Sen. ScottFitzgerald (R-Juneau)
The top Republican in the Wisconsin state Senate will continue to support his party’s presidential nominee, despite disagreeing with recently released recordings that show Donald Trump using sexually aggressive language about women.
Appearing at a Wispolitics.com even in Madison Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) said Trump’s comments made in 2005 were “ridiculous and disgusting.” However, the Juneau Republican still sees Trump as a better option that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. “That’s why a lot of people in my district, they’re not enamored with Trump and a lot of them voted for (Ted) Cruz, but at the end of the day, they can’t vote for Hillary Clinton and the baggage that she brings.”
Fitzgerald said electing Clinton president would lead to a “difficult period of time” for the country, because nobody trusts her.
As for whether the controversy surrounding Trump will have an impact on other races down the ticket in Wisconsin, Fitzgerald said he’s waiting to see if the next round of polling will give an indication of where things are going. He said recent internal polls showed Trump leading by double digits in some of the state’s contested Senate districts. “I don’t know that the top of the ticket always presents the coattails that you would think it would,” Fitzgerald said.
AUDIO: Sen. Fitzgerald says they are waiting to see what impact Trump is having on WI races (1:32)
Several Republicans have pulled back their support from the nominee in the wake of the controversy, sparked by a 2005 video taken during an interview with Access Hollywood. U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) drew attacks from Trump on social media Tuesday morning after saying he would no longer defend the nominee. Fitzgerald says those attacks aren’t really good for the party discussions that are going on right now, although he admitted he was “not really surprised” by the Trump’s actions.