WASHINGTON (SPECTRUM NEWS) — The race to replace Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wausau after his abrupt resignation from Congress late last year comes to an end on Tuesday.
Northwest Wisconsinites will decide if Democrat Tricia Zunker, a lawyer and law professor from Wausau, will balance out the state’s US representative headcount or if Republican state senator Tom Tiffany will secure his party’s majority in the delegation for the foreseeable future.
Elections in the time of coronavirus
This is the second time Wisconsin will open polls during the COVID-19 outbreak.
“I was vocal before the April 7 election that we needed to have mail in elections for both April 7 and May 12,” said Zunker. “The people of Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district deserve representation. So while I’m glad the May 12 election is going forward, I wish it was going forward differently.”
While Tiffany is also encouraging elderly and vulnerable residents to vote by mail, he thinks it’s safe to reopen polls.
“In the last couple of weeks Gov. [Tony] Evers has been assessing that because he set the date in this special election and he said there clearly is a difference between what’s happening in Northern Wisconsin and Milwaukee and the larger cities in Wisconsin,” said Tiffany. “And he was saying that we believe this election can go forward and I believe he is correct about that.
Washington’s response to the pandemic
They’re eyeing Capitol Hill now — both are looking to jump in right away as Congress continues to pass legislation aimed at alleviating the medical and economic impacts of the pandemic.
While Tiffany praised Congress and Pres. Trump for acting swiftly to provide relief, he hopes to do an autopsy of Washington’s historic spending.
“That’s the one thing that I’ll be watching very carefully, if elected, to see if that debt is really getting to a point where it’s unsustainable,” sad Tiffany.
Zunker also praised Congress for passing trillions of dollars in aid but also wants to boost aid to seasonal businesses in the district that might’ve have been left out during the previous rounds of relief.
“We have a concern here in Northern Wisconsin as we approach Memorial Day and our tourism industry. We have some of the most beautiful lands here in the Northern part of the state,” said Zunker. “But those tourism businesses shouldn’t suffer so we need to make sure that they have some support to get through this as well.”
Trump’s impact on Wisconsin’s 7th congressional district
Zunker is also looking to hold Pres. Trump accountable.
She hopes this election will serve as a referendum on his response to the virus outbreak.
“People have died avoidable deaths, people have contracted this disease avoidably because it wasn’t taken as seriously as it needed to be by Pres. Trump.”
Zunker’s platform could be risky considering the seat she’s running for was held by a Republican for nearly a decade.
District seven also flipped for Trump in 2016 after voting for every Democratic presidential nominee since Al Gore in 2000.
“I think that we’re in a different time than 2016 and I think we’re going to see that next Tuesday and also in November,” said Zunker.
But Tiffany believes constituents in the district see it differently.
“Whether it’s securing there border, having better trade deals, people really believe in what he’s saying up here,” said Tiffany.
The state senator is confident Trump’s popularity will secure the red seat come Tuesday.
“In 2016, I was on the ballot same time as President Trump and he clearly helped the ballot and I think he will help the ballot once again in 2020,” he said.