© 2024 WXPR
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Vocke Of Minocqua To Seek Open Northwoods Seat In State Senate

Submitted photo

A Minocqua man who describes himself as a “father, forest dweller, and food lover” will seek the Northwoods’ seat in the state Senate this fall.

Democrat Eduard Vocke will run for the open seat in the 12th Senate District.

The seat is being vacated by Republican Tom Tiffany, who is running for Congress.

Vocke said the open seat factored into his decision to run, as did his family.

“The reason that I chose this direction of politics—I’m not a politician by trade—was having a child several years back. I feel like I kind of have a horse in the race, so to speak, at this point,” Vocke said. “It’s gotten me really thinking over the last half-decade what kind of world I want to see my son and my family and my loved ones grow up in.”

Vocke has worked in the hospitality industry for two decades, but is also an advocate for family farms.

Last year, he advocated for a bill on that topic, and would make it a focus of his legislative agenda.

“It was a bill that has been put forward in order to put money directly in the pockets of small, family farmers in the state of Wisconsin by direct-to-consumer sales, farm-to-consumer sales, and kind of opening that up,” Vocke said. “There’s a big dairy crisis. There’s a big farmers crisis in this state.”

Vocke is hoping to reverse the recent trend of the district.

“It’s been Republican(-represented) for the last eight years, but for about 34, 35 years it was Democratic. I’m looking forward to bringing the 12th District back to the blue,” he said.

Irma Republican State Rep. Mary Felzkowski is also running for the seat.

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.
Up North Updates
* indicates required
Related Content