August 10, 2018 at 3:45 p.m.
Nicholson banks on service record, outside supporters
Political newcomer picks up national heavy hitters
Nicholson banks on service record, outside supporters
According to his campaign, as a Marine Corps officer, Nicholson served combat tours in both Iraq in 2007 and in Afghanistan in 2008-2009. He was awarded the Bronze Star for his leadership of a counter-improvised explosive device (IED) team in Afghanistan, his campaign website states.
Of course, war wasn't always on his mind. Despite being far from home, his campaign states, Nicholson tried to find a way to watch the Green Bay Packers as often as possible.
Nicholson joined the Marines after graduating from college, where he met his wife, Jessie, and was commissioned as an officer in 2004. He served as a combat engineer aboard Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.
The day after his first child was born, his website states, President George W. Bush announced a "troop surge" in Iraq. Just weeks later, Nicholson's platoon left for pre-deployment training, and then deployment to Al Anbar province in Iraq. He then returned and served as a company commander stateside until his next deployment.
In that deployment, Nicholson volunteered as part of a multi-force counter-IED team in Afghanistan, where he led a quick reaction force of Marines, soldiers, airmen, sailors, and civilian contractors in the fight against enemy IED cells, his website states. After this deployment, his commanding officer cited him as "the best counter-Improvised Explosive Device team leader in Afghanistan."
After the military, Nicholson says he learned there was perhaps no greater cultural chasm in the world than between the Marines in Afghanistan and the academics at Harvard. He earned a Masters degrees in public administration and business administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and Dartmouth Tuck School of Business.
According to the campaign, Ncicholson's graduate studies solidified his view that America's out of control debt intrinsically created foreign policy dangers.
"As a Marine, he saw first-hand the destruction caused by radical Islamism in both Iraq and Afghanistan," his website states. "Kevin believes that we won't be able to continue to fight this threat - or any others - if our nation keeps borrowing its way to insolvency. A nearly $20 trillion national debt, compounding each day, is the greatest threat to our nation's security."
In his profession, Nicholson works as an adviser to companies, helping them, he says, to solve their toughest strategic and operational problems, while also helping them to grow and put more Americans to work.
And now, he says, he is campaigning to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. Senate for the same reasons he joined the Marines while America was at war.
"Our nation's financial, economic, and national security problems are large and growing exponentially," he says, arguing that now is the time for a conservative outsider with real world experience to step up and provide solutions.
Nicholson says he is not a politician, but the sum total of his experiences in the Marine Corps, in combat, and in business have made him a strong advocate for conservative principles.
Taxes and spending
Nicholson says the nation can't tax, spend, or borrow its way to prosperity.
"The federal government's debt and deficit is immoral - and our tax code is unfair and uncompetitive," he says. "Worst of all, our reckless fiscal policies are crushing job creation."
Nicholson says he will rein in wasteful spending to cut the deficit, reform entitlements to reduce the debt, and overhaul taxes and regulations to unleash economic growth.
To start, Nicholson says he knows we should give more power back to the states, deploy more market-based reforms, and ensure that the federal government operates with a balanced budget. On taxes, Nicholson says he will support changing the tax code to be fairer, flatter, and lower for job creators, capital investors, and families.
Earlier in the campaign, Nicholson signed the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, a written commitment to oppose higher taxes, a move that earned him high praise from Americans for Tax Reform.
"The American people are tired of the tax-and-spend policies coming from Washington and they are looking for solutions that create jobs, cut government spending, and get the economy going again," said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. "Signing the Taxpayer Protection Pledge and holding the line on taxes is the first step in that process."
Norquist said Nicholson, by signing the pledge, joined a large list of Wisconsin public officials dedicated to protecting taxpayers, including speaker Paul Ryan, U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, Gov. Scott Walker, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, Rep. Glenn Grothman, Rep. Sean Duffy, and Rep. Mike Gallagher.
While Nicholson was the first candidate in the Wisconsin U.S. Senate race to sign the pledge, his opponent in the Republican primary, state Sen. Leah Vukmir, has since signed the pledge.
National Security
As a decorated Marine who served in combat in both Iraq and Afghanistan, Nicholson says he knows what it takes to keep America safe, and, in the U.S. Senate, he says he will work to take on radical Islamic terrorism and defeat ISIS.
"Kevin will strengthen our military, make sure we don't allow foreign actors to cross red lines, and support our troops - both when they're serving abroad and after they come home," his campaign website states. "Furthermore, Kevin wholeheartedly agrees that the greatest threat to our national security is our fast-growing national debt. Our nation must be able to pay its bills in order to keep its citizens safe."
Nicholson's campaign says he risked his life to protect Wisconsin values and that he is both pro-life and a defender of the Second Amendment.
"Kevin and his wife welcomed the first of their three children the same day President George W. Bush announced the 'troop surge' in Iraq," his website states. "He deployed soon after to Al Anbar province. In both Iraq and Afghanistan, Kevin saw innocent lives lost. Kevin values life because he knows firsthand how precious it is."
As a Marine veteran and a gun owner, his website states, Nicholson strongly supports the Second Amendment and will protect the rights of Wisconsin citizens to own and carry firearms.
Heavy hitters
In his campaign, Nicholson has attracted some heavy political support, including the conservative Club for Growth and former U.N. ambassador John Bolton, whose SuperPAC earlier this year launched what was then projected to be million-dollar advertisement campaign in support of Nicholson.
Four ads highlighted Nicholson's military experience serving in Iraq and Afghanistan and the bravery he displayed while facing suicide bombers and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) daily.
In the ads, Bolton emphasized that "it's time to send a Marine to the U.S. Senate."
"Kevin Nicholson is the most qualified candidate running for Wisconsin's seat in the U.S. Senate this year," Bolton said. "Following my endorsement and PAC contribution to his campaign in 2017, I have decided to run an independent expenditure, through my SuperPAC. This significant ad buy is a testament to my dedication to ensuring Republicans maintain the majority in the Senate this year."
Bolton said Nicholson has his full support, and it was the first independent expenditure that the John Bolton SuperPAC made in the 2018 election cycle.
In 2016, the John Bolton SuperPAC produced three major independent expenditures for a total of nearly $5 million. In addition to the Bolton SuperPAC, Bolton's PAC previously contributed $10,000 to Nicholson's campaign in 2017.
Comments:
You must login to comment.