Most Incumbents Beat Challengers in State Legislature Primaries

Wisconsin State Capitol (Wisconsin Examiner photo)

Voters across Wisconsin weighed in Tuesday on the first primary elections under the state’s new legislative maps. The maps were adopted earlier this year after the state Supreme Court ruled the previous maps unconstitutional.

Current legislators who faced challengers from outside the Legislature mostly prevailed. Two of the state’s most well-known election deniers lost their bids.

Jeff Mandel of Law Forward, the progressive nonprofit law firm that focuses on voting rights and democracy, during a call on Tuesday afternoon that the slate of contested races “is what democracy looks like in action.”

“This is a primary day in Wisconsin where we have more contested primaries than we have had in many, many years, because we finally are free of the nation’s most extreme partisan gerrymander that was strangling democracy in Wisconsin for a decade and a half,” Mandel said.

According to an analysis by Marquette Law School Research Fellow John Johnson, Wisconsin had the most contested Assembly primary races since 2012, when there were 39 contested primary races in the Assembly.

A total of 46 Assembly primaries were on ballots across the state, including 21 Democratic primaries and 25 Republican primaries to select candidates for November.

“I don’t know what the next Legislature is going to look like in Wisconsin, but what we’ve [seen] is people coming out of the woodwork to run for office. We have all of these contested primaries on both sides of the aisle… No longer does it feel like the game is rigged or that it’s a foregone conclusion,” Mandel said.

In the state Senate, there were two Democratic primaries and two Republican primaries.

Senate primary results

State Rep. Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove) won the three-way primary race for the open 16th Senate district, which covers parts of Dane, Jefferson and Dodge counties including Sun Prairie, Fitchburg, Stoughton and Fort Atkinson, defeating her colleagues Rep. Jimmy Anderson (D-Fitchburg) and Rep. Samba Baldeh (D-Madison).

The seat is currently held by state Sen. Melissa Agard (D-Madison), who isn’t running for reelection as she seeks the open Dane County executive position.

Rep. Dora Drake (D-Milwaukee) defeated Rep. LaKeshia Myers (D-Milwaukee) for a second time this year, clinching a full four-year term representing the 4th Senate District. At 12:17 a.m. with 87% of precincts reporting, Drake had 57.07% of the vote while Myers had 42%.

The seat became open this year after Sen. Lena Taylor, who had represented the solidly blue district since 2004, resigned to serve on the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. Drake defeated Myers once in the special election in June to fill the balance of the term this year.

The district covers parts of Milwaukee’s North Side as well as parts of Brown Deer, Wauwatosa, Glendale and Shorewood. No Republicans will be on the ballot in November.

Sen. Dan Feyen (R-Fond du Lac) won the Republican primary for the 20th Senate district, defeating Tim Ramthun, a former state representative known for his attempts to decertify Wisconsin’s 2020 election results and rescind the state’s 10 electoral college votes for President Joe Biden. He will face Democrat Michael Rapp in November.

The district, which leans Republican, covers parts of Washington County, northern Ozaukee County, southern Sheboygan County, eastern Fond du Lac County and eastern Dodge County. Feyen, who was first elected to the Senate in 2016, was drawn into the district under the state’s new legislative maps.

Feyen thanked voters in a statement, and called for unity from Republicans in the district towards the goal of beating Rapp in November.

“Your confidence in me is encouraging and I plan to get right to work to earn your vote again in November,” Feyen said. “I understand that some of the citizens of the 20th Senate didn’t support me tonight but ask that we put our differences aside as we defeat my Democratic opponent in November. We need to unite and look forward as conservatives.”

Fox Valley cancer physician Anthony Phillips defeated restaurant owner Blong Yang in the Republican primary for the 18th Senate district, which covers parts of the Fox Valley including Oshkosh and Appleton. Phillips will face Kristin Alfheim, a Democratic member of the Appleton Common Council, in November.

Assembly primary results

On the Assembly side, many of the sitting legislators, who faced a challenge from an opponent outside of the Legislature, came out of the night successful.

State Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee), who was first elected in 2022, beat his Democratic challenger Jarrod Anderson, a lawyer and health policy advocate, in the primary for the 19th Assembly District in Milwaukee. According to the Milwaukee County Election Commission, Clancy had won 57% of the vote and Anderson 42.8%, with 100% of voting wards reporting. No Republican candidates will be on the ballot in November for the solidly blue district.

In his first term in office, Clancy quickly became known for being outspoken on a variety of issues including in his criticism of the Biden administration’s handling of the Israel’s war against Hamas — supporting the “uninstructed” presidential primary vote effort in Wisconsin and pro-Palestinian protests on UW campuses. His way of operating led to a push from Milwaukee Democrats, including County Executive David Crowley and Mayor Cavalier Johnson, to oust Clancy. Both endorsed Anderson, who sought to position himself as a unifying candidate. During the race, Anderson said that the district needed someone who wasn’t “headline-chasing.”

State Rep. Shelia Stubbs (D-Madison) won her bid for reelection against challenger Maia Pearson, a member of the Madison school board, for the 78th Assembly District, which represents Monona, parts of Madison and McFarland. No Republicans are registered to run for the seat in November.

State Rep. Mike Bare (D-Verona) defeated challenger Nasra Wehelie in the Democratic primary for the 80th Assembly District, which represents Verona, Cross Plains and parts of west Madison. Bare will face Republican Robert Relph in November.

In other Assembly races, sitting lawmakers were in direct competition with one another.

Trump-endorsed state Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R-Menomonee Falls) lost her bid for reelection to the Republican-leaning 24th Assembly District, which includes Menomonee Falls, Germantown and Butler, to state Sen. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown).

Brandtjen, who was first elected to the Assembly in 2014, became well-known for her support of legally impossible efforts to decertify Wisconsin’s 2020 election results and continued pushing election conspiracy theories. Her endorsement of the conspiracy theories sometimes put her at odds with Republican leaders in the Assembly, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos.

With new maps this year, Knodl decided to run for the Assembly, avoiding a primary with Sen. Duey Stroebel and setting him up for a rematch against Brandtjen. He defeated Brandtjen last year in a special election for the Senate.

Knodl will face Democrat William Walter in November.

State Rep. Elijah Behnke (R-Oconto) defeated state Rep. Peter Schmidt (R-Bonduel) in the Republican primary for the 6th Assembly District, which includes Menominee County and parts of Oconoto, Shawano, Waupaca counties. Behnke will face Democrat Shirley Hinze in November.

State Rep. John Spiros (R-Marshfield) defeated state Rep. Donna Rozar (R-Marshfield) and dairy farmer Trine Spindler in the race for the 86th Assembly District, which includes parts of Marathon, Wood and Portage counties. Spiros will face Democrat John Small in November.

State Rep. Nate Gustafson (R-Fox Crossing), who was elected to the Assembly in 2022, beat state Rep. Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh), who was elected in 2012, in the race for the 55th Assembly District. Gustafson will face Democrat Kyle Kehoe.

Most current lawmakers defeat challengers in state Legislature primaries was originally published by Wisconsin Examiner.