WASHINGTON — The battle to represent Wisconsin’s 8th congressional district is on. Democrat Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OBGYN, faces Tony Wied, a retired businessman who won the Republican nomination after an endorsement by former President Donald Trump.
“This weekend, I'll be up in Door County. I will be in Calumet County. I'll be in Oconto County and also in Shawano County,” Wied said. “I think that's important to be accessible to people, and that's what I intend to be. And as I travel around the district, I continue to hear time and time again that the number one concern and the thing that's on people's minds is the economy and the inflation.”
With the primaries in the rearview and less than 70 days to go until Election Day, the candidates are kicking their campaigns into high gear.
“We’ve got people already knocking doors in every corner of the district,” Dr. Lyerly said. “I’m feeling very hopeful. Something that we’re hearing all across the region, all across the state, is that people are enthusiastic. They’re thinking about tomorrow. They’re not wanting to go back to what we had, but they’re wanting to build and grow and have a better tomorrow for our kids.”
Neither candidate has ever held elective office.
A top issue for Wied is border security, and he wants to build the border wall. A focus of Lyerly’s campaign is abortion rights. The issue has motivated Wisconsin voters in past elections, but Michael Kraft, professor emeritus at UW-Green Bay, said it may not be as potent in this district as it is statewide.
“I don’t know that it plays well given the conservative Catholic constituency here,” he explained.
Dr. Lyerly faces an uphill battle, since Democrat hasn’t held this seat in 14 years.
“You’d expect a district like this to vote pretty similarly to how it’s voted in the past for president,” explained Kyle Kondik with UVA’s Center for Politics. “It was about a 15 point margin for Donald Trump. That is redder than any other district Democrats hold across the country, meaning that, if Lyerly were to win, she would be the Democrat in the reddest district in America. And that’s why I think that the Republicans are still pretty strong favorites to hold this seat.”
The seat became vacant when Republican Mike Gallagher left Congress in April. Voters will be asked to take part in two congressional elections on Nov. 5, one to complete the rest of Gallagher’s term, and the other to fill the seat for the two-year term that begins in January.
The candidates have their work cut out for them.
“We are making sure that the people of northeast Wisconsin are heard,” Dr. Lyerly said.
As for Wied, he said, “Right now, my full responsibility is to get out and meet as many people as we can.”