November 8, 2016 (2016-11-08) 2018 → 5 3 45.80% 49.75% | 5 3 1,270,279 1,379,996 Start date November 8, 2016 | |
The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016 to elect the 27 U.S. Representatives from the state of Wisconsin, one from each of the state's eight congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including President of the United States and U.S. Senator from Wisconsin.
Contents
- District 1
- Republican Primary
- Campaign
- Democratic Primary
- Libertarian
- Trump Conservative
- District 2
- District 3
- District 4
- Candidates
- District 5
- Libertarian Primary
- District 6
- General Election
- District 7
- District 8
- Independent
- Polling
- References
The primaries were held on August 9.
District 1
Republican Paul Ryan had represented the district since being elected in 1998. Since October 29, 2015, he also sits as the current Speaker of the House.
Republican Primary
Campaign
Nehlen filed campaign papers to run against Speaker of the House Paul Ryan on April 1, 2016 and officially launched his campaign on April 14, with the opening of his first campaign office in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Nehlen claims to have been a Paul Ryan supporter and worked for his election in earlier campaigns but at least one conservative media report has questioned that claim. Nehlen indicated he decided to run against Ryan in 2016 because he felt betrayed by Ryan's positions on immigration and the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty. He accused Ryan of "cronyism and corruption".
According to a Janesville Gazette report about his campaign launch, "Nehlen declined to talk about issues such as abortion and would not say what presidential candidate he supports or whether he would support a Republican running for the presidency." Nehlen ran on a platform calling for secure borders, enforcement of existing immigration laws, and reduced government spending, and he opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty. On May 5, 2016, Nehlen pledged to support Donald Trump for the presidency.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on July 14, 2016 that Nehlen had hired Dan Backer as his campaign treasurer. Backer is nationally known for his fundraising activities.
In an August 2016 radio interview, Nehlen suggested that the United States should "have a discussion" about the possibility of deporting Sharia-adherent Muslims living in the country. The remark occurred when Nehlen was asked about his thoughts regarding the dispute between 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of Humayun Khan, an American Muslim Army captain who died in a suicide bombing while serving in Iraq in 2004. During the interview, Nehlen also said that every mosque in the United States should be monitored for signs of potential radicalization.
Because of Nehlen's support for Trump, Trump publicly thanked him on Twitter and later told The Washington Post that Nehlen was "running a very good campaign", even though he did not endorse him. On August 5, 2016, Trump endorsed Ryan's re-election after pressure from fellow Republican leaders.
Nehlen lost the Republican Party primary to Ryan. Ryan received 84 percent of the votes, while Nehlen received 16 percent.
Democratic Primary
Libertarian
Jason Lebeck, I.T. technician, ran as a Libertarian.
Trump Conservative
Spencer Zimmerman ran as a Trump Conservative.
District 2
Democrat Mark Pocan had represented the district since being elected in 2012.
Republican Primary
Peter Theron, the Republican nominee in 2008 and 2014, announced he would run again as a Republican in 2016.
District 3
Democrat Ron Kind had represented the district since 1996.
Democratic Primary
District 4
Democrat Gwen Moore had represented the district since being elected in 2004.
Dan Sebring, the GOP nominee every cycle since 2008, announced he would not run again in 2016.
Democratic Primary
Candidates
Declared
District 5
Republican James Sensenbrenner had represented the district since being elected in 1978.
Democratic Primary
Khary Penebaker ran as a Democrat.
Libertarian Primary
John Arndt ran as a Libertarian.
District 6
Republican Glenn Grothman had represented the district since being elected in 2014.
Candidates
General Election
Jeff Dahlke ran as an independent.
District 7
Republican Sean Duffy had represented the district since being elected in 2010.
Candidates
Candidates
District 8
Republican Reid Ribble had represented the district since being elected in 2010. On January 30, 2016, Ribble announced he would retire at the end of his third term, opening the seat for the 2016 election.