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Published on November 06, 2024
Tony Wied Wins Wisconsin's 8th District Seat with Trump's BackingSource: Google Street View

Republican candidate Tony Wied has clinched the victory in the race for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, defeating Democrat Kristin Lyerly. Wied, a businessman with no prior political office experience, secured the seat with 60% of the vote, based on 63% of ballots counted, with former President Donald Trump's backing providing a significant boost. Wied’s triumph was declared at 10:54 p.m. by the Associated Press, while he heads into Congress riding on the former president’s endorsement, as per Wisconsin Examiner.

Earlier, Wied delivered a victory speech expressing gratitude towards his constituents for choosing to bring common sense back to Washington; his supporters witnessed these sentiments at the Legacy Hotel, not far from the iconic Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Wied's success filled the vacancy left by Mike Gallagher, who had previously held the seat since 2017 until his resignation earlier this year but his departure prompted a special election alongside the general election due to the timing under Wisconsin law, the vacancy was filled during yesterday's general election without a special election intervening, reports Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

During the campaign, Wied leveraged economic issues such as taxes and immigration as his focal talking points, and he echoed support for policies aligned with the Trump administration, including tax cuts and border control strategies. He has voiced his intent to continue the Trump-era tax cuts and address government spending as he believes it to be a contributing factor to inflation. Meanwhile, Lyerly, with a campaign grounded in concerns over reproductive rights, shared her appreciation for the groundwork laid by volunteers and said at a Brown County election watch party that regardless of the election results they had built a foundation "we can build on for years to come," at a Brown County election watch party, according to Wisconsin Examiner.

Wied acknowledges the value of the endorsement from Trump, given during his campaign, saying in his victory speech that Trump's support was second to none and made a notable difference, as per his speech reported by Wisconsin Examiner. The campaign tested the political waters against the backdrop of economic apprehensions and social discourse, exemplified by Wied's emphasis on an economically driven agenda to address the district’s concerns simultaneously laying emphasis also, on his background as a local business owner and family man to resonate with the voters in his district and said in a statement, "Only in America can you go from complete political outsider to representing Wisconsin families in Congress," as reported by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The 8th Congressional District covers northeast Wisconsin, including Green Bay and Calumet County, along with several other counties.