A renewed effort to oust Republican Party of Wisconsin (RPW) Chairman Brian Schimming ahead of next weekend’s state party convention faces significant challenges, the Heartland Post has learned exclusively.
Multiple members of the 31-person committee have called an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss Schimming’s future. A similar move during a regularly scheduled meeting that included Schimming’s quarterly performance review last month went down to defeat, with approximately 10 members voting in favor of a resolution to make the position of chairman unpaid. 16 would have been needed to make any operational change.
Several members were not happy with answers Schimming gave to questions regarding fundraising goals and other performance metrics. Afterwards, members voted on a motion to eliminate Schimming’s pay package and remove him as a paid employee of RPW. Schimming was the first paid chairman in RPW’s history.
While there was significant momentum to remove Schimming’s pay package, sources tell the Heartland Post that one member reached presumptive Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany on his cell phone and Tiffany indicated that a move to replace Schimming so close to the election would not be wise. That, the source said, went a long way in convincing a majority of members to vote against the motion.
Another source, though, said that the renewed effort to remove Schimming is gaining steam, as organizers have spent the past several weeks attempting to build support for their plan, which now includes a new position for him within RPW.
Schimming, however, has been a favorite of the Trump White House after his performance during the 2024 Republican National Convention and Trump’s subsequent win in Wisconsin that November. Multiple members believe the White House would throw its support behind Schimming were he to face another challenge to his leadership so close to the midterms.
If the effort to remove Schimming as a paid employee fails during Tuesday’s meeting, another source said, there is concern that members would call a vote of no confidence in his leadership on the floor of the RPW state convention in the Wisconsin Dells next weekend.
“It would basically air everything in front of the delegates and the media,” the source said. “There’s no presenting a united front if that happens.”
A vote Tuesday, therefore, would be what that source called a “clean, quiet break that would allow us to move on at the convention and win in November.”
Schimming has faced intense criticism and calls to resign following conservative Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Maria Lazar’s 20-point loss last month; the third straight double-digit Supreme Court loss since he became chairman in late 2022.
Critics have also pointed to lackluster fundraising numbers from RPW, which have badly lagged massive totals from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin ahead of their three Supreme Court wins.
Supporters of Schimming point to Trump’s victory in 2024 as evidence of his effective leadership. However, Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde lost a narrow election to Democrat incumbent Tammy Baldwin and Republicans lost 10 seats in the Wisconsin Assembly and four in the Senate under newly redrawn maps put in place earlier that year.
