Last week, after meeting with the FBI over comments regarding the assassination attempts on President Trump, owner of the Minocqua Brewing Company, Kirk Bangstad, announced on a Facebook livestream that he would be running for Wisconsin Governor. He joins the list of 21 other candidates from either side running for governor.
Bangstad is a far-left democrat and the described “Trump of the left.” He says what pushed him to run was the feeling that the democratic party “abandoned him.” He also ran for the State Assembly back in 2020.
“I felt like the Democratic Party abandoned me, and I felt that I was actually scared for my safety and scared from my own federal government,” stated Bangstad.
Bangstad has been an outspoken Trump critic since 2020, when policies put in place regarding the COVID pandemic directly hurt his business as the lockdown was put into place. In the years since, he has covered his business in anti-Trump posters, attempted to get Trump kicked off the 2024 ballot, citing the events of January 6 in a lawsuit he filed, and has stated multiple times that the day President Trump dies, he will sell t-shirts with the words “Free Beer Day” from his business, and give beer away for free on that day: “We stand at the ready to pour free beer the day it happens.” It was also this statement and similar ones that led to the FBI interviewing him.
What led to the FBI investigation was Bangstad’s Facebook post regarding the latest assassination attempt, stating that “some resistance needs to work on their marksmanship,” or that it was a hoax.
As an individual, Bangstad is a controversial figure in his community, having been a part of several civil lawsuits that have since been settled over comments made about a local newspaper publisher, a zoning war between his business and Oneida county, and, as of recent, extorting his supporters. He’s started using these disputes as part of his campaign, which his supporters love, raising money for him over the duration of the lawsuit with the newspaper publisher. On May 3rd, he and his supporters collected 2,000 signatures on a petition to add him to the primary ballot, after he allegedly extorted his supporters for their signatures.
His final words on the matter are “I never wanted to do this, but I feel like, at least — even if I lose — at least I’m part of the conversation that I feel like everybody needs to be hearing.”