Wisconsin state senator wins GOP primary in race to replace Duffy

Wisconsin state Sen. Tom Tiffany (R) won the Republican primary Tuesday in a race to replace former Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), who resigned from his seat representing the state’s 7th Congressional District last August. 

Tiffany defeated retired Army Capt. Jason Church, earning 57 percent of the Republican primary vote, according to reports. He will face Democrat Tricia Zunker, the president of a local school board, in a May 12 special election. 

Zunker, who would be Wisconsin’s first Native American member of Congress if elected, earned 87 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, according to the local news station Fox WSAW.

Wisconsin’s 7th District has traditionally been a Republican stronghold. President Trump carried the district by more than 20 points in the 2016 election. Duffy represented the district from 2011 to 2019, before stepping down to spend more time with his family. He made the announcement after discovering his ninth child had a heart condition. 

The former GOP congressman was an outspoken supporter of Trump during his last few years in office and is now a CNN contributor. He endorsed Tiffany in the primary, Roll Call noted.

Tiffany has served in the Wisconsin state Senate since 2013. His candidacy has reportedly received the backing of groups including the Club for Growth and the House Freedom Caucus. 

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan elections forecaster, lists the Wisconsin race as likely Republican.