Door County Voters Mirror Statewide Primary Election Results

Wisconsinites selected their parties’ candidates for the general election during the partisan primary Aug. 9, and in most cases, Door County results mirrored the decisions made by voters statewide. Voters went to the polls to settle primary contests for governor and other statewide races, as well as races for Congress, the state Legislature and local contests. 

In the field of Republican candidates vying for the chance to challenge Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in November, Tim Michels won the nomination, claiming 47.2% of the vote statewide, with Rebecca Kleefisch capturing 42% of the vote. Door County’s vote, while closer, was similar, with Michels (2,064 votes) edging Kleefisch (2,015 votes).

Evers did not have a primary challenger but received 3,691 votes in Door County. 

In the race to take on incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, the major Democratic candidates dropped out as the primary drew closer, effectively clearing the field for Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, who officially won the nomination by capturing 389,866 votes statewide. Door County Democratic voters also went for Barnes, giving him 3,008 of the total votes cast.

Statewide, Johnson captured 562,898 votes, with 3,733 of those coming from Door County. Johnson’s Republican primary challenge came from David Schroeder, who took only 16.3% of the vote statewide. In Door County, 713 people voted for Schroeder.

U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher also handily whipped his Republican primary challenge from Shaun Clarmont, receiving 84.6% of the vote to Clarmont’s 15.4%. In Door County, voters gave Gallagher 3,865 votes to Clarmont’s 512. 

Joel Kitchens easily eliminated a primary challenge from Milt Swagel to remain the Republican candidate for the District 1 Assembly seat. Kitchens claimed 77.7% of the total votes cast from District 1 voters in Brown, Kewaunee and Door counties. In Door County, he captured 86.6% of the votes: 3,806, to Swagel’s 589.

Kitchens will now go for a fifth term against Democrat Roberta Thelen in the Nov. 8 election. Thelen, the only Democrat on the ballot for the seat, received 3,262 votes from Door County voters in the primary.

Republican André Jacque, state senator for District 1, which includes Door County, ran uncontested in his party. He claimed 3,774 votes in Door County and will face Democrat Andrea Gage-Michaels in the November election. Gage-Michaels also ran unopposed and received 3,209 votes.

The only two local races on Door County’s ballot were for Door County sheriff and clerk of circuit court. Both incumbents ran unchallenged. Democratic Sheriff Tammy Sternard received 3,416 votes, and Republican clerk of circuit court Connie DeFere received 3,330.

In all, 7,475 votes were cast in Door County’s partisan primary, which required voters to select and vote for only the candidates of one party. The breakdown was 3,606 Democratic votes, 3,855 Republican votes, 12 Libertarian votes and two Constitution Party votes.

Wisconsin does not have a statewide system for reporting unofficial results on election night, and there is no central official website or feed where results are reported. State law requires that counties post the unofficial election-night numbers for each polling place, which is where the Peninsula Pulse retrieved the local results.

The unofficial statewide results that have been reported come from the news media, including the Associated Press, which collects them from the 72 county clerks’ websites.