Kitchens, Wied, Hovde among primary election winners with Door County voters

Joel Kitchens has advanced for a chance to win his sixth Assembly term representing Door, Kewaunee and Brown County voters.

With about 99% of the estimated vote county, Kitchens had easily defeated his Republican primary opponent, Milt Swagel, during Tuesday's primary election.

Kitchens had amassed 77.2% of the vote, or 7,856, while Swagel had 22.8%, or 2,319 votes.

In Door County, the longtime incumbent picked up an even greater share of the percentage. Kitchens had 86.6% of the votes cast, or 4,256, to Swagel's 13.4%, or 659.

Kitchens advances to face Democrat Renee Paplham in the Nov. 5 general election. Paplham ran unopposed in her primary.

Wied wins U.S. House of Representatives primary

Former gas station owner Tony Wied won the Republican primary to replace retired U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher following a campaign that leaned almost exclusively on former President Donald Trump’s endorsement.

Wied, whom Trump endorsed before he formally launched his campaign in April, edged former Appleton state Sen. Roger Roth and handily defeated De Pere state Sen. Andre Jacque in both the special primary election and regularly scheduled primary election. Roth and Jacque called Wied to concede the race late Tuesday.

Candidates for the 8th Congressional District appeared twice on the ballot due to the timing of Gallagher’s early retirement from Congress this year. The special elections triggered by early exit fell on the same days as the regularly scheduled elections.

Wied will face OBG-YN Kristin Lyerly , a De Pere Democrat, in November. The winner of the special general election will serve until Jan. 3, 2025 — the scheduled end of Gallagher’s term — after which the winner of the regular general election will serve a full, two-year term.

“I want to thank the voters for entrusting me with this honor," Wied said in a statement. "I won’t let them down."

Lyerly ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

In Door County, Wied earned a tight victory, picking up 36% of the vote (1,768), while Jacque was second with 31.8% (1,544) and Roth third with 31.7% (1,538).

Hovde wins Republican U.S. Senate primary

Republican banking and real estate mogul Eric Hovde emerged victorious from Wisconsin's GOP U.S. Senate primary with nearly 90% of the vote. He fended off challenges within his party from Rejani Raveendran of Stevens Point and Charles Barman of Sharon.

"Since I started this campaign my focus has been to defeat do-nothing Tammy Baldwin and restore the American Dream for people in Wisconsin and across the country," Hovde said in a statement, referencing the Democratic senator seeking a third term.

Hovde argued Baldwin's time in Washington has led to "time for a change."

"I will always put the people of Wisconsin first by working tirelessly to lower costs, secure the southern border, and fix our broken healthcare system," Hovde said.

Baldwin advanced to the general election by running unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

In Door County, Hovde garnered 3,722, or 81% of the votes, easily outdistancing Barman, who had 483 votes, 10.5%, and Raveendran, who had 382 votes, 8.3%.

Voters shoot down both referendums in a win for Democrats

Wisconsin voters said "no" to two referendums that asked to give the state Legislature more power over distributing federal funding, which could have upended how billions of dollars are spent in the state. The result is a win for Democrats, who intensely pushed for a "no" vote in state-wide advertisements and press conferences.

With more than 97% of the vote reported by Tuesday night, about 58% of voters voted down both questions.

Because a majority of voters selected "no," the Legislature will not be prohibited from delegating its power to appropriate money and the governor will not be required to earn legislative approval in the form of a joint resolution before expending federal funds appropriated to the state.

The outcome of the two referendums bucked the trend in Wisconsin — voters typically ratify them. Out of the 200 times lawmakers have proposed changes to the state Constitution since 1854, voters have only rejected the changes about 50 times, according to the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau .

In Door County, the "no" vote was also victorious, earning about 61% in each of the two questions.

Lawrence Andrea, Jessie Opoien and Rachel Hale contributed to this report.

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This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Kitchens, Wied, Hovde among primary election winners with Door County voters