(The Center Square) – Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul has joined more than 70 lawsuits against President Donald Trump’s administration, something opponent and Republican Eric Toney said are making the statewide office political.

But Kaul defended that action, despite criticizing former Attorney General Eric Schimel for similar action against the Biden administration, saying that the difference is that his office is fighting against federal policy that is hurting Wisconsinites while Schimel was fighting against the Affordable Care Act.

“We keep winning, by the way,” Kaul added in a debate airing on WISN-TV in the rematch for state attorney general.

Kaul did not previously respond to questions on whether he was part of a group of attorneys general identified by The Center Square that were part of a coordinated effort called the “Project for Accountability” that filed 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration.

Toney did not specifically answer if he would have joined any of the 70 lawsuits, saying that decision would be made based on facts when in office, but did say that he would have joined a West Virginia lawsuit related to girls sports teams and restricting them to biological females.

Both candidates advocated for “strong statewide guardrails” on the use of Flock cameras in the state and identifying specific uses for the cameras as well as punishments for misuse.

Toney, the Fond du Lac County District Attorney, pointed a finger at Kaul’s office for not filling vacant DNA analyst positions and an increased backlog in state lab testing results backed by a 2024 audit from the Legislative Audit Bureau.

Kaul, meanwhile, said that it was the Republican-led Legislature denying his requests for more DNA analysts in the state budget that has led to the backlog.

“The legislature has continued to deny us the resources we have requested,” Kaul said.

Toney said that Kaul has misled after receiving hiring approval through the budget earlier in his tenure without filling those positions.

“This is an example of the attorney general passing the buck,” Toney said. “He actually got more DNA analysts in 2019 from the Republican Legislature and he said that he thought he had enough DNA analysts to do the job.”