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Republicans complete sweep of Northwoods Assembly seats

Americans at a polling booth
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Americans at a polling booth

Republicans swept Northwoods seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly in Tuesday’s voting, helping the party strengthen its legislative advantage in Madison.

Three local Republican incumbents won reelection by a large margin. Rhinelander’s Rob Swearingen was reelected to a sixth term in the Assembly, defeating challenger Eileen Daniel by 22 points in the 34th Assembly District. In the 35th Assembly District, Tomahawk’s Calvin Callahan beat back a contest from independent Todd Frederick. Jeff Mursau of Crivitz bested Ben Murray to secure his tenth term in the State Assembly.

Perhaps of most importance to Republicans, Chanz Green scored a close win over John Adams in the 74th Assembly District, which borders Lake Superior. The district had been represented by Democrat Beth Meyers, so Green’s victory was a pickup for Republicans.

Republicans needed to flip five seats in the Assembly and just one in the Senate to gain a two-thirds majority in each chamber.

But unofficial returns showed Republicans trailing in the handful of key races they needed. Staving off the supermajorities was essential for Democrats.

Ben worked as the Special Topics Correspondent at WXPR from September 2019 until November 2021. He now contributes occasionally to WXPR. During his full-time employment, his main focus was reporting on environment and natural resources issues in northern Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula as part of The Stream, a weekly series.
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