As the political world turns its eyes toward Milwaukee this week for the Republican National Convention, another political contest in the state is heating up.

The race to replace former Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), a one-time rising star in the Republican Party and a strong proponent of U.S. engagement abroad, is shaping up to be another in a series of contests between the GOP’s traditional internationalist foreign policy wing and those adopting more restrictionist views.

Gallagher, who represented the state’s 8th Congressional District, centered around Green Bay, abruptly retired in the middle of his congressional term in April. The primary for both the special election and the next congressional term will be held on Aug. 13. 

Facing off are former state Sen. Roger Roth, a member of the Wisconsin Air National Guard and veteran of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; state Sen. Andre Jacque; and businessman and political neophyte Tony Wied, who entered the race with an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

All three candidates pledged support for Israel and said they supported continued U.S. aid to the Jewish state, but Roth leaned more toward traditional conservative foreign policy views than his two competitors, both of whom said they opposed additional U.S. aid to Ukraine. Like Gallagher, Roth has touted his national security experience as a key selling point to voters.

The three candidates struck a relatively similar tone on Israel in recent interviews with Jewish Insider.

“I think they’re our most important strategic ally right now, Israel,” Roth said. He argued that Iran and its terrorist proxies have been emboldened by the Biden administration’s policies, adding, “it’s imperative that we stand with Israel” and that there is “no daylight” between Washington and Israel.

He blasted Democratic leaders’ public criticisms, arguing “Israel deserves an open hand to absolutely destroy Hamas” and that public critiques of Israel by the U.S. and others “undermines their ability to conduct this war and to end it quickly and decisively.”

Jacque said that “steadfast and robust support for Israel has been and remains, undoubtedly, the correct thing for the United States to do strategically, militarily and economically. But as a person of faith, I would observe that it’s a moral imperative as well” because Israel “shares our democratic ideals and security interests in the face of the extremist existential threats to our values and survival.”

Jacque likewise condemned the administration for “not supporting our ally with the resources that it needs to defend itself,” describing the administration’s policies as “a total flip-flop.” He also highlighted the ongoing plight of the hostages.

Wied, who was the least voluble of the three candidates on foreign policy generally, told JI, “I’m a big supporter of Israel, I believe Israel has a right to exist. I think it’s in the United States of America’s best interest that Israel exists.” He described Israel as “an example of democracy in the Middle East” that the U.S. should support.

On the campaign trail, Roth is playing up his national security background, naming it as among his top issues if elected, and making an aggressive argument for U.S. engagement globally. He said that seeing Democratic lawmakers criticize the military’s actions in Iraq was a formative political experience for him.

“I will take [my] experience and knowledge, go to Washington and make sure that we’re protecting our war-fighters and also projecting that credible deterrence around the world to keep our adversaries at bay,” Roth told JI. “I think it would be very difficult for anyone to serve in Congress without having served in the military.”

Roth said it “concerns me deeply” that 21 Republicans voted against U.S. aid to Israel, as well as that less than half of Republicans voted for additional Ukraine aid.

“We are entering a new phase right now where you have Republicans running for office who have bought into the siren song that America can pull back to ‘fortress America,’ and we can remove ourselves from the world, and yet at the same time, have American security. And I’m telling you, it is impossible,” Roth said. “It scares me that the two people I’m running against in this race want to take us back to 1930s isolationist politics, and we saw the disastrous consequences of that.”

Jacque said he would have supported funding for Taiwan but not for Ukraine, arguing that “the European community … needs to step up further” and that there was a lack of clarity around how Ukraine is using U.S. funding, describing it as effectively a “blank check.”

Wied described U.S. support for Ukraine as a “blank check” and claimed that Trump would have prevented “any of the aggression that has happened.” Addressing his broader worldview, Wied said that he’s an “America First conservative,” and emphasized the need for the U.S. to be strong. He didn’t directly address aid for Taiwan.

Roth argued that the U.S. should defer to the Israeli government on the issue of a two-state solution in the long term, emphasizing that Israel needs to first be allowed to destroy Hamas before such questions are addressed.

“Anything we do that stops short of that is just allowing what’s happening right now to continue to build … and we’re going to see the ugly face of Hamas again,” he said.

Jacque said he doesn’t support a two-state solution because he doesn’t see how Israel can be expected to exist alongside “an entity that has called for the elimination of the Jewish state,” calling the idea it could produce a durable peace “ridiculous.”

“We have many times seen Israel come to the table in good faith when it has ultimately just been a question of, at what point do the attacks resume,” Jacque continued.

Wied didn’t directly address the issue of a two-state solution, but emphasized the need to focus on the hostages. He again said he thought Trump would have “prevented” the Oct. 7 attack and “would be very helpful right now with diplomacy.”

Addressing Iran, Roth said that “all options” should be on the table to ensure that Iran cannot acquire a nuclear weapon. He added that the U.S. should pursue “maximum pressure” sanctions against Iran as imposed by the Trump administration.

“The very fact that after Joe Biden gets elected president, he tries to go there and revive the Iran nuclear deal — it just showcased his weakness,” Roth said. “They recognized at that moment that they had nothing to fear any longer in the United States.”

Roth also called for building on the Abraham Accords to isolate Iran from the Arab world, explaining, “We can’t understate how impactful that was and was going to be in the region.”

Jacque said that he’s already worked to tackle Iran in the Wisconsin state Senate, pointing to legislation he introduced to ban it and other adversaries from purchasing farmland in the state. On the national level, he said that the U.S. needs to “clearly send a message” to the Iranian regime to discourage hostile action, something he said Trump had done successfully. He also accused the Biden administration of essentially funding Iran by failing to enforce sanctions.

“I think that it’s important that we resume those efforts to isolate Iran and to remove its funding for terrorism,” Jacque said.

Wied didn’t offer any specific policies for addressing the threat from Iran, again saying that the U.S. must focus on “being as strong as we can be economically and militarily” and “providing peace around the world and using our influence.” He asserted that Iranian and proxy aggression against the U.S. and Israel wouldn’t have happened if Trump were in office.

Two candidates told JI that the United Nations has become a point of contention in the race at recent campaign forums.

Jacque highlighted that he’s the only candidate who has signed a pledge — sponsored by the far-right John Birch Society — to withdraw from the U.N., saying that the body has “repeatedly shown its disdain for American values and worked against our national interest attempting to usurp our sovereignty and security,” as well as shown bias against Israel. 

Jacque also emphasized his support for anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation in Wisconsin.

Roth told JI he wants to see the U.S. withhold support from the U.N. until it makes reforms, including eliminating anti-Israel bias. But he said he opposes leaving the U.N. entirely because he believes the U.S. is better served using its influence as a check on the U.N.’s actions and preventing further moves against U.S. interests and Israel.

“There’s a certain brand of Republican that wants to pull back from our strategic alliances,” Roth said. “Someone who believes in ‘America First’ believes in making sure that we use these institutions to promote America’s interests.”

Wied, again invoking Trump, said that the U.S. shouldn’t be “the world’s piggy bank” and “shouldn’t be funding the majority of the U.N.’s operations when they continuously oppose U.S. interests.”

At home, Roth emphasized the need to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students are protected on their college campuses. He said that in the state Senate, he had led efforts to find and eliminate Chinese influence in universities, drawing parallels between that and the Qatari funding that has come under scrutiny since Oct. 7.

He said that Congress has a role to play in examining and regulating Qatari funding to U.S. universities and determining whether it’s connected to antisemitism on campuses. He added that the federal government should be pulling back from funding universities generally, leaving the issue to states.

Jacque said he’s been working with students at the University of Wisconsin, particularly the flagship Madison campus, to “shine a light” on threats and antisemitic rhetoric on campuses, including putting together a lawmaker letter to university leadership calling on it to enforce its rules and protect Jewish students. He said that he couldn’t allow the issue to get “swept under the carpet.”

He also warned against “capitulation” to such demonstrators, which he said sets a dangerous precedent. 

“I was just shocked that this could be seen as an acceptable way to basically fail to defend vulnerable students on campus,” Jacque said, condemning “the double standards” of how Jewish and other marginalized students are treated.

Nationally, Jacque emphasized the need for “a commitment to free speech on campus” and holding schools accountable for enforcing their own rules through congressional hearings. He said there need to be “basic expectations” on schools to receive federal funding, which should be revoked if universities or their programs are violating the law.

Wied said that, as a member of Congress, he would be a “role model to make sure that we are not hateful towards other people” and “not allowing that type of thing in this country.”

“That’s President Trump, that’s me, and I’m proud to be the Trump-endorsed candidate, and I will do that,” Wied said.

Wied’s Trump endorsement, which he mentioned repeatedly in his conversation with JI and touts on his campaign website, is likely to give him a boost in the deep-red seat. Wied markets himself as a political outsider, arguing that “our career politicians have failed us.”

Roth, who entered the race hours after Gallagher announced his retirement, was endorsed by former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. His uncle, former Rep. Toby Roth (R-WI), was a congressman in the 1980s and ’90s.

Jacque was endorsed by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and said he’d be a strong conservative voice on Capitol Hill, describing himself as someone who has “stood up to the establishment in both major parties” and a “proven conservative fighter,” which he said sets him apart from his opponents.

Alex Bruesewitz, another Trump ally, had threatened to primary Gallagher before he resigned from office, but hasn’t entered the race to replace him. A late March poll showed Bruesewitz with a 20-point lead over Jacque and Roth, who came in at 15% and 12%.