Molly Beck
MADISON – A Racine County man plans to gather thousands of signatures to trigger an election to recall the most powerful Republican in the state Legislature over his opposition to Donald Trump and unwillingness to impeach the state's top election official over the 2020 election.
Matthew Snorek of Burlington on Wednesday filed paperwork with the Wisconsin Elections Commission notifying the agency of his intent to circulate a recall petition against Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester.
Vos, who has been speaker for 10 years and has represented the 63rd Assembly District since 2005, is the most effective Republican in the GOP-controlled state Legislature but has faced fierce criticism from members of his own party in recent years over his rejection of calls to decertify the 2020 election, which has been impossible as long as supporters of Trump have called for the idea.
The move to try to recall Vos comes two months after a Racine County-based group focused on the 2020 election ran television ads threatening to unseat Vos if he did not advance articles of impeachment against Wisconsin Elections Commission administrator Meagan Wolfe — an effort Vos has blocked.
Snorek told the commission he was launching a recall effort of Vos, in part, because of Vos' past statements promising to work to keep Trump from becoming the GOP presidential nominee in 2024. Trump has targeted Vos since 2020 after the Assembly Speaker repeatedly refused to entertain the illegal idea of undoing the results of Trump's loss in 2020 in Wisconsin to President Joe Biden.
Vos in a statement called the effort "a waste of time, resources and effort."
"The effort today is no surprise since the people involved cannot seem to get over any election in which their preferred candidate doesn’t win," Vos said.
Vos also come under criticism from Republicans who believe the 2020 election was improperly decided, despite court rulings, audits and studies confirming Biden's win, for not doing more to remove Wolfe. Wolfe has become a top target of Trump supporters since the 2020 election.
In his notice to the commission, Snorek wrote, "Vos is blocking fair elections in WI. Vos misled the WI Assembly in the impeachment of Megan (sic) Wolfe. Vos said he will 'try as hard as I can to make sure Donald Trump is not the nominee in 2024. Vos supported the unlawful drop boxes. Wisconsin must move 'forward' without Robin Vos in power."
"While the backers of this recall effort want to focus on the past, I am going to keep my eyes focused on the future. We have elections to win in the fall," Vos said. "I am confident that my friends, neighbors and supporters from Racine County will stand with me and ensure this effort fails to gain any real traction."Snorek did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. Wispolitics.com first reported Snorek's plans.
By filing the paperwork Wednesday, Vos is now allowed under state law to begin fundraising unlimited amounts of money.
A failed effort to gather signatures to recall Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in 2020 allowed him to raise unlimited campaign cash. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker also used that ability to raise unprecedented sums during the recall campaign against him in 2012.
State law allows an elected official's constituents to launch a recall effort after that official has been serving in his or her term for one year. The first week of January meets that requirement for Vos, who began a new term in the Assembly last January.
To trigger a recall election, Snorek must gather 25% of the total number of votes for governor in 2022 in Vos' district, or about 7,000 signatures, over the next two months.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
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