Election results: Kitchens, Wied, Hovde win primaries; voters reject constitutional amendments

Door County voters on Tuesday favored state Rep. Joel Kitchens, businessman Tony Wied and businessman Eric Hovde in Republican primary elections for state Assembly, Congressional and U.S. Senate seats. They also rejected two proposed amendments to the state constitution that would have changed how Wisconsin allocates federal funds.

The results in Door County in all cases matched those in the larger district or the state.

In the Republican primary for state Assembly District 1, Kitchens defeated three-term Kewaunee County Board Supervisor Milt Swagel with 77 percent of the vote, including 87 percent in Door County. He will face Democratic candidate Renee Paplham in November’s general election.

There were two Republican primary elections for the 8th Congressional District—one a special primary election and the other a regular primary election. Wied won both races, garnering about 44 percent of the votes in the special election and 41 percent in the regular election. Wied got about 37 percent of the votes in Door County in both elections. State Sen. André Jacque, who as the District 1 senator represents Door County, finished third in the elections overall but finished second in Door County. Wied will face Democratic candidate Kristin Lyerly in November’s general election.

In the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, Hovde won with 86 percent of the vote, including 81 percent in Door County. He will face Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin in November’s general election.

Voters statewide rejected the two referendum questions containing proposed amendments to the Wisconsin constitution, with about 58 percent of voters voting “no.” In Door County, the share of voters voting “no” was about 62 percent for the first ballot question and about 61 percent for the second.

Door County saw 10,391 residents vote Tuesday, with 4,842 voting in the Democratic primaries and 4,562 voting in the Republican primaries. There were no contested Democratic primaries.

Door County Knock has been following the elections and referendum questions and posting results as they are called by the Associated Press. Read more of our coverage, and see live-updating results, below. To see the full results data from Door County, click here.

Election results

Referendum Question 1: Prohibit Legislature from Delegating Appropriations

If this ballot question were to pass with a majority “yes” vote, state lawmakers would not be able to delegate their responsibility for allocating funds to any other body.

Referendum Question 2: Require Legislative Approval for Federal Funds

If this ballot question were to pass with a majority “yes” vote, any expenditure of federal money to Wisconsin would have to be approved by the Legislature before the governor could allocate funds.

Assembly District 1: Republican Primary

Republican incumbent Joel Kitchens has served as the representative for District 1 since 2015 and is running against three-term Kewaunee County Board Supervisor Milt Swagel in the primary election. Whichever candidate wins the primary will face Democrat Renee Paplham in November’s general election.

8th Congressional District: Republican Primary

There are two elections for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District seat on the primary ballot. One is a special primary election, and one is the regular primary election for the 8th Congressional District.

The winner of the special election will face Democratic candidate Kristin Lyerly in a Nov. 5 special election. The winner of that race will fill Mike Gallagher’s vacant seat until his term ends on Jan. 3, 2025. The regular primary election will determine the Republican candidate that goes on to run against Lyerly in the general election on Nov. 5 for a new, two-year term that begins on Jan 3.

Special primary election

Regular primary election

U.S. Senate: Republican Primary

Three candidates on the Aug. 13 primary ballot will vie to be the Republican challenger to incumbent Tammy Baldwin for her U.S. Senate seat in November.