Tiffany, Johnson returning to Congress; MAPS referendum fails
By Jalen Maki
Tomahawk Leader Editor
WISCONSIN – Although Lincoln County voters largely supported Republican candidates on Tuesday, Nov. 8 ballots, those numbers weren’t necessarily reflected statewide.
Locally, Republican incumbents will return to their respective offices after defeating challengers.
Several referendums appeared on local ballots.
According to preliminary results from the Lincoln County Clerk’s Office, of the 23,023 registered voters in Lincoln County, 13,643 (59.27%) cast ballots in this week’s midterm election.
The Lincoln County Board of Canvass is slated to meet on Tuesday, Nov. 15 to canvass the election results.
Governor
Although Republican gubernatorial candidate Tim Michels and Lieutenant Governor candidate Roger Roth received a majority of votes in Lincoln County, incumbent Democratic Governor Tony Evers and Lieutenant Governor candidate Sara Rodriguez ultimately emerged victorious in the statewide race.
Michels conceded to Evers early in the morning on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
Evers will serve his second term as Governor.
According to preliminary results, Michels and Roth received 8,076 votes (59.64%) in Lincoln County, while Evers and Rodriguez garnered 5,224 votes (38.58%). Four Lincoln County voters (0.03%) cast write-in votes for Governor.
Statewide, Evers received about 51.2% of the vote, while Michels garnered roughly 47.8%. Approximately 1% of Wisconsin voters cast ballots for Independent candidate Joan Ellis Bellinger.
Attorney General
Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul ultimately won reelection this week, but the majority of Lincoln County voters supported his Republican challenger, Eric Toney.
Preliminary results show that 7,978 voters (59.81%) cast ballots for Toney, while 5,358 votes (40.16%) went to Kaul. Four write-in votes were cast in Lincoln County.
Kaul received about 50.6% of the statewide vote. Roughly 49.4% of the vote went to Toney.
Secretary of State
As of Thursday, Nov. 10, the race for Wisconsin Secretary of State had not been called, with Democratic incumbent Doug La Follette (48.2% of the vote) and Republican Amy Lynn Loudenbeck (48.1%) neck-and-neck with about 94% of the votes counted.
In Lincoln County, 7,944 voters (59.54%) cast ballots for Loudenbeck, while La Follette garnered 4,946 votes (37.07%). Libertarian candidate Neil Harmon and Wisconsin Green Party candidate Sharyl R. McFarland tallied 258 and 192 votes in Lincoln County, respectively. Two write-in votes were cast.
State Treasurer
Republican John S. Leiber defeated Democrat Aaron Richardson in the race for State Treasurer.
Leiber tallied 8,136 votes (61.34%) in Lincoln County, while Richardson received 4,773 votes (35.99%). Constitution Party candidate Andrew Zuelke garnered 352 votes (2.65%). Two write-in votes were cast.
Statewide, Leiber received approximately 49.7% of the vote, while about 48.1% of the vote went to Richardson. Constitution Party candidate Andrew Zuelke garnered roughly 2.2% of the vote.
U.S. Senate
Incumbent Republican Senator Ron Johnson will serve another term after defeating Democratic challenger Mandela Barnes.
Johnson received 8,533 votes (63.31%) in Lincoln County, while Barnes tallied 4,917 votes (36.48%). A total of 29 write-in votes were cast in Lincoln County, according to preliminary results.
The race was much closer statewide, with Johnson edging out Barnes by a roughly 50.5% to 49.5% margin.
Johnson was elected to the United States Senate in 2010.
U.S. House of Representatives
Incumbent Republican Representative Tom Tiffany will represent Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District for another term following his victory over Democratic challenger Richard “Dick” Ausman.
Tiffany garnered 8,483 votes (62.95%) in Lincoln County, while Ausman received 4,985 votes (36.99%). Seven write-in votes were cast.
Tiffany’s margin of victory was similar district-wide. About 62% of the vote went to Tiffany. Ausman garnered approximately 38% of the vote.
Tiffany was elected to the United States House of Representatives after defeating Democrat Tricia Zunker in a May 2020 special election that was called following the resignation of former Rep. Sean Duffy. Later that year, Tiffany defeated Zunker again, this time in the November General Election.
Prior to his election to Congress, Tiffany served in the Wisconsin State Assembly and the State Senate.
State Assembly
Incumbent State Representative Calvin Callahan (R-Tomahawk) will represent Wisconsin’s 35th Assembly District for another term after defeating Independent challenger Todd Frederick.
In Lincoln County, Callahan received 8,530 votes (65.14%), while Frederick tallied 4,544 votes (34.70%). 21 write-in votes were cast.
Throughout the district, Callahan received 19,271 votes (69.7%), while Frederick tallied 8,358 votes (30.3%).
Callahan was elected to the State Assembly in 2020.
Lincoln County Sheriff
Incumbent Lincoln County Sheriff Ken Schneider will serve another term after defeating challenger Garrett Dinges.
Schneider, running on the Republican ticket, received 8,238 votes (63.68%), while Dinges garnered 4,271 votes (33.01%) running as an Independent. 428 write-in votes were cast, accounting for 3.31% of the vote, according to preliminary results.
Schneider defeated Grant Peterson in the Aug. 9 primary election to earn the spot on the Republican ticket.
Schneider was elected in 2018.
Lincoln County Coroner
Valerie Caylor, running unopposed on the Republican ticket, was elected to the position of Lincoln County Coroner.
Caylor, who previously served as Deputy Coroner, will replace Lincoln County Coroner Paul Proulx. Proulx announced his impending Jan. 2023 retirement earlier this year after serving 16 years in office. Proulx endorsed Caylor for the position.
103 write-in votes were cast.
Lincoln County Clerk of Circuit Court
Thomas Barker, running unopposed on the Republican ticket, was elected to the position of Lincoln County Clerk of Circuit Court.
95 write-in votes were cast.
Lincoln County referendum
A total of 10,893 Lincoln County voters (84.05%) voted “yes” on a referendum question asking if the State of Wisconsin should prohibit election officials from soliciting and using private resources from special interest entities for the purpose of administering elections and referendums.
2,067 voters (15.95%) voted “no.”
Town of Nokomis referendum
Voters in the Town of Nokomis in Oneida County saw two referendum questions on Tuesday, Nov. 8 ballots.
The referendum questions asked if the persons holding the positions of clerk and treasurer should be appointed by the town board.
Roughly 53% of voters said “no” to the clerk question, and about 54% said “no” to the treasurer question.
Town of King referendum
On Town of King ballots, voters saw a referendum question asking if the person holding the office of clerk in the township should not be appointed by the town board.
According to preliminary results, 314 voters (55.38%) said “no,” while 253 voters (44.62%) said “yes.”
MAPS referendum
Merrill Area Public Schools (MAPS) voters rejected a four-year, $2.5 million operating referendum for the second time this year.
Preliminary results show that 4,095 voters (47.76%) voted “yes,” while 4,479 voters (52.24%) voted “no” on Tuesday, Nov. 8.
56.91% of voters said “no” to a similar referendum in April.
Rhinelander School District referendum
Rhinelander School District voters saw a referendum on ballots this week.
The district’s four-year, $4 million referendum was approved by a roughly 60% to 40% margin.
In Lincoln County, Town of Harrison voters had the opportunity to vote on the referendum. According to preliminary results, 85 voters (43.81%) said “yes,” while 109 voters (56.19%) said “no.”