Post Three
Here are the 10 people who participated in Wisconsin's fake elector scheme in 2020
Reporter: Laura Schulte
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Published 12:16 p.m. CT Aug 2, 2023 | Updated 4:10 p.m. CT Aug 2, 2023
MADISON - Wisconsin and its slate of fake electors are at the center of a new indictment of former President Trump, who was accused of organizing a conspiracy to steal the 2020 election.
Ten Wisconsin Republicans signed documents agreeing to be electors for Trump, despite the outcome of the election in Wisconsin in which Joe Biden won the state by about 21,000 votes and earned the state's 10 Electoral College votes.
The Wisconsin fake elector slate was a portion of the 84 individuals in seven states who are being scrutinized in the indictment as a part of Trump's plan.
Here are the Wisconsin individuals who participated in the effort.
Robert Spindell
Bob Spindell, a Republican member of the Wisconsin Elections Commission.
Spindell is a Republican appointee to the Wisconsin Elections Commission and the current chairman of the Republican 4th Congressional District. He lives in Milwaukee and is the senior vice president and regional manager at Gottesman Co., a mergers and acquisitions firm.
He previously served as a City of Milwaukee election commissioner for more than 18 years.
Andrew Hitt
Hitt was formerly the chairman of the state Republican Party and is now a partner at Michael Best Strategies.
He lives in Appleton, and previously served in former Gov. Scott Walker's administration as deputy legal counsel, a senior advisor and as a member of the governor's cabinet with the Department of Health Services and Department of Administration.
Kelly Ruh
Ruh is the current chairwoman of the Republican 8th Congressional District.
She lives in De Pere, where she lives with her husband and two step-daughters. Ruh formerly served as the District 2 alderperson in De Pere and works as a financial professional.
Both Ruh and Hitt were subpoenaed to testify in front of House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Carol Brunner
Brunner is the former vice chairwoman of the 1st Congressional District GOP and formerly served on the Sheboygan City Council. She now lives in Iowa.
Scott Grabins
Grabins is the former chairman of the Dane County Republican Party and works as a technology director. He lives in the Madison area.
Darryl Carlson
Carlson is the former chairman of the 6th Congressional District GOP and ran for the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2014. He works for U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald. He lives in Sheboygan and has two children.
Pam Travis
Travis is the former vice chairwoman of the 7th Congressional District GOP and a former staffer for Sen. Ron Johnson’s 2022 reelection campaign. She formerly worked as a regulatory compliance educator for Stericycle and a tax accountant, according to her LinkedIn profile. She lives in Elkhorn.
Mary Buestrin
Buestrin is a former national committeewoman for the state Republican Party. She was first elected in 1992. She lives in Mequon.
Bill Feehan
Feehan is a current chairman of the 3rd Congressional District GOP and the vice president of strategic planning and budgeting business Big Dreams LLC. He lives in La Crosse.
Kathy Kiernan
Kiernan is a current second vice chairwoman of the state Republican Party. She is retired. She lives in Richland.
What did the group do?
On Dec. 14, 2020, after the state Supreme Court upheld Biden's victory in Wisconsin, Democrats met in the state Capitol to cast the state's 10 electoral votes for Biden.
While that was happening, the 10 Republicans met in another part of the Capitol to fill out paperwork claiming Trump had won and submitted their filings to Congress, the National Archives, a federal judge and Wisconsin's secretary of state.
They said at the time that the actions were taken to ensure their votes could be cast for Trump should a later court ruling determine he won the state.
Have any charges been filed against the group?
No. Last month, Michigan's attorney general announced criminal charges against that state's slate of fake electors. Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has not announced a pursuit of charges.
But there is a lawsuit
A trial date of September 2024 has been set for a lawsuit filed by two of the Democratic 2020 presidential electors over the actions of the 10 Republicans.
The plaintiffs want those involved fined $200,000 to ensure the losing side in future elections doesn't file official-looking paperwork with Congress claiming to be the winner.
Laura Schulte can be reached at leschulte@jrn.com and on Twitter at @SchulteLaura.
