WASHINGTON — On Tuesday, Aug. 13, voters in Wisconsin can head to the polls for the partisan primary election. Of the three Republicans vying to replace former GOP Rep. Mike Gallagher in the eighth congressional district, which encompasses the Green Bay area, Tony Wied is the only one who has never held elective office.
He also is the only one to win the endorsement of former President Donald Trump.
“There is so much dysfunction right now, and I want to be that fresh perspective,” Wied said in a recent interview with Spectrum News.
When asked why he thought he secured Trump’s endorsement, Wied said he’d be an ally to him in Congress.
“It's very important that he has people that are willing to go 100% in and truly support President Trump and support the America First agenda,” Wied said. “I was in business just like President Trump. And he knows the value of people that have actually had real world experience of owning and operating solely their own business and doing it successfully for almost 30 years.".
Wied and his wife Angela built several businesses together, while raising their four children.
“We got into the convenience store, gas station [business],” Wied explained. “We were into car washes, and ultimately got into the Little Caesars business.”
The couple sold their businesses two years ago. Wied said his partnership with Angela in business, and parenting, is what will make him an effective lawmaker on Capitol Hill.
“My wife and I, we really knew and learned how to attack problems, rather than just trying to win arguments all the time,” he said. “So the more problems we solved, the more problems we attacked and got through, the more successful we were. I also learned being in business, as difficult as it is being in business, that you can never quit and failure is never an option.”
Even if Trump doesn’t win a second term, Wied said he’d be able to work across the aisle because as a business owner, he worked with all types of people.
“I would work with anybody, whether they have a D or an R [by their name] to truly deliver what people want right here in district eight,” he said. “I have a proven record of being that person that is cool and calm, very good under pressure. I will work with folks that want to team up to truly attack the problem, rather than just attacking the people.”
In recent years, this seat was held by Republicans who also weren’t career politicians: Mike Gallagher and Reid Ribble.
“Individual candidates make strategic decisions in their state or in their community, whether they can be viable without a political background,” said Kathleen Dolan, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “So on the one hand, somebody who's not held previous office doesn't have a voting record; they don't have a track record of all of their positions on issues being clearly in the public domain. But at the same time, it can cut with voters that they might ask themselves, ‘What sort of experience does somebody have? And do they know enough? And will it take them so long to learn about serving in government that they might not be effective right away?’”
Wied being a political outsider is what drew in Dixon Wolfe, a 23-year-old who serves on the Brown County Board of Supervisors. Wolfe was a delegate at the Republican National Convention.
“He is someone that hasn't been in politics for years and knows how to run a business,” Wolfe said.
On the issues, Wied is anti-abortion but supports exceptions for rape, incest and the life of the mother.
He said constituents are most concerned about rising prices and illegal immigration at the southern border. He wants to build the border wall, fund border enforcement agents and reinstate Remain in Mexico, the Trump-era policy that required migrants to wait in Mexico while their claims for asylum were processed.
“I think Wisconsin, primary voters, they want somebody that will go to Washington to truly work with President Trump and truly solve the problems,” Wied said.
After selling their businesses, Wied said he and his wife prayed about their next journey for a year-and-a-half. They decided the way to make a difference in the world was to go into politics.
“I truly believe that we need to preserve the American dream,” he said. “The dream that allowed Angela and I to have four children in the greatest country in the world, to operate a small business in the greatest country in the world, and I think that is at risk right now more than ever. And I want to continue to protect that American dream for my kids and my grandkids. I've already had a career. I want to go to Washington to truly serve the people.”
If elected, Wied said he’d want to stay in Congress for a limited time and believes representatives should have a three-term limit. He echoed Gallagher’s comments that Congress is no place to grow old.
The Republican who emerges victorious from the primary election will face the only Democrat in the race, Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB-GYN, in the November general election.
There will be a special election in August and November, too, due to Gallagher’s early departure from Congress. The winner of the special election will serve from early November through Jan. 3. The general election winner will serve a two-year term beginning on Jan. 3.
Recent voting trends in the district suggest a Republican is likely to win the seat.