Steineke also referenced “ballot harvesting,” a term Republicans have applied to Madison’s Democracy in the Park event, in which deputized clerks collected 17,000 absentee ballots at city parks. There is no evidence the event resulted in fraud, and the Supreme Court declined to rule on its legality while a lower court deemed it legal.
Shot at governor
In the video, Behnke also took aim at Evers for his stay-at-home orders issued in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, which the state Supreme Court struck down, saying he feels like punching the governor but hasn’t come face to face with him yet.
In response, Evers’ spokesperson Britt Cudaback said the governor “believes in doing the right thing and leading with kindness, respect, empathy, and compassion. It’s a shame those Wisconsin values seem to be lost on Republicans in the Legislature.”
Behnke was elected in an April special election to the Assembly seat previously held by Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette.
Wisconsin Democratic Party chair Ben Wikler called on Vos to investigate the incident, strip Behnke of his committee assignments and remove him from the caucus.