Wisconsin U.S. Senate race: Vukmir, Baldwin take their health care clash to Twitter
On the ground, over Twitter and via email, there was plenty of action Thursday in Wisconsin's U.S. Senate race.
Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin and Republican Leah Vukmir clashed over health care while defeated GOP candidate Kevin Nicholson re-emerged with a note to backers to reaffirm his support for Vukmir.
In Madison, Baldwin held a news conference to claim the election provided a "stark choice" on health care.
Baldwin said she was standing up to health insurance companies while Vukmir is siding with them.
She claimed that Vukmir "has doubled down on her plan to throw Wisconsinites with pre-existing conditions back into the high-risk pools that have lifetime caps and sky high premium costs."
Vukmir tweeted at Baldwin to "Stop the lies," and said as a nurse she is "committed to covering patients with pre-existing conditions. We’ve done it in Wisconsin for years and will continue to do so."
In another tweet, Vukmir pointed to the high-risk pool coverage that was available in Wisconsin before the Affordable Care Act. "As a result of Obamacare, we were forced to get rid of our plan," she wrote.
Baldwin fired back in a tweet that Vukmir supported a Republican U.S. Senate bill that "would have totally undone" protections for those with pre-existing medical conditions.
Earlier Thursday, Nicholson released an email to supporters, ending more than a month of public silence following his defeat in the Aug. 14 primary. Nicholson skipped a unity fundraiser held only days after the primary.
"As I said on election night, it is critical that we unite to defeat Tammy Baldwin," Nicholson wrote. "From her support of the Iran Deal, to her misguided faith in government-run health care, Tammy Baldwin has not — and will not — provide solutions that increase opportunity and solve problems for the people of Wisconsin. Her approach to America’s foreign affairs — one that empowers and enables our enemies — will make future armed conflict more, not less likely."
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Nicholson said as Vukmir "makes the case for common sense policies and solutions that put power in the hands of people, she has my support, and I hope yours as well."
In his letter, Nicholson apologized to those supporters he had not yet spoken to after the election.
"I’m working my way through calling all of our campaign’s key supporters to thank you and to catch up," he said. "If I haven’t connected with you yet, I’ll call soon."
Nicholson said, "While we were of course disappointed in the election result, we’re also incredibly proud of the campaign we ran, and of our entire team. As the primary night map showed, our message resonated throughout the state of Wisconsin, and in many of the key geographies that will decide the result of this and future general elections in our state."
Nicholson may have lost the race to Vukmir by 6 points, but he won in 57 counties and six media markets. Vukmir swept to victory by overwhelming Nicholson in the Milwaukee media market.
"Primaries often aren’t fun, and this was a long and too often personal one. Despite this, I’m proud that our campaign kept a consistent focus on the need for citizens outside of the political class to step up and interject common sense and solutions into a political process that’s obviously broken in the eyes of most Americans," he said.
Keeping his political options open, Nicholson said he and his wife, Jessie, "look forward to continuing to work with each of you to help secure the future of our state and nation."