A special election was held to fill the remainder of the term in the United States House of Representatives for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district in the 116th United States Congress. Sean Duffy, the incumbent representative, announced his resignation effective September 23, 2019, as his wife was about to give birth to a child with a heart condition.[1] Governor Tony Evers chose January 27, 2020, as the date for the special election, with the primaries scheduled for December 30, 2019.[2] However, the Department of Justice said that this schedule would be in violation of federal law, since it would provide insufficient time for overseas and military voters to receive ballots. Evers then rescheduled the primaries for February 18, 2020, and the general election for May 12, 2020.[3][4]
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Wisconsin's 7th congressional district | |||||||||||||||||
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County results Tiffany: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Zunker: 60–70% | |||||||||||||||||
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Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Republican | Tom Tiffany | 43,714 | 56.6% | |
Republican | Jason Church | 32,339 | 42.1% | |
Republican | Michael Opela Jr. (write-in) | 18 | 1.3% | |
Total votes | 76,100 | 100% |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
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Democratic | Tricia Zunker | 35,577 | 89.7% | |
Democratic | Lawrence Dale | 4,388 | 10.3% | |
Total votes | 39,999 | 100% |
Source | Ranking | As of |
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The Cook Political Report[53] | Likely R | August 26, 2020 |
Inside Elections[54] | Safe R | April 23, 2020 |
Sabato's Crystal Ball[55] | Safe R | April 23, 2020 |
Politico[56] | Likely R | April 19, 2020 |
Daily Kos[57] | Safe R | April 30, 2020 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
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Republican | Tom Tiffany | 109,594 | 57.21% | –2.90 | |
Democratic | Tricia Zunker | 81,955 | 42.79% | +4.29 | |
Total votes | 191,549 | 100.00% | |||
Republican hold |
Church's biggest endorsements come from members of Congress who are fellow veterans — U.S. Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Reps. Dan Crenshaw of Texas and Brian Mast of Florida.
Church has received the endorsement of former Assembly Speaker John Gard (R-Sun Prairie), an endorsement that has proven controversial with conservatives.
Charlotte Rasmussen, the Republican chair of Clark County in central Wisconsin
Another politician decided against running in that race yesterday. State Senator Janet Bewley said she will not enter the election and will instead continue to serve the residents of her 25th Senate district.