Races to Watch: August 14th Primary

Redistricting and retirements mean this year’s primary election ballot is a bit more crowded than usual.

U.S. Senate

The only state-wide race on the ballot is the GOP primary for retiring Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl’s seat. The winner of the four-person primary will face Democratic U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin in November.

The four Republican candidates vying for the seat are Wisconsin State Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, Madison businessman Eric Hovde, former U.S. Rep. Mark Neumann, and former Gov. Tommy Thompson.

Congress

The only Congressional seat that is open is District 2, which is currently held by Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who is giving up her seat to run for the Senate.

Republican Chad Lee will take on one of the four Democrats running: Dennis Hall, Assemblyman Mark Pocan, Assemblywoman Kelda Helen Roys, or Matt Silverman.

Wisconsin Legislature

The Wheeler Report has divided up the races into categories that show which districts have primaries.

Senate
Unopposed: (4) Senate Districts 2, 8, 16, 26
Democrat Primaries: (2) Districts 6 and 12
Republican Primaries: (3) Districts 14, 24, 30
Districts with only a primary: (1) District 6
Districts with a primary and a general: (4) Districts 12, 14, 24, 30
Districts with a third party only general: (1) District 4
Districts with a third party candidate: (2) District 4 and 12

Assembly
Unopposed: (14) Districts 16, 19, 40, 57, 58, 59, 64, 66, 73, 76, 77, 91, 92, 95
Democrat Primaries: (27) Districts 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 15, 17, 18, 25, 34, 37, 44, 45, 47, 51, 53, 56, 62, 65, 71, 78, 79, 80, 85
Republican Primaries: (18) Districts 3, 13, 20, 22, 25, 26, 34, 37, 39, 45, 49, 53, 55, 56, 70, 86, 90, 94
Districts with only a primary: (9) Districts 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 22, 65, 79
Districts with a primary and a general: (30) Districts 1, 3, 5, 13, 15, 17, 18, 20, 25, 26, 34, 37, 39, 44, 45, 47, 49, 51, 53, 55, 56, 62, 70, 71, 78, 80, 85, 86, 90, 94
Districts with a third party only general: (3) District 23, 48, 78
Districts with a third party candidate: (14) Districts 3, 17, 18, 23, 32, 33, 34(2), 35, 38, 48, 50, 55, 78, 85

Redistricting means some voter may be voting in new locations and/or for unfamiliar candidates. Voters can visit this state-run website to check their registration status, find their polling place, and see their sample ballot.

Resources

WisconsinEye has video from a myriad of campaign events and debates available on its website.

Wired Wisconsin has links to all candidate websites and social media accounts.

Follow @HCG500 on Twitter for the latest updates.