Madison city council candidate and conservative UW-Madison student, Charlie Fahey.
In his recent race for Madison city council, Charlie Fahey, a UW-Madison student, ran on a platform that included support for more affordable housing options on campus, equipping police with body cams, and improving public transportation. In the technically nonpartisan election for a district that covers much of the UW campus, Fahey did not identify himself along party or ideological lines. Yet, in a news release a week out from the April 4 election, Fahey declared that a "Gen Z conservative nearly wins in Madison."
“Madison was 103 votes shy of electing its first conservative city council member in years. University of Wisconsin student Charlie Fahey garnered 49 percent of the vote in the 8th District, which represents most of the UW-Madison campus,” states the April 11 press release from Fahey’s campaign. “The area has a long history of progressive representation. U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin and former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin have held the 8th District seat.”
The press release accurately notes that the victor in the race, MGR Govindarajan, was endorsed by the Democratic Party of Dane County, the Working Families Party and the Green Party, as well as Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway, who calls herself a progressive.
When contacted by Isthmus, Fahey confirms he votes Republican. He also says he supported Daniel Kelly, the conservative-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court.
“Most of the organization for [my campaign] was headed by me and other conservatives on campus,” Fahey tells Isthmus. “Given the nature of the state Supreme Court race, there was a lot of focus towards that.”
Fahey’s run for city council was far more successful than his efforts to elect a conservative justice to the state Supreme Court. Kelly, a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, received 476 out of 5,108 votes in the campus voting wards. Fahey received 1,726 more votes than Kelly in the very same precincts. The Supreme Court race is also technically nonpartisan. Milwaukee Judge Janet Protasiewicz, the liberal-backed candidate for Wisconsin Supreme Court, won the UW-Madison campus with 91 percent of the vote on April 4.
Fahey says he didn’t “see any reason” to tell young voters he supported Kelly or explicitly mention that he was a conservative.
“I ran on issues in a way that reflected my values. There is a strong conservative message out there particularly when we talk about affordable housing,” says Fahey. “We've overregulated the housing market in the city of Madison, we need to cut red tape, and we need to find ways to make it easier to construct affordable housing. Now you can interpret that as conservative.”
Did voters pick up on Fahey’s “strong conservative message?”
“If somebody asked me, I would say, ‘Yes,’” Fahey tells Isthmus. Did anyone ask him? Fahey wouldn’t say.
“My campaign had a very large in-person component. We sent out messages directly to voters. And I was out there every day campaigning where I could just sort of explain my views to people. That was my attitude,” says Fahey. “I didn't say, ‘Hey, I'm a Republican.’ I had no endorsement of a political party. And I made that very clear. I think if you run as a nonpartisan and don't have to deal with a party, it's good for everybody.”
Fahey’s campaign website doesn’t mention he’s a conservative or that he was also in support of Dan Kelly. It doesn’t mention “red tape” or “ overregulation,” either. His website states Fahey “will fight to eliminate failed ordinances that make housing more difficult to build.” It also mentions he is “the ONLY candidate who backs body cameras 100 percent,” that he is supportive of small businesses, and that “he’ll make public transit accessible and affordable to everyone.”
Fahey says in his news release that his strong showing in the District 8 alder race is evidence that UW voters support conservative ideas.
“I ran on issues that reflect my convictions: make housing more affordable, support the police, and strengthen democracy,” states Fahey’s press release. “The silent majority — even in Madison — is fed up with bad ideas, but we often fail to articulate a strong alternative. I hope this shows that if you build a dynamic message and work hard to implement it, voters will respond.”
Though Fahey wasn’t supported publicly by the College Republicans of UW-Madison, the group did tweet out his April 11 press release with the message, “Conservative UW-Madison student just 100 votes short of winning city council seat.”
So did Wisconsin GOP operative Ali Beneker, who was operations director for U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson’s reelection campaign.
“Absolutely WILD how many @UWMadison students will vote for a conservative candidate without even realizing it,” Beneker tweeted on April 11. “Many college students aren't actually opposed to conservative ideas — they're just afraid of the label.”
Govindarajan, also a UW-Madison student, says he did not see his opponent “publicly support any Supreme Court candidate.” He also says Fahey misled voters.
“A ‘conservative Gen Z’ did not almost win District 8, rather [Fahey] misled District 8 voters with a lack of transparency that is embarrassing for democracy,” Govindarajan tells Isthmus, who notes Fahey declined an invitation to debate him during the campaign. “If you look at District 8, voters overwhelmingly came out en masse and voted for the liberal Supreme Court candidate. Charlie refusing to debate shows that he felt it necessary to hide his true policies and beliefs until after the election.”
[Editor's note: This article was updated after Charlie Fahey contacted Isthmus to clarify his role in the Daniel Kelly campaign.]
