State Democratic convention: Feingold slams Johnson and Trump in speech
GREEN BAY — The Latest on the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention (all times local):
9:25 p.m.
Democrat Russ Feingold is blasting Republican Sen. Ron Johnson and presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump.
And Feingold also promises in his speech Friday at the Democratic Party convention to be bipartisan.
Feingold also joined with other Democrats at the annual meeting to call for unity.
Feingold says he believes people in the state are ready to unite again and are not "hopelessly divided."
He says, "we won't pay our bills with anger and insults."
Feingold is also speaking out against attack ads being run on television against him by a group funded by the Koch brothers that is supporting Johnson in the Senate race.
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9:04 p.m.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin says House Speaker Paul Ryan was "playing footsy" with Donald Trump.
But Baldwin says everyone knew they would eventually get together, just like the Ross and Rachel characters on the 1990s TV show "Friends."
Ryan endorsed Trump on Thursday.
Baldwin is joining with other Democrats in blasting the presumptive Republican presidential nominee at the state party convention on Friday in Green Bay.
The attacks on Trump are threatening to overshadow the marquee Wisconsin race, Russ Feingold's rematch with Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
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8:45 p.m.
The Wisconsin Democratic Party convention is starting to feel like a roast of presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Congressman Ron Kind in his Friday speech joked about Trump's foreign-born wives. Kind jokes that shows there are some occupations Americans refuse to do.
And fellow U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore broke out props including a Trump bobble head, a mirror and apple to compare Trump to the villain in Grimm fairy tales. She urged Democrats to wake up to avoid the prospect of him becoming president.
Kind says he is "shocked and dismayed that a person like Donald Trump" is going to be the Republican nominee. Calling it "unbelievable," Kind says Trump should not be allowed to spend "one minute" in the Oval Office.
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8:10 p.m.
Congressman Mark Pocan is urging fellow Democrats to unite to defeat Republicans Donald Trump and Ron Johnson.
Pocan talked Friday at the state Democratic Party convention after showing a highlight reel of embarrassing comments by Trump, Johnson and other Republicans. Pocan calls it a "collection of intellectual incoherence."
After calling on the crowd to say Trump's name after naming several of his most controversial policy proposals, Pocan joked that his name had been said more times than it was during the Wisconsin Republican Party convention.
Most Republican speakers at the state convention did not mention Trump by name.
Pocan also called for Democrats to help elect Russ Feingold to the Senate and defeat the Republican incumbent Johnson.
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Democrat Tom Nelson, in touting his run for Congress, says he is the only candidate in the race with "strong ties to northeast Wisconsin."
Nelson is the only Democrat running in the race for succeed Republican Rep. Reid Ribble in the state's 8th Congressional District.
Nelson is a former state representative and currently is Outagamie County executive.
He says, "I don't need a roadmap to find my way around this district."
Nelson is deriding the Republicans running for the seat as not having deep ties to the district. He references a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article that showed state Sen. Frank Lasee was renting out his official residence in the district.
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7:30 p.m.
Donald Trump is a favorite target at the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention.
Assembly Democratic Minority Leader Peter Barca poked fun Friday at House Speaker Paul Ryan's endorsement of Trump, sarcastically saying "what a surprise."
Barca says Ryan joins state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald in backing Trump and he expects Assembly Speaker Robin Vos will soon follow suit. Barca says he expects all of the state's top Republicans to "endorse the Trumpster."
Barca says he's optimistic about Democrats' chances because of strong indicators like Gov. Scott Walker's approval rating hovering around 40 percent. And Barca jokes if Trump wins, Walker may turn the University of Wisconsin System into Trump University.
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7:20 p.m.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairwoman Martha Laning says Donald Trump is a "loose cannon" who doesn't have the temperament necessary to serve as president.
Laning said Friday in comments at the state party convention that Trump is nothing but an "entertainer" who has "proven time and time again" that he is too reckless to be president.
Laning's reference to Trump was the first time the presumptive Republican presidential nominee came up at the convention.
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6:40 p.m.
Wisconsin Republican Party Chairman Brad Courtney is blasting Democratic leaders as the state party holds its annual convention in Green Bay.
Courtney issued a statement Friday as the Democratic convention began, branding Senate candidate Russ Feingold and presidential candidate Hillary Clinton as "decades-long career politicians championing yesterday's policies."
Courtney says Feingold is a hypocrite running a "desperate campaign to return to Washington" while Clinton represents the "Washington status quo."
Feingold is running against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
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6:15 p.m.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Martha Laning is kicking off the annual state convention calling for unity.
Laning said Friday at the beginning of the Democratic Party convention that there has been a vigorous debate about how to achieve the party's goals. But she says, "Now it's time to turn the page and unite, vote and win in November."
Her comments came after delegates were shown a video highlighting President Obama's tenure and also the campaigns of Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
Laning says "The time is now for us to begin to come together and remember that we're all Democrats because of our shared values and goals."
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4:50 p.m.
Democratic Senate candidate Russ Feingold plans to take digs at his political opponents in his speech at the Wisconsin Democratic Party convention, while also promising to be bipartisan.
Feingold's campaign released excerpts of his address before he was to deliver it Friday night in Green Bay.
Feingold is slated to say that "Showing up on Fox News doesn't clean our drinking water." He also plans to say that "sitting behind a desk deciding which ethnic or religious group to blame won't move Wisconsin forward."
Feingold is running in a rematch against Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
Feingold also plans to preach unity, saying in his travels across the state people are ready to come together and he pledges to "reach across the aisle and get things done."
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4:01 a.m.
Wisconsin Democrats are gathering for their annual state convention, hoping to win back a U.S. Senate seat and chip away at Republican majorities in the Legislature.
The convention begins Friday night in Green Bay and is scheduled to conclude Saturday.
Senate candidate Russ Feingold is among those slated to speak on Friday. His rematch with Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is the marquee race in Wisconsin this year.
Democrats are also eyeing the open 8th Congressional District seat in northeast Wisconsin following the retirement of Republican Rep. Reid Ribble.
Others scheduled to talk on Friday include congressmen Mark Pocan and Ron Kind and Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
The keynote speaker is U.S. Labor Secretary Tom Perez.