All seven of Wisconsin’s incumbent congressional representatives — four Republicans and three Democrats — won reelection Tuesday night, and Republicans were able to hold the 5th congressional district seat left by outgoing U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner.
The closest race of the night came in Wisconsin’s 3rd congressional district, as Democratic incumbent Rep. Ron Kind barely eked out a victory over Republican challenger and former U.S. Navy SEAL Derrick Van Orden, who was endorsed by President Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.
The Associated Press called the race shortly after 11 a.m. Wednesday after a long night of counting ballots. Kind holds 51.42 percent of the vote while Van Orden has 48.58 percent with 99 percent of precincts reporting.
After voting twice for Obama in 2008 and 2012, the 3rd district turned out in favor of Trump in 2016 and made this year’s race highly competitive. Both political analysts and national fundraising groups poured money into advertising in the district, which includes La Crosse, Eau Claire and much of western Wisconsin.
"It’s been the honor of my life to represent the area where I was born and raised and where Tawni and I have raised our family," Kind tweeted early Wednesday morning. "To that end, I want to thank the people of this district for sending me back to Washington.”
Elsewhere, former state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald won his election to succeed outgoing U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner in the overwhelmingly Republican 5th CD against Democrat challenger Tom Palzewitz.
“I'm so grateful for the outpouring of support that we've received throughout this race, and we're honored by today's decisive victory," Fitzgerald said in a statement. “The events of recent months have further cemented the idea that we need experienced, proven conservative leaders in Congress to fight for Wisconsin values and protect our democracy.”
Incumbents won every other U.S. House race in Wisconsin by sizable margins. Final counts from the state (barring major changes in a recount) are:
1st
(R) Bryan Steil
238,257 59%
(D) Roger Polack
163,154 41%
2nd
(D) Mark Pocan
318,487 70%
(R) Peter Theron
138,293 30%
3rd
(D) Ron Kind
199,216 51%
(R) Derrick Van Orden
187,966 49%
4th
(D) Gwen Moore
232,654 75%
(R) Tim Rogers
70,768 23%
(I) Robert Raymond
7,911 3%
5th
(R) Scott Fitzgerald
265,417 60%
(D) Tom Palzewicz
175,872 40%
6th
(R) Glenn Grothman
238,858 59%
(D) Jessica King
164,215 41%
7th
(R) Tom Tiffany
251,998 61%
(D) Tricia Zunker
162,724 39%
8th
(R) Mike Gallagher
267,862 64%
(D) Amanda Stuck
150,824 36%
