Photo Courtesy Kaul For Attorney General
While hot primary contests for governor and senator dominated Wisconsin news this summer, the statewide race for attorney general has been set for a year. In that race, prosecutor Josh Kaul is taking on incumbent Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel. Few races on the Tuesday, Nov. 6, ballot offer as stark a contrast as theirs.
The two are worlds apart on the issues. Schimel is to the right of even Gov. Scott Walker and President Donald Trump in some cases, such as his support for arming teachers. The challenge for voters is that this vital race has not spent much time in the limelight, despite it being labeled by Governing magazine as the only attorney general race in the country with an incumbent that is a “toss up.” Yet a month ago, the Associated Press ran a story on the Schimel-Kaul race with the headline: “Wisconsin AG race ready to heat up, but will anyone watch?” Another newspaper labeled it a “sleeper race.” Yet electing Kaul would ensure Wisconsin pushes back against the rightwing extremism of Trump’s policies.
Not only do the two men have jarringly different approaches to the post often called the state’s “Top Cop,” but their leadership styles are equally far apart. Kaul supports Wisconsinites receiving health care through the Affordable Care Act (ACA); Schimel is spearheading a lawsuit against it. Kaul has fought in court to protect voting and representation; Schimel defends gerrymandering and voter-suppressing photo ID policies that he admits helped Trump win Wisconsin in 2016.
Schimel’s made lots of headlines—from botching the Lincoln Hills juvenile prison investigation so badly that the FBI took it over, to his support of a gag order to stop state employees from talking about climate change, to his hosting the National Rifle Association (NRA) in his office, to his hiring of a corporate lobbyist for Walmart as his top aide. Schimel also required Department of Justice employees to sign a non-disclosure agreement, which was drafted a month after Kaul entered the race against him.
While Schimel’s spent more time in the public eye for his gaffes and partisan pandering on the job, voters know less about Kaul. In fact, Kaul’s Twitter bio pretty much sums up what many voters know about him: “Father. Husband. Wisconsinite. Former federal prosecutor. Candidate for Attorney General. Wisconsin.”
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Just Who is Josh Kaul?
Addressing a Tavern League group over lunch at Paulie’s Pub in West Allis, Kaul, 37, lays out his platform, sprinkling humor amid his critique of Schimel’s actions. He takes a jab at Schimel for spending $83,000 on such swag as customized fortune cookies and gold-plated coins. “In my house, with two young boys, if you are going to hand out fake coins, there had better be chocolate inside them,” he says.
Photo Courtesy of Kaul For Attorney General
He also jokes about his Fond du Lac High School football career as a fullback for the Cardinals where he scored “one touchdown, about a yard out,” adding, “It definitely counts as a touchdown all the same.” He takes questions, and the group begins talking about issues important to their industry—from Safe Ride to road blocks. He answers, then engages the bar owners, asking for their opinions, flowing seamlessly from a stump speech into a conversation.
One thing many Wisconsinites, including some attendees in the room, know about Kaul is his mother—former Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager, a trailblazer who passed away in March during his campaign after a battle with cancer. He sidesteps talking about much that is personal, especially a grief so recent. But he emphatically credits his mom and other family members as the key influences on his career. “My family has history in public service, working to make their communities better, safer places,” says Kaul. “It’s always been a part of my life.”
He attended public schools in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac, where his mother worked as a prosecutor before becoming Wisconsin’s first female attorney general. His stepfather, Bill Rippl, was a police officer in Neenah who later became a teacher, and both Kaul’s maternal grandparents were teachers.
Kaul met his wife, Lindsey, while at Yale University, then attended Stanford Law School, where he was president of the Stanford Law Review. Kaul’s as tough as he is intelligent; during his career as a prosecutor in crime-plagued Baltimore, he prosecuted murderers, gang members and drug traffickers, “taking dangerous criminals off the street and making communities more secure,” he says. This experience comes up often in the campaign as he speaks about keeping Wisconsin streets safe.
“He is exceptionally balanced and genuine,” says family friend Haben Goitom, an attorney who also knows him professionally. “But, I would not confuse his warmth with weakness. He is a hard-nosed litigator by nature who will fight for what is right.”
More details about Kaul unfold on the campaign trail. In an article that appeared in the Barron News Shield, mention was made of his ties to the area through his dad: “Josh Kaul spent a lot of time in Barron County, where his father, Raj Kaul, worked for what was then known as Jerome Foods in Barron.” His campaign has been followed by Indian American news, and he is endorsed by the Indian American Impact Fund as a candidate of Indian American descent from his father’s side. (A few of his other endorsements include former Vice President Joe Biden, Senator Tammy Baldwin, the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters and the Human Rights Campaign.)
Photo Courtesy Kaul for Attorney General
One area of his life Kaul can’t help but smile about is his family—sons Simon, age 4, and Henry, age 1½. He loves taking his kids to the park near their home and even during the campaign he makes lots of trips to swimming lessons and soccer games. He spent a recent weekend at several kids’ birthday parties. But Josh Kaul is adept at turning personal conversation back to issues, as he notes how being a dad has impacted his views on school safety, particularly after hearing about a lock-down drill a few months back at his boys’ daycare that hit him hard.
That takes him right back to talking about gun safety, keeping criminals off the streets, fines for polluters, holding Foxconn accountable, supporting mental health programs, fighting the opioid epidemic and making certain the attorney general is a watchdog for consumers. “I’ve called on Brad Schimel to evenhandedly protect consumers and the environment, especially clean air and clean water that are vital for our health, our economy and our quality of life,” he says.
Taking on Outside Money
Kaul names one hesitancy he had about getting into the race: massive spending and the influence of money in politics. Why didn’t that stop him? “There’s too much at stake in the attorney general race to stop me getting involved. Seeing the attorney general’s failure and extremism on a number of issues and his lack of accountability to the people of Wisconsin, I decided to run.”
Asked to pick one thing he and Schimel agree on, Kaul cites drug courts. When asked to name Schimel’s biggest failure, he pauses. “I have to say the delays in testing rape kits and DNA, toxicology and other evidence at the state crime lab. This has meant justice delayed for survivors and dangerous criminals remaining on the streets.” Last week, Schimel yet again declared “mission accomplished” on testing rape kits, but Kaul notes that even once all of them are tested, the work is still not done. The attorney general must follow-up on DNA hits and ensure any matches are thoroughly investigated.
In addition to specifics, Schimel has used his position as attorney general to advance a far rightwing agenda, including backing Trump’s so-called “border wall” and policy of separating children from their parents at the border. His travel has included a gathering at Trump’s Mar-A-Lago resort and participating in a conference with the Alliance Defending Freedom, a group the Southern Poverty Law Center lists as a hate group for supporting criminalization of homosexuality. Schimel’s own costs were covered by the group, but he used taxpayer money to bring along an employee.
In addition to Kaul’s robust critique of Schimel’s failure to do his job and his rightwing views that are out of step with Wisconsin, Kaul blasts Schimel for his focus on serving Scott Walker, saying, “He’s not the governor’s lawyer; he’s supposed to be the lawyer for the state of Wisconsin. Our attorney general should be an independent watch dog, and I’m hopeful the voters feel the same way and see the differences.”
