Dr. Kristin Lyerly and Tony Wied win Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District primaries

In the Wisconsin primary elections for the state’s 8^th Congressional District, Dr. Kristin Lyerly and Tony Wied won their respective primaries to advance to the general election in November.

Wied secured the GOP nomination with 41% of the vote as of 12:00 a.m. CST on Wednesday. Lyerly ran unopposed.

Lyerly is an obstetrician and gynecologist who previously ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the Wisconsin Assembly in 2020. In 2022, Lyerly helped lead an effort to restore abortion access in Wisconsin through a lawsuit that challenged the state’s 1849 abortion ban. A judge found the law did not apply to abortion, effectively restoring access to the medical procedure after 22 weeks.

A former gas station owner endorsed by former President Donald Trump, Wied defeated former state Sen. Roger Roth (34%) and current state Sen. André Jacque (25%).

Roth served as president of the Wisconsin Senate from 2017-2021. He also unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor alongside Trump-backed businessman Tim Michels in 2022. Even though Trump supported Roth in 2022, he endorsed Wied in for Tuesday’s primary and his son Donald Jr. spoke at an event in support of Wied.

Jacque served in the Wisconsin Assembly for eight years before getting elected to the state Senate in 2019. In July, Jacque’s financial reports sparked controversy when it appeared that he was transferring funds from his state Senate campaign to his congressional campaign via family and friends.

Wied and Lyerly are vying for fill the seat previously held by Rep. Mike Gallagher (R), who unexpectedly left Congress on short notice earlier this year. Gallagher’s seat has been vacant since he left on April 19. The 8^th District encompasses Green Bay and much of northeastern Wisconsin. Lyerly is looking to flip a seat that a Democrat hasn’t been elected to since 2008 —and Gallagher convincingly held for the last seven years.