WASHINGTON — The election season is kicking into gear, and a development in the Green Bay area could make the ballot a little more confusing. Candidates for the 8th congressional district will appear on the ballot twice.
“We certainly will need to see public education through news stories, as well as through the candidates’ campaigns,” said Charles Franklin, a professor of law and public policy at Marquette Law School.
The timing of Mike Gallagher’s departure from Congress in April required the governor to call a special election on the same dates as the normal primary and general elections, in August and November, respectively.
“It does maybe impact the math a little bit, particularly if there’s some sort of a big issue that comes up in the lame duck,” said Kyle Kondik of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics. “There’s going to be one extra Republican, in all likelihood, voting at that time. In the grand scheme of things, it probably doesn’t matter, but the House is pretty closely divided at this point.”
The winner of the special election will serve from early November through Jan. 3. The winner of the general election will serve a two-year term, beginning Jan. 3. Each election could be won by different candidates, but the most likely scenario is the same candidate winning both.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission is now designing an “explanatory insert” to help voters understand how the elections will work. Staff will seek approval for the design on June 10.
Three Republicans and one Democrat are running to fill the seat. The Republicans are former state senator Roger Roth, Sen. André Jacque of De Pere, and Tony Wied, a former gas station owner who has the support of Former President Donald Trump. The Democratic candidate is OB-GYN Kristin Lyerly. A Republican is expected to win.
“Donald Trump won it by a little over 15 points in 2020,” Kondik said. “That’s not the kind of district you’d expect to elect a Democrat.”
Spectrum News reached out to all four candidates about potential confusion during the elections, and only Roth’s campaign responded.
“Roger Roth is the effective, battle-tested conservative that Northeast Wisconsin deserves in Congress for both the remainder of the 118th Congress and the entirety of the 119th Congress,” Roth’s campaign manager, Michael Donatello, told Spectrum News in a statement. “Voters in the 8th district are smart. Wisconsinites understand this race is unique and should they have questions about how to vote for Roger Roth in both August 13th elections, our campaign stands ready to answer them.”
If the same person wins both the special and general elections, that will give them seniority, which could lead to a better office or committee assignment.
“Whoever wins this special election is going to be sworn in, again, sometime shortly after the election results are certified from the November election,” Kondik said. “So that person will be essentially in their first term, but they will get a lead on seniority ahead of all the other members who are elected in the regular elections who don’t take office until January.”
These candidates will also be able to raise double the amount of money, since donors can contribute to their special and general election campaigns.
“This is an opportunity for candidates to substantially increase their fundraising from high dollar bone donors,” Franklin said.
The race to Washington starts now. The governor’s office said the candidates’ nominating papers to get on the ballot must be filed by June 1.