Election denier Timothy Ramthun has launched a campaign for Wisconsin's 20th Senate District

MADISON — One of Wisconsin's most prominent purveyors of election conspiracy theories is running for another seat in the state Legislature after a failed run for governor and being shunned by his colleagues in the state Assembly.

Tim Ramthun, a Republican from Campbellsport, served in the Assembly from 2019-23 and competed in the 2022 GOP gubernatorial primary. After running a campaign rooted in an illegal and impossible push to revoke Wisconsin's 10 electoral votes for President Joe Biden, he finished third in the primary with 6% of the vote.

"Right person. Right role. Right time. It's Tim time," Ramthun declared when he launched his gubernatorial campaign following an introduction from MyPillow founder and election denier Mike Lindell.

In a statement released Wednesday, Ramthun said he's received encouragement from throughout the state, primarily from voters in his residential area, to return to legislative politics.

"Given that the Voice of the People is the Voice of God, their wishes have touched my heart. As such, with thoughtful discussion and deep prayer, it became crystal clear that action was required," Ramthun said in a statement. "It has not been an easy decision in anyway, however: To that end, I humbly announce my candidacy for Wisconsin’s new 20th Senate District in 2024."

Ramthun's announcement comes two months after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers signed into law new legislative maps after Republican lawmakers agreed to pass them as a last resort to avoid having the liberal-controlled state Supreme Court draw new legislative boundaries.

"This is the opportunity the electorate prayed for: a new choice, the best choice for whom they choose to represent needed transparency and truth within the Legislature," Ramthun said of the new maps.

Ramthun will face state Sen. Dan Feyen, R-Fond du Lac, who announced his plans to seek reelection in February. Feyen serves as the Senate's assistant majority leader and leads the chamber's Economic Development and Technical Colleges Committee. Feyen serves is also a board member on the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation and a member of the Southeast Wisconsin Professional Baseball District Board.

"I have spent the last 8 years traveling around the 18th State Senate District, meeting as many constituents as possible and literally knocking on tens of thousands of doors. We have had great success in the district but now the lines have been changed and Fond du Lac, my hometown, is now part of the 20th Senate District. We’ve put together a plan, will continue to lay the groundwork and will hit the ground running, meeting with the voters of the new 20th Senate District and asking for their support in November," Feyen said in a statement announcing his reelection campaign.

Since the 2022 midterms, Ramthun has continued to push baseless theories about the 2020 election and supported efforts to target Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, who punished Ramthun in 2022 by removing a full-time staff member from Ramthun's legislative office over false election claims.

The move by Vos catapulted Ramthun to a national platform among those who continue to believe former President Donald Trump's false claim that he won the last presidential election. 

Ramthun was present last month when organizers of an attempt to oust Vos submitted signatures to the Wisconsin Elections Commission in an effort to force a recall election over his criticism of former President Donald Trump and his unwillingness to break the law and undo the 2020 Wisconsin presidential election.

The commission determined the group failed to gather enough valid signatures. The group launched a second recall attempt against Vos after the failure of the first.

Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.