November 8 general election includes state-wide, U.S. and Dunn County races
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By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — The November 8 general election includes a variety of races for state-wide offices, United States Senate and congressional offices as well as Dunn County offices.
Governor
The ballot for Wisconsin governor and lieutenant governor has three sets of candidates.
Governor Tony Evers (Democratic) and his running mate for lieutenant governor, Sara Rodriguez, will face Republican challengers Tim Michels for governor and Roger Roth for lieutenant governor, along with Joan Ellis Beglinger (Independent), who does not have a running mate for lieutenant governor.
Current Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes is running as a candidate for United States Senate.
Governor Evers is seeking his second term in office. He served as state Superintendent of Public Instruction from 2009 to 2019. The governor is originally from Plymouth, Wisconsin.
Evers’ running mate, state Representative Sara J. Rodriguez, represents Wisconsin’s 13th Assembly District in the Wauwatosa/Brookfield area. She is a registered nurse and was first elected to the state Assembly in 2020.
Michels was raised in Dodge County. He is the co-owner of Michels Corporation, a large construction company. In 2004, he lost the election for United States Senator to Democratic Incumbent Russ Feingold. He and his wife, Barbara, live in Hartland. He is a veteran of the U.S. Army.
Michels’ running mate, state Senator Roger Roth, represents District 19 in Outagamie County and Winnebago County. He was born and raised in the Fox Valley. He served in the Wisconsin State Assembly from 2007 to 2011 and has been a member of the state Senate since 2015.
According to a statement on Washington County Insider’s website dated September 6, 2022, Joan Ellis Beglinger has ended her run for Wisconsin governor to endorse Michels and incumbent U.S. Senator Ron Johnson.
Attorney general
The election for state Attorney General has two candidates, Incumbent Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul and Republican challenger Eric Toney.
Kaul is running for his second term as attorney general. He grew up in the Oshkosh and Fond du Lac area and formerly served as a federal prosecutor. He graduated from Yale University and earned his Juris Doctor from Stanford Law School.
Eric Toney was first elected as Fond du Lac County district attorney in 2012. He was born in Fond du Lac and graduated from Fond du Lac High School. He graduated from St. Norbert College in De Pere and graduated from law school at Hamline University.
Secretary of state
Four candidates are on the ballot for Secretary of State in Wisconsin: Incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette; Republican candidate Amy Lynn Loudenbeck; Libertarian candidate Neil Harmon; and Wisconsin Green Party candidate Sharyl R. McFarland.
Incumbent Secretary of State Doug La Follette was a Wisconsin organizer of the first Earth Day for Gaylord Nelson in 1970. He has served as secretary of state since 1982 and is currently the longest-serving non-federal, statewide elected official in the United States holding the same office.
State Representative Amy Lynn Loudenbeck serves as representative for Assembly District 31. She lives in Rock County. Loudenbeck is vice chair of the Committee on Finance and serves as co-chair of the Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology.
Neil Harmon is from West Allis and serves as vice chair of the Libertarian Party of Wisconsin. He has worked in health care for more than 25 years.
Sharyl McFarland is a Wisconsin Green Party candidate from Milwaukee. She is described as a decades-long advocate working for social justice and human rights.
State treasurer
The ballot for state treasurer has three candidates: Aaron Richardson (Democratic); John S. Lieber (Republican); and Andrew Zuelke (Constitution).
After decades of the state Legislature eroding the powers of the state treasurer’s office, Wisconsin has one of the weakest treasurer’s offices in the United States.
Democratic candidate Aaron Richardson currently serves as the Mayor of Fitchburg and is the fifth generation of his family to live in Fitchburg, a suburb of Madison. Richardson earned a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from UW-Whitewater and worked in marketing for 16 years. He currently works in the technology department for the Oregon school district.
Republican candidate John S. Leiber is an attorney from Cottage Grove. He is originally from Racine and earned his Juris Doctor from UW Law School. Leiber has served on the board of directors for the Racine County Republican Party and has worked as a legislative aide in Madison for Republicans in the state Assembly.
Andrew Zuelke serves as the state chair of the Constitution Party of Wisconsin and lives in Ripon. He ran for state treasurer in 2014 and 2018. His Linked In page lists him as a factory worker at Ripon Printers.
U.S. Senator
Two candidates are on the ballot for United States Senator: Mandela Barnes (Democratic) and Ron Johnson (Republican).
Mandela Barnes currently serves as Wisconsin’s lieutenant governor. Barnes served as the state Representative for Assembly District 11 from 2013 to 2017 and was elected to the office of Representative at the age of 25. He is from Milwaukee and is a graduate of Alabama A&M University. He has worked in the City of Milwaukee mayor’s office and has been an organizer for Milwaukee Inner City Congregations for Allied Hope, a Milwaukee-based interfaith coalition.
Incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson was first elected to the United States Senate in 2010 and is seeking his third six-year term. He is originally from Edina, Minnesota, and moved to Oshkosh in 1979 with his wife, Jane, and worked for his wife’s family’s plastics company. Johnson became CEO of the company in the 1980s. He serves as chair of Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.
Congress
Two candidates are on the ballot for U.S. Representative for Congressional District 3, which includes all of Dunn County
In addition to Dunn County, Congressional District 3 covers Adams, Buffalo, Chippewa, Crawford, Eau Claire, Grant, Jackson, Juneau, La Cross, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Portage, Richland, Trempealeau, Vernon and Wood County.
Democratic candidate Brad Pfaff will face Republican challenger Derrick Van Orden for Congressional District 3.
Incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Ron Kind has decided not to run for re-election. He began serving in 1997.
Pfaff serves as the senator for Wisconsin’s 32nd Senate District, which includes La Crosse County and Crawford County, most of Vernon County and the southern half of Monroe County, and was elected in 2020. He previously served as the state executive director of the Farm Service Agency and as USDA deputy administrator for farm programs during the Obama administration. Pfaff also served on the congressional staff for Ron Kind for more than 12 years. He is originally from LaCrosse County.
Republican candidate Derrick Van Orden served in the United States Navy for 26 years. He earned a bachelor of science degree from Excelsior College in Albany, New York, and currently lives in Prairie du Chien with his wife. He is originally from Hennepin County, Minnesota. Orden describes himself as an American patriot and as a figure belonging to the Christian religion.
Assembly District 29
In Dunn County, state Assembly District 29 includes the Towns of Colfax, Elk Mound, Hay River, Menomonie, New Haven, Sheridan, Sherman, Stanton, Tainter, Tiffany, Wilson, and the Villages of Boyceville, Colfax, Downing, Elk Mound, Knapp, Ridgeland and Wheeler, along with the City of Menomonie.
The ballot for Wisconsin Assembly District 29 has two candidates: Danielle Johnson (Democratic) and Clint Moses (Republican).
Danielle Johnson, DVM, lives in New Richmond. She moved to St. Croix County in 2009 and began the Homestead Veterinary Clinic in Baldwin in 2011. Johnson serves as the president of Western Wisconsin Health’s board of directors.
Incumbent Representative Clint Moses lives in Menomonie and is running for his second term as representative of state Assembly District 29. He earned his doctorate in chiropractic from Northwestern College of Chiropractic and opened Red Cedar Chiropractic in 2003. He serves on the board of directors of the Community Foundation of Dunn County.
Assembly District 67
In Dunn County, state Assembly District 67 includes the Towns of Grant, Otter Creek and Sand Creek.
Two candidates are on the ballot for Representative of Assembly District 67: Jason D. Bennett (Democratic) and Rob Summerfield (Republican).
Bennett lives in Chippewa Falls and works as a speech and language pathologist. He has served as a volunteer with the LGBTQ+ Community Center in Eau Claire for the past 10 years, is a past president and currently serves as the treasurer.
Incumbent Representative Rob Summerfield was first elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2016. He earned a degree in business administration from UW-Stout, has helped to run the family business, Two Acres Supper Club, and is a co-owner of the Chippewa Valley Land Title Company. He has served as chair of the Science, Technology and Broadband Committee and as vice chair of the Health Committee.
Assembly District 93
State Assembly District 93 includes the Town of Spring Brook in Dunn County.
Two candidates are on the ballot for Assembly District 93: Alison H. Page (Democratic) and Warren L. Petryk (Republican)
Page is a lifelong resident of River Falls. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Marquette University. Page worked in healthcare administration for 26 years and retired earlier this year from Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin, where she served as CEO for the past 13 years. She also has served on the River Falls Board of Eduction, the Family Resource Center of St. Croix Valley, the Workforce Development Board of Western Wisconsin, the Kinnickinnic River Land Trust and Adoray Home Health and Hospice.
Incumbent Representative Warren Petryk lives in Eau Claire and was first elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 2010. He currently serves as chair of the Committee on Workforce Development and as vice chair of the Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care. He worked in community relations for United Cerebral Palsy of West Central Wisconsin for 15 years and is a co-founder of the musical entertainment group, “The Memories,” which recently celebrated their 50th anniversary.
Senate District 23
State Senate District 23 include the Towns of Grant, Otter Creek and Sand Creek in Dunn County and covers Assembly District 67, Assembly District 68 and Assembly District 69.
The only candidate on the November 8 ballot for Senate District 23 is Jesse James (Republican).
Incumbent state Senator Kathy Bernier has decided not to run for re-election. Bernier was first elected to the Senate in 2018. Prior to that, she served four terms in the state Assembly and was the Chippewa County Clerk for more than 10 years.
Jesse James lives in Altoona and currently serves as the representative for state Assembly District 68. He was first elected as representative in 2018 and serves as chair of the Committee on Substance Abuse and Prevention and as vice chair of the Legislative Council Study Committee on Uniform Death Reporting Standards.
Senate District 31
State Senate District 31 includes the Town of Spring Brook in Dunn County and includes Assembly District 91, Assembly District 92 and Assembly District 93.
There are two candidates on the ballot for Senate District 31: Jeff Smith (Democratic) and David Estenson (Republican).
Incumbent Senator Jeff Smith was first elected to the state Senate in 2018. He operated a window cleaning business in the Eau Claire region for 30 years. He also served on the Brunswick Town Board as chair for six years. Senator Smith served in the Wisconsin Assembly during the 2007 and 2009 legislative sessions. He was elected as Minority Caucus Chair for the 2021-2022 legislative session.
David Estenson lives in Whitehall. He describes himself as a farmer, truck driver, police officer and small business owner. Estenson says he believes in the founding principles of freedom and liberty, that law and order must be protected and supported and that government must be brought back to the limits of the constitution.
Dunn County Sheriff
Only one candidate is on the ballot November 8 for Dunn County sheriff.
Incumbent Dunn County Sheriff Kevin Bygd was first elected in 2018. He is a resident of Boyceville and worked for the Dunn County Sheriff’s Department for 29 years and was captain of field services before being elected as sheriff.
DC Clerk of Court
Incumbent Dunn County Clerk of Court Katie M. Schalley (Republican) is the only candidate on the ballot for Clerk of Circuit Court November 8.
Dunn County Circuit Court Judges Rod Smeltzer and James Peterson appointed Schalley as clerk of courts April 7, 2017, to replace Clara Minor, who decided to retire and had served Dunn County for nearly 25 years.
Minor’s term as clerk of courts would have expired January 7, 2019. Schalley was elected to the position in the fall of 2018 general election.
Referendum
Ballots in Dunn County will contain a referendum question asking for a “yes” or “no” vote.
“Shall Congress and the President of the United States enact into law the creation of a publicly financed, non-profit, national health insurance program that would fully cover medical care costs for all Americans?”
