MADISON, Wis. – Insiders see a heated Republican primary for governor, especially now that former state and national party chair Reince Priebus has been rumored as ready to throw his hat in the ring. This all is even before Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, has announced whether he’ll go for a second term. Who are likely Republicans whose names are percolating n GOP circles?
> Paul Farrow. He was elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2010 and re-elected in 2012. He resigned to seek a vacant the Senate seat. In the Senate he was assistant majority leader. He resigned when he elected Waukesha County executive in 2015. He is a small business owner. He is 56.
> Rebecca Kleefisch. She is a former morning news anchor on WISN television in Milwaukee, She was elected lieutenant governor in 2011 as running mate to Governor Scott Walker. They narrowly lost re-election in 2018. She is 45, Kleefisch’s husband Joel, also once at WISN as a reporter, was a member of the State Assembly from Oconomoc from 2004 to 1018, when he decided against seeking an eighth term.
> Kevin Nicholson. He ran unsuccessfully for the Republican U.S. Senate nomination in 2018. He has said he would go again for the Senate if Ron Johnson chooses not to. If Johnson does decide on a re-election bid, Nicholson has been widely quoted that he would run for governor instead. He is a Marine combat veteran. He holds advanced degrees from Harvard and from Dartmouth. Nicholson, age 43 is a business consultant out of his home office in Pewaukee.
> Reince Priebus. He has never held public office, although he ran unsuccessfully for the State Senate from Racine in 2004. He then began climbing in party ranks and eventually became national GOP chair. He was the first of President Trump’s revolving door of chiefs of staff.