MADISON – Liberal activist Kirk Bangstad failed to submit the required number of valid signatures to get his campaign for governor on the ballot, according to state records.
Bangstad launched a campaign in May after Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Secret Service agents interviewed him about a post he made after a gunman tried to enter an event President Donald Trump was attending that promoted the idea of assassinating the president.
The post and the subsequent FBI interview have drawn national attention to Bangstad from supporters of his rhetoric and those who oppose it.
State law requires candidates for governor to submit 2,000 valid signatures to be approved for the ballot. Bangstad submitted 1,504 valid signatures by the June 1 deadline, according to a tally by the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Bangstad may appeal the decision.
In a Facebook post, Bangstad predicted fellow Democrats would seek to challenge his signatures.
“The only way Kirk get’s (sic) knocked out of this race is if his fellow progressives purposefully and successfully challenge the signatures he turned in and knock him out,” he wrote in a June 2 post.
Bangstad said in May he wanted to run for governor because he didn’t hear adequate messaging on the economy or Trump from the seven Democratic candidates currently in the race.
“I decided I’m not gonna stand for this anymore and I’m going to run for governor of Wisconsin,” he told the crowd at a launch event at his brewery’s taproom in Minocqua.
Bangstad’s Minocqua Brewing Company opened about a decade ago and is known for selling politics-themed beers. The releases include Tammy Shandy, Evers Ale and Mandela Mash, referring to Democrats U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, Gov. Tony Evers and former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who is running for governor in 2026.
Bangstad has used his super PAC to fund lawsuits that would disband the state’s private school voucher system and against Republican members of Congress, accusing them of aiding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.
He is also involved in ongoing legal battles with the conservative newspaper Lakeland Times and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct earlier this year in a case related to interactions with the owner of the newspaper.
In recent weeks, Bangstad has drawn new attention to his ongoing promotion of offering free beer on the day Trump dies.
In January, the brewery posted on Facebook that it would sell free beer “all day long, the day he dies,” appearing to refer to Trump but not by name. “Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise.”
The comments drew criticism from the state Democratic Party and other Democrats.
Bangstad has previously made unsuccessful runs for state Assembly and to represent the 7th Congressional District.
Molly Beck can be reached at molly.beck@jrn.com.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Minocqua Brewing’s Kirk Bangstad fails to qualify for governor’s race
Reporting by Molly Beck, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
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