Trump-backed Republican Tony Wied moves forward in race for open 8th Congressional District seat

Trump-backed Republican Tony Wied will face Democratic candidate Kristin Lyerly, an OB-GYN and outspoken reproductive rights advocate, in the race for Wisconsin’s open 8th Congressional District — after winning the three-way Republican primary over state Sen. Andre Jacque and former state Sen. Roger Roth on Tuesday night.

The Associated Press called the race for Wied at 10:35 p.m.

The race for the seat became open after Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher resigned in April. Three Republicans took the opportunity to step into the race without having to challenge the four-term incumbent. The candidates appeared on 8th Congressional District voters’ ballots twice on Tuesday as a special election for the now-vacant seat was called to coincide with the regular election. Wied won both contests. 

Roth conceded the race to Wied at about 10:30 p.m., stating on social media that the outcome wasn’t what he “hoped for,” but he looks forward to helping Wied win in November. 

In reaction to the results, Wied wrote on social media Tuesday night that he was “overwhelmed by the support shown to our campaign by the people of Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District.

“I look forward to delivering the change we need in Washington to lower everyday costs, secure the southern border and reign in reckless government spending,” Wied continued.

The 8th Congressional District has been represented by Republicans for the last 14 years. In other recent elections, the district has also voted reliably Republican. Gallagher won the seat a total of four times. In the 2020 presidential election, Trump won the district by about 16 percentage points, while President Joe Biden went on to win the state of Wisconsin. 

The Republican primary this year became a test of the power of Trump’s endorsement, which Wied received soon after he announced his candidacy in April. On Monday evening before the primary, Trump wrote on Truth Social that Wied would “work hard to Unleash American Energy, Stop Inflation, Secure our Border, Support our Military/Vets, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment.”

“Tony Wied has my Complete and Total Endorsement – He will not let you down!” Trump wrote. 

Wied gave “special” thanks to Trump and the “America First Movement” on Tuesday night. 

“We are just getting started!!!” Wied wrote. 

While the other candidates weren’t endorsed by Trump, each sought to align himself with the former president and his policies. Roth continued to embrace the former president, even after Trump called Roth a “RINO”, an acronym for Republican in name only, a “clone” of former U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, who has been outspoken in his opposition to Trump, and “no friend to MAGA.” Trump also said Roth should drop out of the race. 

Along with Trump’s endorsement, Wied sought to position himself as the political “outsider” in the campaign against his opponents, who have both long been involved with state government.  Wied previously owned six Dino Stop gas stations and convenience stores in Wisconsin. He  sold them in 2022 and has no prior political experience. 

Wied is self-funding his campaign in part. He reported $500,000 in personal loans in his Federal Election Commission reports covering the period of April 1 to June 30. He also reported $226,817 in total contributions to his campaign during the same period of time — of that $188,067 came from individual contributions. Wied has spent $630,638 over the course of his campaign so far. 

Wied will face Lyerly, who didn’t face a primary opponent, in November. Lyerly has said that Gallagher’s departure opened up a path for the seat to flip Democratic.

Lyerly said in a statement Tuesday that she will “work to deliver on the issues that are on the top of voters’ minds — inflation, the border crisis, and reproductive rights.”

“I certainly won’t be a cheerleader for the partisan food fight,” Lyerly said. Her campaign said that she looks forward to a debate with Wied.

Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Ben Wikler said in a statement that Wied’s victory “demonstrates the MAGA takeover of the GOP, a turn into full-on Trump-Vance weirdness exactly when Wisconsin wants it least.”

“Trump’s hand-picked Congressional candidate will be running this fall on a platform of abortion bans, overturning elections, and giving handouts to billionaires while sticking the middle class with the bill,” Wikler said. 

Wikler called Lyerly “common-sense” and “pro-freedom,” and said the contrast between the two candidates “couldn’t be clearer.”