Congressional, State Legislative Candidates Vie For Seats In Tuesday’s Partisan Primary

Voters will head to the polls for Wisconsin’s partisan primary on Tuesday to decide who will be on the ballot in the November general election. Although turnout is expected to be low at 16 percent, in many cases the primary will decide the winner with candidates from only one party running for office.

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Janesville, is competing in the most high-profile race. The race received national attention after GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump first praised Ryan’s opponent, Paul Nehlen, before putting his support behind Ryan during a campaign stop in Green Bay last week.

Nehlen, a Delavan businessman, is challenging Ryan for the 1st Congressional District, which covers much of southeast Wisconsin, including Kenosha and Racine counties and parts of Walworth County. Nehlen faces tough odds to defeat Ryan, who maintains high popularity among Republicans in the district.

Democrat Russ Feingold is on the ballot against Scott Harbach, a private investigator from Kenosha, for the U.S. Senate. Harbach has run a thin campaign and has garnered little name recognition against the former three-term U.S. senator. The winner will face Republican incumbent Ron Johnson in the November general election.

Other congressional and state legislative races include:

The 8th Congressional District, with three Republicans looking to claim the northeast Wisconsin seat left open by retiring U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble. Competing are Mike Gallagher, a former advisor to Gov. Scott Walker’s presidential campaign, state Sen. Frank Lasee of De Pere and Terry McNulty of Forestville. The winner will run against Democrat Thomas Nelson of Appleton in the fall.

In the 3rd Congressional District, longtime U.S. Rep. Ron Kind faces a challenge from retired high school teacher Myron Buchholz of Eau Claire. Buchholz hopes to capitalize on former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sander’s supporters in the district, but he faces an uphill battle against the incumbent in his 18th year. No Republican is running for the office, leaving Tuesday’s primary to decide the winner.

In the 4th Wisconsin Senate District, state Rep. Mandela Barnes is challenging incumbent state Sen. Lena Taylor for the district that covers part of Milwaukee County and all of the city of Milwaukee. Taylor was elected to the state Senate in 2004. Barnes is in his second state Assembly term.

In the 47th Assembly District, three Democrats are vying for the seat of retiring state Rep. Robb Kahl of Monona: Jimmy Anderson, a non-profit founder and Fitchburg City Council members Julia Arata-Fratta and H. Tony Hartmann. No Republicans are running in the district that includes Monona, McFarland and most of Fitchburg.

In the 43rd Assembly District, Democrats Don Vruwink and Anissa Welch, both of Milton, are competing for retiring state Rep. Andy Jorgenson’s seat. The winner will face Republican Allison Hetz of Whitewater in November.

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that Donald Trump endorsed Paul Nehlen. Trump praised Nehlen but didn’t issue an official endorsement. It has been updated.