Republican U.S. Rep. Weid will face Democrat Rick Crosson in 8th CD

Rick Crosson, a retired U.S. Army officer and former Green Bay school board member, won the Democratic Party nomination Tuesday to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Tony Weid in Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District.

Counting ballots for the Democratic primary in the district stretched past midnight. At 12:08 a.m. Wednesday, the Associated Press called the race for Crosson. With 99% of ballots counted, Crosson had 35% of the vote. 

Former public school teacher turned financial manager Mark Scheffler of Appleton finished a close second, with 33% of the vote, and Katrina deVille, a bartender and musician whose campaign highlighted that she is transgender and a democratic socialist, finished third with just under 32%.

The 8th CD covers Brown, Calumet, Door, Kewaunee, Marinette, Menominee, Oconto, Outagamie, and Waupaca counties and parts of Winnebago County.

Scheffler was endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Steve Kagan, who was the last Democrat to represent the district after he was elected in 2006 and served two terms.

Crosson garnered endorsements from a number of sitting office holders in the state Assembly and in local governments around the district, along with Dr. Kristin Lyerly, a high-profile 8th CD activist who lost to Weid in 2024.

Scheffler outraised his two Democratic opponents with $136,755 in receipts as of July 22. He was helped by a $15,000 personal donation along with a $25,000 loan he made to his campaign.

Crossan raised $75,430 as of that date — 60% of what Scheffler reported — and deVille raised $22,219, according to FEC data.

The 8th District has been viewed as a safe GOP seat this election cycle. Weid won by a 20-point margin in 2024, when it was an open seat and despite Lyerly’s campaign messaging that focused heavily on abortion rights and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling less than two years earlier that threw out a nationwide right to abortion.