Racine County Clerk of Court, Sheriff Schmaling, state Sen. Wanggaard reelected without opposition
State Rep. Bob Wittke, R-Wind Point, handily won reelection in his strongly Republican district Tuesday, as did Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, D-Racine, in her strongly Democratic district.
Rettinger
And, following redistricting, Waterford has a new state representative: Republican Nik Rettinger.
Racine County Sheriff Christopher Schmaling, Clerk of Court Sam Christensen and state Sen. Van Wanggaard, all three of whom are Republicans, won reelection in uncontested races.
Sheriff
Schmaling, at the end of the four-year term he was just elected to, will have been sheriff for 16 years and will have spent 32 years in law enforcement.
“I see a lot of individuals that are concerned about safety, and their children’s safety, at work, at play, at school, and everything that we do as individuals in our state,” he said during a speech at a Republican watch party at the Mount Pleasant Delta-Marriott hotel, 7111 Washington Ave., Tuesday night. In that speech, talking about Republicans’ priorities, Schmaling also said “The no. 1 thing is our economy” as he voiced hope that Republican Tim Michels rather than Democratic Gov. Tony Evers would win the gubernatorial race.
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“Thank you to all of you for allowing me that opportunity to be your sheriff. It is very humbling and very much a privilege to be unopposed as your sheriff,” Schmaling also said during the speech.
Unopposed votes
Sheriff Christopher Schmaling received 56,931 votes vs. 3,325 write-ins.
Clerk of Court Sam Christensen received 56,373 votes vs. 2,752 write-ins.
State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, who defeated an outsider’s challenge from conservative election denier Jay Stone in the August primary, received 41,408 votes vs. 2,671 write-ins after all ballots were counted Tuesday. Wanggaard’s District 21 includes most of rural Racine and Kenosha counties outside the eponymous cities themselves, excluding the communities known as New Munster in Kenosha County, the Village of Waterford, and about two-thirds of the Town of Waterford.
To represent northeastern Racine County
Wisconsin Assembly District 62 reelected Wittke Tuesday.
Wittke received 18,202 votes, a 22 percentage point victory over Democrat Anthony Hammes who received 11,417 votes.
In victory, Wittke said he ran for state office to solve problems and “find solutions to issues,” and he hopes that can happen in the upcoming two-year term. He said his focus will again be on improving reading scores in Wisconsin’s schools.
Wittke told a reporter Tuesday night that he was proud of the 14 bills he authored or co-authored that “made it across the line” and were passed during has last term. He told the Racine County Eye before Election Day that he still supports passing a “Parental Bill of Rights” to expand parents’ rights in public school classrooms in Wisconsin, something that Republicans passed last session but Democratic Gov. Tony Evers vetoed.
In a statement, Hammes conceded the race.
“We fought a good, clean campaign and in this day and age, that is critical. We’ve addressed the issues with respect and are solution oriented,” Hammes said. “While this has been my first time on this specific political stage, by no means will my involvement in the success of the democracy of our area and finding solutions that are effective, both by outcomes and costs. So, while we may not currently have the outcome we wanted, we do have our commitment to keeping the flame alive; embers become flames. Always keep that in mind.”
District 62 includes Wind Point, most of Caledonia, Raymond and Wind Lake.
Wittke was first elected in 2018, after serving as president of the Racine Unified School Board.
Waterford’s new rep.
Waterford has a new representative in state government after Rettinger won the race Tuesday for the seat in Wisconsin Assembly District 83.
The district includes a large section of Waukesha County and smaller areas of Racine County and Walworth County.
The representative previously was Republican Chuck Wichgers of Muskego, but redistricting moved Wichgers out of the district.
Rettinger defeated independent Chaz Self by a margin of about 71% to 29% after more than 30,000 voters cast their ballots Tuesday, about two-thirds of them in Waukesha County.
Rettinger, who lives in Mukwonago, is vice chairman of the Waukesha County Republican Party.
Self is a resident of East Troy.
Waterford Village Board member Pat Goldammer ran for the seat in the Republican primary in August, but Goldammer lost to Rettinger.
About 3,300 ballots were cast Tuesday in Racine County.
Racine reelects
Neubauer handily won reelection in Assembly District 66, receiving 77.1% of the vote.
No Republicans ran in the district.
A Libertarian, Carl Hutton, received less than 22.9% of the vote.
In November 2020, Neubauer defeated Republican challenger Will Leverson 14,519 votes to 6,130 in the district that comprises most of the City of Racine.
In photos: Election Day in the City of Racine
Senator Tammy Baldwin stopped at the Racine County Democratic Party headquarters on Election Day Tuesday. She is shown chatting with Mayor Cory Mason.
Dee Hölzel
Anthony Hammes, candidate for Wisconsin State Assembly, District 62, visited the headquarters of the Racine County Democratic Party on Tuesday.
Dee Hölzel
Racine City Hall Room 207 is functioning as central county for Tuesday’s election. All absentee ballots were brought to the tables for processing. City Clerk Tara McMenamin explained the process paired members from different political parties to form a team. People who were not affiliated with a political party worked together. Shown here: Michelle Cook, left, and Ellen Nuechterlein work together to process absentee ballots.
Dee Hölzel
Voters wait for the polls to open for the general election at Festival Hall in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
TED ANDERSEN shows his ID card to a poll worker before voting in the general election at Festival Hall in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022. Democratic Party election observers are right, rear.
An attorney with the Department of Justice, left, interviews Adam Kingsley, a poll watcher for the Democratic Party, in Festival Hall Tuesday morning.
Dee Hölzel
Working voting check-in at Festival Hall Tuesday morning are, from left to right sitting at the table: Megan O’Driscoll, Thomas Karkow, Maureen Reisner, and Maria Herrera.
Dee Hölzel
A voter carries her ballot to the tabulating machines during the general election at Festival Hall in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
KAREN WEISS votes in the general election at Festival Hall in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
KAREN WEISS votes in the general election at Festival Hall in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
JAMES SLAASTED votes in the general election at Festival Hall in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
Election observers from both major political parties sit in a designated area during the general election the Dr. John Bryant Community Center in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
Election observers from both major political parties sit in a designated area during the general election the Dr. John Bryant Community Center in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
Poll workers look at a computer screen as a voter checks in during the general election the Dr. John Bryant Community Center in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
Students look in at voters as they wait for school to open at Julian Thomas Elementary School during the general election in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
Students arrive for school while grownups use their gymnasium for voting during the morning of Tuesday’s general election at Julian Thomas Elementary School, 930 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Racine.
Students arrive for school while grownups use their gymnasium for voting during the morning of Tuesday’s general election at Julian Thomas Elementary School, 930 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Racine.
Students arrive for school during the general election at Julian Thomas Elementary School in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
Katelin Oliver votes in the general election Tuesday at Mount Pleasant Village Hall, with her children Claire, 2, and Silas, 10 months, in tow.
Ballots are cast at Tyler-Domer Community Center during the general election in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
the general election at Festival Hall in Racine, Wisconsin Tuesday November 8, 2022.
Racine, Wisconsin was one of two Wisconsin cities to which the United States Department of Justice sent two Federal Election Monitors to monitor the general election. They are shown at Festival Hall in downtown Racine Tuesday November 8, 2022.
A poll worker looks on as Racine County GOP Chairman Ken Brown, left, and Republican Party member Theresa Dixon, right, show poll workers that the designated area for election observers was farther away from check-in desks than it should be at Tyler-Domer Community Center during the general election in Racine on Tuesday. Brown brought the tape measure with him.
Areas of the floor in Festival Hall were taped off to indicate where poll watchers would be allowed to stand and observe. From left to right: Ron Jolly and Adam Kingsley, who are observing for the Democratic Party, and Michelle Schmidt and Jeff Poquette.
Dee Hölzel
Election observers, including Adam Kingsley of the Democratic Party pictured here, are told they must remain within the blue-taped area during the general election at Festival Hall in Racine. Observers were later brought chairs by city staff after initially being told they should have brought them from home.
Working voting check-in at Festival Hall Tuesday morning are, from right to left sitting at the table: Megan O’Driscoll, Thomas Karkow, Maureen Reisner, and Maria Herrera.
Dee Hölzel
An attorney with the Department of Justice, left, interviews Adam Kingsley, a poll watcher for the Democratic Party, in the City of Racine’s Festival Hall during Election Day Tuesday morning. Racine was one of two Wisconsin cities to which the United States Department of Justice sent federal election monitors to monitor the general election; the other was Milwaukee.
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