Leah Vukmir emerged victorious in the hard-fought and costly GOP Senate race in Wisconsin, giving her a chance to take on Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin in the November election.
The race between Ms. Vukmir, a member of the state senate, and Kevin Nicholson, a Marine Corps veteran who played the role of political outsider, was one of the marquee matchups playing out Tuesday with primary races in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Connecticut.
With 55 percent of the vote counted, Mr. Vukmir had secured 55 percent of the vote, while Mr. Nicholson had pulled in nearly 40 percent.
“Voters sent a clear message that we want to take our Wisconsin Way, our economic miracle, and our strong conservative victories to Washington and help President Trump make America great again,” Mrs. Vukmir said. “That’s exactly what I intend to do.”
“Wisconsin needs a senator who represents and will work for the people who make our state great — not the far left or out-of-touch elites,” she said.
Mrs. Baldwin is favored to win re-election, but Republicans believe that Mrs. Vukmir, a proud conservative, is well-positioned to give the incumbent Democrat a stiff challenge in a state that President Trump carried in 2016.
Mrs. Baldwin has been gearing up for a tough fight. Since 2017 she has raised more than $18 million for her re-election race and has more than $7.2 million cash on hand.
Mrs. Vukmir’s latest campaign finance report showed she had $430,000 in the bank.
Mr. Nicholson benefited from having the support of Richard Uihlein, founder of Uline Corp. and conservative megadonor, who invested more than $10 million in pro-Nicholson outside groups.
Mrs. Vukmir had the support of House Speaker Paul Ryan and other state party leaders.
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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