Potential Wisconsin Dem Gov Candidate Slammed With Complaint Over Secret Political Activity

In Wisconsin, Democrats continue to struggle to find a serious gubernatorial candidate to run in 2018, and the candidates they are finding, such as businessman Andy Gronik, are stumbling right out of the gate.

Gronik, who recently commissioned a poll in the state that mistakenly referred to Wisconsinites as “Wisconsinians,” was slammed with a complaint today by the Wisconsin Republican Party, which alleged Gronik was circumventing the law and public scrutiny by conducting secret political activity and operating a shady group before legally declaring himself a candidate. The group — Stage W — appears to operate as a campaign committee in waiting, and will serve as another embarrassment for Wisconsin Democrats’ failed recruitment efforts.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

“On Thursday, Mark Morgan, executive director of the state GOP, filed a complaint with the state Ethics Commission alleging that Gronik had violated state election laws by setting up a politically focused nonprofit called Stage W and commissioning a political poll without registering a formal campaign committee with the state.

The complaint asserts Stage W, which says it is committed to ‘bridging the political divide,’ appears to operate “as a campaign committee in waiting for Mr. Gronik.’ Gronik, 59, is president of the nonprofit, which he founded in May 2016.

Earlier this week, Gronik confirmed that he paid for a voter survey to help him decide whether he should challenge the second-term Republican governor in 2018.

The poll, which incorrectly referred to state residents as ‘Wisconsinians,’ asked respondents to compare Gronik with two other possible Democratic gubernatorial candidates and quizzed them on such issues.”