Parents Of A Republican Running For Senate Donated $2,700 Maximum To His Democratic Opponent

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Republican Kevin Nicholson is trying to unseat Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in 2018, but he’s failed to get the endorsements most candidates have the most ease getting — those of their own parents.

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According to CNN, Donna and Michael Nicholson donated $2,700 to Baldwin’s campaign, the maximum FEC rules legally allow them to contribute until the general election. And these donations didn’t take place before they knew their son wanted to run for Senate — Kevin Nicholson announced his bid last July, and public records now show that his parents donated to his opponent months later in December.

Nicholson’s parents have donated thousands of dollars to the Democratic Party over the years, and in fact, the candidate was once an active Democrat himself. In college, while studying at the University of Minnesota, Nicholson became president of the College Democrats of America and worked with pro-choice groups like EMILY’s List. After he began dating the university’s most well-known conservative, Jessie Roos (now Nicholson), and later becoming a Marine, Nicholson’s views went to the right.

In a statement regarding his parents supporting his opponent, Nicholson said:

“My parents have a different worldview than I do, and it is not surprising that they would support a candidate like Tammy Baldwin who shares their perspective. I’m a conservative today not because I was born one, but because of the experience I earned as a Marine in combat, my experience as a husband and father, my choice to be a Christian, the schools I chose to attend and the decision to pursue the career that I have. Regardless of who may disagree with my life decisions, I would not trade these experiences for anything, and they will always guide my views as Wisconsin’s next U.S. Senator.”

Still, Nicholson isn’t having trouble just getting his own family’s endorsement, some Republicans in Washington remain unconvinced about the legitimacy of his conservatism. “I just find this all too convenient, all too contrived, and I just don’t buy it,” said former Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus, who endorsed Nicholson’s GOP challenger Sen. Leah Vukmir.