is no question about that. No one wants to throw their money away,” Mayer said. “If I did it, I would have to do what I have to do. … Wide open to getting support.

Mayer founded the QPS Employment Group in 1985, a job placement service agency. It is one of the largest independently owned staffing agencies in the country. He’s a board member of both the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, as well as Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, two of the most prominent business groups in the state. Mayer had a stint as a professional race car driver and ran in the 24 Hours of Daytona.