Oconto County voters back Steffen, Elijah Behnke, Wied, Hovde in primary election

GREEN BAY — Darwin and Elijah Behnke went into Wisconsin's first election using newly drawn electoral maps as a father-son duo; only Elijah won, according to unofficial results.

Father and son competing in two neighboring Assembly district races, they faced thousands of dollars in campaign opposition mailers, texts and calls by the Stronger Wisconsin Fund, a political campaign PAC that spent nearly $450,000 to influence the outcomes of Republican primaries in northeastern Wisconsin's Assembly districts.

Darwin had less than $4,000 in campaign funds to spend since Jan. 1, less than it cost the Stronger Wisconsin Fund to send out one round of opposition mailers on July 23. He said he was a reluctant candidate after his son, Elijah, moved to compete in the neighboring district.

Elijah Behnke had more than $26,000 to counter over $24,000 spent on attack ads against him in the few weeks leading up to the primary.

4th Assembly District

With about 99% of the vote in, David Steffen earned about 66.7% of the vote (6,098) to Darwin Behnke's 33.3% (3,043).

In Oconto County, where the district includes the southeast portion of the county, the support was much more even. Steffen had 52% of the vote (1,994) compared to Behnke's 48% (1,821).

Steffen dominated in the Brown County portion of the district earning 77% of the vote (4,104) to Behnke's 23% (1,222).

Meanwhile on the Democratic side, Jane Benson easily outdistanced Alexia Unertl. Benson tallied 78.6% of the vote (3,515) while Unertl finished at 21.4% (958).

The breakdown was similar in Oconto County, where voters gave Benson 79% of the vote (1,079) to Unertl's 21% (286).

6th Assembly District

Elijah Behnke will face Democrat Shirley Hinze in the general election after each advanced.

With about 99% of the estimated vote counted, Behnke amassed about 58% of the vote (4,842) compared to Peter Schmidt's 41% (3,421).

Of the five counties included in the 6th District, Behnke received the most support in the Oconto County portion, which includes municipalities on the western edge of the county. He received 62% of its vote, while earning 56% in Brown County, 54% in Menominee County, 59% in Shawano County and 55% in Waupaca County.

Hinze ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

35th Assembly District

Calvin Callahan triumphed over his challenger, Todd Mayr, as he earned about 85% of the vote (6,865 to 1,238).

In Oconto County, only the town of Townsend is in the district, and voters followed suit with the rest of the district. Townsend voters gave Callahan 85.4% (205) to Mayr's 14.6% (35).

Callahan advanced to face Democrat Elizabeth McCrank, who ran unopposed.

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 Oconto County, Wied picked up the majority of the votes (3,585, 54.3%) as he outdistanced Roth (1,767, 26.8%) and Jacque (1,252, 19%).

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 Oconto County, Hovde garnered 5,289, or 85.5% of the votes, easily outdistancing Barman, who had 520 votes, 8.4%, and Raveendran, who had 374 votes, 6%.

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 .

Oconto County voters back the "yes" vote, as about 62% sided with passing each of the two questions.

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

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Oconto County voters back Steffen, Elijah Behnke, Wied, Hovde in primary election