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Four Republicans seek chance to unseat Sheridan

JANESVILLE — Four candidates are seeking a shot at unseating Assembly Speaker Mike Sheridan, but only one will get a chance, as all four are Republicans.

Only one GOP candidate will advance from the Sept. 14 partisan primary for a chance to represent the 44th Assembly District. The district includes most of the city of Janesville.

Sheridan, a Democrat, was first elected in 2004 when he easily defeated Republican Ty Bollerud and Independents Steve Trueblood and Charles Knipp. Sheridan defeated Republican Fred Yoss in 2006 and was unopposed in 2008.

Sheridan became Assembly speaker in 2009 after the Democrats grabbed control of the Wisconsin Assembly in 2008 for the first time in 16 years.

The field of Republicans vying for the GOP nod are Bill Truman, a Janesville City Council member; Ken Brotheridge, who works at Rasmussen College in Rockford; Joe Knilans, a former General Motors worker, and Charles Knipp, a former Janesville city assessor.

Lonna Morouney, media coordinator for the 1st District GOP, said the party stands a chance at defeating Sheridan.

“We’re really excited about our candidates,” Morouney said. “They’re all different and they have a diversity of backgrounds. I think it’s something really positive for the GOP.”

J.R. Ross, editor of wispolitics.com, said it’s difficult to say if any of the Republican candidates have a legitimate shot at unseating Sheridan in a extremely safe Democratic district.

“I don’t know anything about those guys running for the Republican side,” Ross said. “Usually Republicans don’t even bother running a candidate.”

Ross said most of the attention in this race has focused on Sheridan’s personal issues, specifically his alleged past relationship with a lobbyist for a payday lending company.

“Nobody I’ve talked to thinks he’s in trouble,” Ross said. “It’s hard to read how people react to issues like that.”

Morouney said the Republicans are focusing on Sheridan’s record, not his personal life.

“We’re interested in his record of leadership; that’s what we’re running against,” Morouney said. “We think he’s vulnerable as far as his record goes.”

Whether Sheridan would keep his powerful position as Assembly speaker or not relies on whether the Democrats are able to hold the majority.

“Even if Mike is re-elected, there will always be questions,” Ross said. “The thing to focus on now is holding the majority. It’s like anything, where winning fixes a lot of things.”

Morouney said people are ready for a change in leadership.

All five candidates are stressing the economy and jobs as the most important issues, but it’s not clear if the Republicans have a candidate who can win over a staunchly Democratic district.

CLICK HERE for brief biographies of the five candidates.