US primaries: What to expect in Wisconsin elections

Wisconsin will hold its primary elections on August 9, 2022. With a crowded ballot and high stakes, the polls are set to be the highlight in one of the last big showdowns before the midterm general elections. 

The elections are set to have a three-way battle, with the governor’s office, US Senate and one House of Representatives seat is up for grabs. 

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Tim Michels, a construction company co-owner, has been endorsed by former US President Donald Trump. He has also poured in millions from his own funds. He casts himself as an outsider, although he previously lost a campaign to oust then-US Senator Russ Feingold in 2004 and has long been a prominent Republican party donor.

Wisconsin’s former lt. governor Rebecca Kleefisch will be the main challenger in the Republican primary. She has been backed by former US Vice President Mike Pence and governor Scott Walker.

She argues she has the experience and knowledge to pursue conservative priorities, including dismantling the bipartisan commission that runs elections, Associated Press reported.

The US Senate seat can be game-changing, for both Republicans and Democrats. Wisconsin has also changed voting patterns over the last few years. Donald Trump comfortably won his Presidential bid in Wisconsin in 2016, but lost it to Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.

Lt. governor Mandela Barnes is likely to win the Democratic primary in Wisconsin. On the Republican side, incumbent US Senator Ron Johnson faces a tough fight.

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Four Democrats are also running in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, a seat that opened up with the retirement of veteran Democratic US Representative Ron Kind. The district has been trending Republican, and Derrick Van Orden — who narrowly lost to Kind in 2020 and has Trump’s endorsement — is running unopposed.  

Elections are also scheduled in three other states — Vermont, Minnesota and Connecticut– on the same day.