AD 55 Primary: Gustafson (R), Schraa (R) and Kehoe (D)
Republican Incumbents Michael Schraa and Nate Gustafson were drawn into the 55th Assembly District and will have a primary battle in this 60% GOP District. The winner will advance to the final ballot to face Democrat Kyle Kehoe.
Located in east-central Wisconsin, the district comprises most of Winnebago County and part of southern Outagamie County. It includes all of the city of Omro and the village of Winneconne, the portion of Fox Crossing west of the Fox River, and the southern quarter of the city of Oshkosh.
The Democrat has shown more support for legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin than either of these two Republicans, but we will first examine what the two GOP Candidates have down while being an elected official. I will start with Schraa since he has been in office the longest.
Michael Shcraa (R)
Elected to Assembly since 2012. Restaurant owner (Leon’s Frozen Custard). Former stock broker/investment advisor from ’83 to ’89.
In 2020 he faced no Democrat challenger on the final ballot and also ran un-opposed in 2014.
Hard to read at times, but proof is in the pudding. Rep. Schraa was a 2017 sponsor of decriminalization and a first Republican on the marijuana reform scene in many many years…….. and in 2020 sponsored a Republican version of medical marijuana to create a program here in our state. The legislation he sponsored was designed to get the issue a public hearing. The bill he sponsored was stuck in committee he is a member of, so who knows what the future holds for this Assembly Rep from the Oshkosh area. He has come a long way since 2013.
Here is a small snap shot and timeline of events as we worked his district:
2013 – Rep Schraa states he does not support marijuana reform of any kind.
Winter 2018 – He is appointed to be member of the Committee on State Affairs that will later been assigned the competing medical marijuana bills. No public hearing would be held on either piece of legislation.
Spring 2019 – We did not see Rep. Schraa participate in the “2019 Spring GOP Survey” with a marijuana legalization question on it while many other Assembly GOP Representatives did.
Winter 2019 – Author of Republican Bill – Creation of Medical Marijuana Program LRB 5095-1. Schraa was an original author/co-sponsor of this legislation pre-submitted by the GOP Caucus. This session we saw competing bills presented from each party.
In 2022 Wisconsin again saw competing medical marijuana bills presented by Democrats and Republicans. Schraa did not co-sponsor the Dems version, instead he was an original author/co-sponsor of the medical cannabis legislation crafted by Republicans.
Again in 2024 Shcraa emerged as a leading author/co-sponsor of the controversial Republican bill, which has now morphed into a more pharmaceutical cannabis program owned and run by the State of Wisconsin. This version of the bill was met with opposition by Democrats, friendlier members of the GOP and the Republican Senate. Although issued so late in session, this bill was doomed from the start and many call it a simple PR attempt to look sympathetic to the issue of medical cannabis.
We need to send a clear message to Schraa and the rest of the Republicans that Wisconsin is ready for legalization and that their version of medical cannabis is not right for our state.
Follow him on his campaign facebook page and send him a message or email him at Michael.schraa@gmail.com and let him know that you will not vote for candidates unless they support ending prohibition of cannabis. I checked his campaign website Friends of Michael Schraa and as of 6/26/2024 it had virtually no content expect the subscribe button and the words Community Advocacy and Support. I suspect that the primary battle has him worried a little bit.
Nate Gustafson (R)
Elected Winnebago County Board supervisor 2022. Elected to Assembly 2022. Occupation: Systems analyst, Outagamie County Health and Human Services.
Republican insider said he is for legalization and libertarian leaning on this issue. During the 2022 campaign he did not return our requests for his stance on cannabis reform.
Early in 2023 Gustafson was ‘blamed’ for putting the brakes on the initiative for move Winnebago County to the $1 fine for personal possession of marijuana via ordinance change.
In 2023 Gustafson was a lead author on a “medical mushroom research bill” but absent on the Kratom Bill.
In 2024 he was a vocal critic of the Republican version of medical marijuana presented. His main statements and talking points he used in public were “he does not support using government to grow government”.
I personally spoke to Nate Gustafson on the issue and told him to renew the $1 fine decriminalization initiative for Winnebago County would be his best angle yet show he cares about the issue before the election.
You can follow his campaign on facebook at Gus4Us.
As Schraa and Gustafson try to figure it out, the Democrat has it right!
Kyle Kehoe (D)
A Winneconne native; worked as a police officer and I have been in real estate for almost a decade.
I had a chance to speak with Kyle about marijuana reform and in short, he told me this: I support legal recreational use in Wisconsin.
Kyle Kehoe received an A+ rating from NORML in the Smoke the Vote Project.
Please follow and visit Kehoe for Assembly on Facebook and visit his official campaign website for more information on this candidate.
Stay tuned and get active!
I will provide you additional 2024 Wisconsin State Election coverage throughout the campaign season. This next election is extremely important for marijuana reform and I will continue to bring you information as more candidates make their political moves.
In the event that we end up with divided government in the 2024-25 legislation session, the official formation of The Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus would be a must first step towards reform. The official establishment of this Caucus will represent the growing, bipartisan support in Wisconsin.
Although session as ended we still urge you to contact your elected officials. The top four action alerts are still functionable on The Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Action Network for you immediate use.
Sources: CNanalysis, WisPolitics, Davesredistircing, PeoplesMaps
