Wisconsin Women for Trump group announced

Republican Donald Trump trails Democrat Hillary Clinton among women voters in Wisconsin, but a new group aims to turn the numbers around before election day.

The Wisconsin Women for Trump Coalition was announced Wednesday, with a mix of grass-roots organizers and top Republican women, including former Lt. Gov. Margaret Farrow and state Sens. Alberta Darling of River Hills and Mary Lazich of New Berlin.

"People in Wisconsin want honest people who are in our government and Hillary Clinton is clearly not honest," said Sue Lynch of La Crosse, former president of the National Federation of Republican Women.

Lynch brushed aside an August Marquette University Law School Poll that showed Clinton had a 54 to 30percentage point lead over Trump among registered women voters in Wisconsin.

The rollout of state support for Trump and his running mate, Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, could court controversy.

Among the community leaders, activists and former city officials are two women from Milwaukee County — Darlene Wink and Rose Ann Dieck — who were caught up in the first John Doe investigation into Gov. Scott Walker and his staff during his time as Milwaukee County executive.

Wink, who was Walker's constituent services coordinator in Milwaukee County, was convicted of two misdemeanors for doing work on his gubernatorial campaign out of the county executive's office. She was sentenced to a year's probation, 50 hours of community service and $1,000 in fines and was barred from political activity, except voting, for a year.

Wink quit her county job after admitting that she was spending much of her work day posting comments on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel website praising her boss and criticizing his opponents.

Dieck, a Republican Party operative and former teacher, was granted immunity to testify in the probe, which led to the convictions of six individuals.

Pete Meachum, state director of the Trump campaign, defended the inclusion of Wink and Dieck. "We're looking for strong Trump support and people willing to work," he said.

The state's top female Republican official, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, wasn't named to the group. Kleefisch was asked to join but declined because of a busy schedule that includes campaigning across the state for other down-ballot Republicans.

Kleefisch spokesman Charles Nichols said the lieutenant governor "has been and will continue to be supportive of Donald Trump. We fully expect we'll be partaking in many of the Trump-Pence events going forward."

Lynch said she has talked twice with Trump and been impressed.

"When a man looks you straight in the eye and tells you what he's going to do, to me, that's an honest person," she said. "And he has demonstrated time and time again in his businesses that he follows through and creates jobs and cares for people. To me, that is part of what makes a great man. And I do believe Donald Trump is that person."

Asked if she had concerns about Trump's comments about women that have landed him in trouble during the campaign, Lynch said: "I'm not going to be distracted by those few comments because I trust Donald Trump to put America first. What is more egregious than anything Donald Trump has said is that Hillary Clinton continues to lie to the American people."

U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Milwaukee), a prominent Clinton supporter, said in a statement: "Wisconsin women have heard Donald Trump repeatedly demean women. He opposes equal pay measures and supports defunding Planned Parenthood. Donald Trump is dangerously unqualified to be president. We just cannot trust him to manage the economy, keep us safe, or put Wisconsin families first."