2010 Wisconsin Candidate Ratings Released
A Few Questions…
What if politicians could be objectively evaluated on their views of guns and gun issues and on their actual votes, without the usual bias associated with gun lobbies trying to get — and keep — a seat at the politician’s table?
What if the gun lobby could honestly rank a candidate based on his or her actual performance, rather than using rankings as favors or the proverbial carrot-in-front-of-the-nose as is the case by so many establishment groups — groups who believe heaping praise on a candidate before they’ve earned it will “lure” a politician into favoring a group or its issues?
What if the gun lobby could publish these ratings without fear of angering politicians — because it’s our view that the politicians work for us, not the other way around?
About These Ratings
These ratings do not imply endorsement of or opposition to candidates. Those candidates who earned “A” ratings may be downgraded over time if they become obstinate — or upgraded if there is improvement, though the path down is much faster than the path up. These ratings are not designed to be a “voter’s guide.” All candidates for the Wisconsin legislature and congress are surveyed in July following the registration deadline, giving every candidate, regardless of party, equal opportunity and time to respond. All candidates are informed in writing that a failure to respond results in an automatic failing grade (F). However, completing the candidate survey satisfactorily will not guarantee the candidate a favorable ranking. Voting record and attitude are also taken into account and duly punished where applicable.
Click here to download the 2010 Candidate Survey
Why Are We So Harsh?
We’re not any more harsh in our grading curve than second-grade teachers who fail students who don’t turn in their homework. Politicians are behaving badly, like spoiled children. Over time, they’ve learned they can get away with playing both sides and still garner gun owner support. This misbehavior has become normalized because the groups who rely on these politicians for fund-raising feel they need to provide political cover, which creates a vicious cycle (How many times have we seen a politician pull out the “I’m NRA A-Rated!” excuse?). The proper question to ask is, Why is the institutional gun lobby using ratings to buy access — versus as a measurable standard? Furthermore, why is the status quo so lax in rating candidates, given how these very same candidates have ravished our gun rights over time with impunity? The WGO Candidate Survey and Ratings solve these issues at the root of the problem by bringing accountability to the underlying causes. Not hindered by the pressure of trying to please candidates for favors (crumbs, actually), WGO’s inherent posture gives gun owners a powerful platform from which to begin accurately evaluating performance. If you don’t know how anti-gun politicians really are, you simply won’t react as if anything’s wrong. Now you can.
Action
If your representative earned an F, or didn’t return their survey, we urge you to click on your candidate’s name, which will take you to their webpage where you can find contact information. Call and write your representative and ask them why they couldn’t fill out a simple questionnaire about their views on the Second Amendment. Ask them what excuse they have for not returning the WGO Survey.
Who Are My Legislators? Click Here
2010 Wisconsin Candidate Ratings
| Office | District | Name | Party | Rating | Survey |
| Attorney General | WI | Scott Hassett | D | F | Yes |
| Attorney General | WI | J.B. Van Holland | R | F | No |
| Governor | WI | Tom Barrett | D | F | No |
| Governor | WI | James James | I | F | No |
| Governor | WI | Jim Langer | I | F | No |
| Governor | WI | Scott Walker | R | F | No |
| Lieutenant Governor | WI | Tom Nelson | D | F | No |
| Lieutenant Governor | WI | Terry Virgil | L | A | Yes |
| Lieutenant Governor | WI | Rebecca Kleefisch | R | F | No |
| Secretary of State | WI | Doug La Follette | D | F | No |
| Secretary of State | WI | David D King | R | F | No |
| State Treasurer | WI | Dawn Marie Sass | D | F | No |
| State Treasurer | WI | Kurt Schuller | R | F | No |
| US Senate | WI | Russ Feingold | D | F | No |
| US Senate | WI | Rob Taylor | I | A | Yes |
| US Senate | WI | Ron Johnson | R | F | No |
| US Representative | 1 | John Heckenlively | D | F | No |
| US Representative | 1 | Joseph Kexel | L | F | No |
| US Representative | 1 | Paul Ryan | R | F | No |
| US Representative | 2 | Tammy Baldwin | D | F | No |
| US Representative | 2 | Chad Lee | R | F | No |
| US Representative | 3 | Ron Kind | D | F | No |
| US Representative | 3 | Michael Krsiean | I | F | No |
| US Representative | 3 | Dan Kapanke | R | F | No |
| US Representative | 4 | Gwen Moore | D | F | No |
| US Representative | 4 | Eddie Ahmad Ayyash | I | F | No |
| US Representative | 4 | Dan Sebring | R | F | Yes |
| US Representative | 5 | Todd Kolossso | D | F | No |
| US Representative | 5 | Robert R. Raymond | I | F | No |
| US Representative | 5 | James Sensenbrenner Jr. | R | F | No |
| US Representative | 6 | Joseph Kallas | D | F | No |
| US Representative | 6 | Tom Petri | R | F | No |
| US Representative | 7 | Julie M. Lassa | D | F | No |
| US Representative | 7 | Gary Kauther | I | A | Yes |
| US Representative | 7 | Sean Duffy | R | F | No |
| US Representative | 8 | Steve Kagen | D | F | No |
| US Representative | 8 | Reid J. Ribble | R | A | Yes |
| State Senate | 1 | Monk Elmer | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 1 | Frank Lasee | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 3 | Tim Carpenter | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 3 | Annette Krznarich | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 5 | Jim Sullivan | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 5 | Leah Vukmir | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 7 | Chris Larson | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 7 | Jess Ripp | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 9 | Jason Borden | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 9 | Joseph Leibham | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 11 | LD Rockwell | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 11 | Neal Kedzie | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 13 | Dwayne Block | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 13 | Vittorio Spadaro | I | F | Yes |
| State Senate | 13 | Scott Fitzgerald | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 15 | Tim Cullen | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 15 | Rick Richard | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 17 | Carol Beals | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 17 | Dale Schultz | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 19 | Michael Ellis | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 21 | John Lehman | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 21 | Van Wanggaard | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 23 | Pat Kreitlow | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 23 | Terry Moulton | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 25 | Robert Jauch | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 25 | Dane Deutsch | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 27 | Jon Erpanbach | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 27 | Kurt Schlicht | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 29 | Russ Decker | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 29 | Pam Galloway | R | B | No |
| State Senate | 31 | Kathleen Vinehout | D | F | No |
| State Senate | 31 | Ed Thompson | R | F | No |
| State Senate | 32 | Rich Zipperer | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 1 | Richard Skare | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 1 | Garey D Bies | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 2 | Ted Zigmundt | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 2 | Andre Jacque | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 3 | Al Ott | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 4 | Sam Dunlop | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 4 | Brad Sauer | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 4 | Chad Weininger | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 5 | Mert Summers | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 5 | Jim Steineke | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 6 | Gary Tauchen | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 7 | Peggy Krusick | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 7 | Brad Sponholz | R | A | Yes |
| Assembly | 8 | JoCasta Zamarripa | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 8 | Ramona Rivas | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 9 | Josh Zepnick | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 10 | Elizabeth Coggs | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 10 | Ieshuh Griffin | I | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 11 | Jason Fields | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 12 | Frederick P. Kessler | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 12 | Sam Hagedorn | R | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 13 | Lisa R. Becker | C | A | Yes |
| Assembly | 13 | David Cullen | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 14 | Dale Kooyenga | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 15 | Tony Staskunas | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 15 | Ronald Reiboldt | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 16 | Leon D. Young | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 17 | Barbara L.Toles | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 18 | Tamara D. Grigsby | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 19 | Jon Richards | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 19 | Krista Burns | R | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 20 | Christine M. Sinicki | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 20 | Molly McGartland | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 21 | Tom Michalski | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 21 | Mark Honadel | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 22 | Sandy Pasch | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 22 | Paul Pedersen | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 23 | Jim Ott | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 24 | Dustin James Klein | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 24 | Dan Knodl | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 25 | Kerry Trask | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 25 | Andrew Wisniewski | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 25 | Bob Zeigelbauer | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 26 | Terry Van Akkeren | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 26 | Job Hou-Seye | I | B | Yes |
| Assembly | 26 | Mike Endsley | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 27 | Jack Lechler | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 27 | Steve Kestell | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 28 | Amy Hraychuck | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 28 | Erik Severson | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 29 | Liz Jones | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 29 | John Murtha | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 30 | Matt Borup | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 30 | Dean Knudson | R | B | Yes |
| Assembly | 31 | Leroy Watson | L | A | Yes |
| Assembly | 31 | Steve Nass | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 32 | Doug A. Harrod | D | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 32 | Rick Pappas | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 32 | Tyler August | R | B | Yes |
| Assembly | 32 | Daniel Kilkenny | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 33 | Chris Kapenga | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 34 | Merlin Van Buren | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 34 | Wil Losch | L | F | No |
| Assembly | 34 | Dan Meyer | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 35 | Jay Schmelling | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 35 | Tom Tiffany | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 36 | Anne Woznicki | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 36 | Jeffrey Mursau | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 37 | Andy Jorgensen | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 37 | Vicki Milbrath | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 38 | Dick Pas | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 38 | Joel Kleefisch | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 39 | Jeff Fitzgerald | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 40 | Kevin David Petersen | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 40 | Jon Baltmanis | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 41 | Scott Milheiser | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 41 | Jay Selthofner | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 41 | Joan A. Ballweg | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 42 | Fred Clark | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 42 | Jack Cummings | R | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 43 | Kim Hixson | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 43 | Evan Wynn | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 44 | Mike Sheridan | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 44 | Joe Knilans | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 45 | Roger Anclam | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 45 | Amy Loudenbeck | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 46 | Gary Hebl | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 46 | Kathy Maves | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 47 | Trish O’Neil | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 47 | Kieth Ripp | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 48 | Joseph T. Parisi | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 48 | Grant Gilbertson | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 48 | Spencer Zimmerman | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 49 | Phil Garthwaite | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 49 | Travis Tranel | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 50 | Sarah Shanahan | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 50 | Ben Olson III | L | A | Yes |
| Assembly | 50 | Ed Brooks | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 51 | John Simonson | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 51 | Howard Marklein | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 52 | Paul Czisny | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 52 | Jeremy Theisfeldt | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 53 | Richard J. Spanbauer | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 54 | Gordon Hintz | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 54 | Jonathan Krause | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 55 | Dean R. Kaufert | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 56 | Michelle Litjens | R | A | Yes |
| Assembly | 57 | Penny Bernard Schaber | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 57 | Chris Hansen | R | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 58 | Pat Strachota | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 59 | Daniel R. LeMahieu | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 60 | Mark Gottlieb | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 61 | Robert Turner | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 61 | George Meyers | L | F | No |
| Assembly | 62 | Cory Mason | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 62 | Chris Wright | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 62 | Tony Decubellis | L | F | No |
| Assembly | 63 | Robin J. Vos | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 64 | Peter W. Barca | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 64 | Daane Hoffman | L | F | No |
| Assembly | 65 | John Steinbrink | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 66 | Steven Brown | D | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 66 | Samantha Kerkman | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 67 | C.W. King | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 67 | Thomas Lange | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 67 | Tom Larson | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 68 | Kristen Dexter | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 68 | Kathy Bernier | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 69 | Scott Suder | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 70 | Amy Sue Vruwink | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 70 | John Spiros | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 71 | Louis Molepske Jr. | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 71 | Bob Scovil | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 72 | Marlin D. Schneider | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 72 | Thad Kubisak | I | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 72 | Scott Krug | R | A | Yes |
| Assembly | 73 | Nick Milroy | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 73 | Bonnie Baker | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 74 | Janet Bewley | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 74 | Shril LaBarre | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 75 | Steve Perala | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 75 | Roger Rivard | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 76 | Terese Berceau | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 76 | Torrey Jaeckle | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 77 | Brett Hulsey | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 77 | David Olsen | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 77 | David Redick | R | A | Yes |
| Assembly | 77 | Ben Manski | W | F | No |
| Assembly | 78 | Mark Pocan | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 79 | Sondy Pope Roberts | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 79 | Tom Clauder | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 80 | Janis Ringhand | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 80 | Dan Henke | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 81 | Kelda Helen Roys | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 82 | Jeff Stone | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 83 | Aaron Robertson | D | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 83 | Scott Gunderson | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 84 | Don Vanpool | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 84 | Mike Kuglitsch | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 85 | Donna Seidel | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 85 | Jim Mass | L | A | Yes |
| Assembly | 85 | Charles Eno | R | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 86 | Todd Punke | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 86 | Frederick Melms | I | F | No |
| Assembly | 86 | Jerry Petrowski | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 87 | Dana Schultz | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 87 | Frank Rutherford | I | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 87 | Mary Williams | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 88 | Jim Soletski | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 88 | John Klenke | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 89 | Bob Orwig | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 89 | John Nygren | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 90 | Lou Ann Weix | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 90 | Karl Van Roy | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 91 | Chris Danou | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 91 | Bill Ingram | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 92 | Mark A. Radcliffe | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 92 | Dennis Clinard | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 93 | Jeff Smith | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 93 | Warren Petryk | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 94 | Cheryl Hancock | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 94 | Mike Huebsch | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 95 | Jennifer Shilling | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 95 | Nick Charles | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 96 | Brian Murphy | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 96 | Lee Nerison | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 97 | Dawn Caruss | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 97 | Bill Kramer | R | F | Yes |
| Assembly | 98 | Victor Weers | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 98 | Paul Farrow | R | F | No |
| Assembly | 99 | Tom Hibbard | D | F | No |
| Assembly | 99 | Don Pridemore | R | B | No |
Category: Featured, News & Alerts, Past Candidate Surveys
Glad to be included with an “A” Rating in the Primary, wish I had been the nominee, there is much we need to do, and much we will still do come what may tomorrow. Glad to see Scott Krug and Michelle Litjens get “A” ratings too, proud of them and Jim Maas too and Tyler August and my friend Job Hou-Seye and Lisa and Brad too, all of you Few and Brave.
I voted republican this year,with the expectation we would see a concealed carry permit in this state,My wife and i both carry Fla.permits and at 75 yrs old,one can travel in those states where legal,with some peace of mind,the shame is this state where i was born and still live is one of the last 2 hold outs,ive heard all the arguements,they don’t fly in the face of statistics,PASS ONE,Scott Ide