OCONTO COUNTY, Wis. – Political newcomer Elijah Behnke won the special election Tuesday night for the Wisconsin State Assembly’s 89th District.

The conservative Republican beat Democrat Karl Jaeger in the race to fill the seat vacated by longtime representative John Nygren after he retired from the assembly shortly after winning re-election in November 2020.

“I never thought I’d be a public servant because I never wanted to be a politician,” Behnke said. “They’re kind of known like some lawyers to be a little slimy and two-faced and speak out of both sides of their mouth, and I never wanted that job.”

He says he’ll take his experience as a small business owner to Madison to represent others like him.

“I’ve worked for myself. I’ve been my own boss for my entire adult working career, and now I have tens of thousands of voters that are now my new bosses,” said Behnke after claiming victory Tuesday night.

Behnke thanked supporters at his election night party at Irish Greens in Oconto.

“Here to serve the people,” he said.

Karl Jaeger offered this statement when conceding the race:

“First, I want to thank everyone who helped make this campaign a reality.  All the volunteers, the donors, the letter writers, the advice givers, the social media followers, the voters, and (most of all) Mariel and our girls.  Thank you everyone for your kind words, love, encouragement, and support.  I am proud to have earned your vote.

I congratulate Mr. Behnke for his successful campaign and wish him well in his new role.  As I’ve said many times before, the primary function of our state government is to protect the health and safety of our citizens and our environment—when we lose sight of that goal, we lose sight of the heart and soul of Wisconsin.  I encourage him to listen to the district residents and re-introduce the CLEAR Act to finally regulate PFAS in Wisconsin.

From the beginning, I built my campaign on the non-partisan promise of cleaning up our water, protecting our environment, expanding health care access, funding our schools, and expanding broadband in our District.

As we have seen, nearly 40% of our voters shared those values.  I hope that Mr.  Behnke will take that message to heart and work across-the-aisle when he makes decisions on behalf of every citizen of the 89th Assembly District. 

Going forward, I will continue to proudly serve my community as a member of the Marinette County Board and devote my time to listening to, and being a voice for, the citizens of Marinette County.

Thank you again to everyone who supported me in this campaign—I appreciate your commitment to our shared values.”