Polls Close for Wisconsin and Minnesota Primaries

A resident casts their ballot in the state's primary election at a polling location in Green Bay, Wis., on April 2, 2024. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Polling places closed for the Wisconsin and Minnesota on Tuesday evening, with some races on battleground territory that is being heavily contested this presidential cycle.

In “America’s Dairyland,” Democrats are fighting for the chance to face Rep. Derrick Van Orden (D-Wis.) in the fall. Meanwhile, Republicans are vying for former Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-Wis.) vacant seat in both a regular and special primary.

To the west—left of Wisconsin geographically and in its political orientation—Minnesota will witness several competitive primaries that are likely to determine the outcomes of safe seats. Most notably, Israel critic Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) will determine her political future after Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-Minn.) and Cori Bush (D-Mo.) were defeated in their primaries earlier this year.

Here’s what you have to look forward to on Aug. 13:

Wisconsin

3rd District

Wisconsin’s Third includes much of the Driftless Area—a hilly, forested landscape that dodged the glaciers during the most recent Ice Age.

Helmed by freshman Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), it’s a plausible pickup for Democrats come November, though more favorable to the GOP; the Cook Partisan Voting Index rates it remaining red at R+4, while Larry Sabato’s Crystal Ball also judges it as a “likely Republican” race.

Despite this, it is being targeted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee as one of two identified “Districts in Play” in Wisconsin.

Van Orden will face no primary challengers. But the Democratic primary has been fierce.

Fundraising leader Rebecca Cooke, a businesswoman and member of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, has battled with state Rep. Katrina Shankland, using outside money to launch attack ads that Shankland has called false. Shankland has benefited from outside money provided by activist David Hogg’s PAC, Leaders We Deserve.

The third Democrat in the race, Eric Wilson, weighed in on the primary.

“I don’t think the mudslinging is helpful,” Wilson told The Epoch Times, on a street corner in Chippewa Falls on Aug. 11. The information technology professional was making use of the warm Sunday afternoon to go door to door.

Eric Wilson, a candidate for Wisconsin's Third District Democratic Primary, knocks on doors in Chippewa Falls, Wis., on Aug. 11, 2024. (Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times)

Eric Wilson, an information technology professional and Democratic hopeful in the Third District, campaigns in Chippewa Falls, Wis. on Aug. 11, 2024, ahead of his state's Aug. 13 primary. (Nathan Worcester/The Epoch Times)

A woman who answered at one house told Wilson that she backs Democrats. She pledged her vote to him.

“Ground game makes a difference,” he said.

8th District

Wisconsin’s Eighth, a tougher venue for Democrats than the Third, will see both a regular and special primary to fill former Rep. Mike Gallagher’s (R-Wis.) seat.

Gallagher joined the U.S. intelligence-linked firm Palantir after leaving his seat in April, eliciting anger from many constituents against a string of other early retirements by Congressional Republicans.

In May, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers called for a special primary and special election for the district to be held on the same dates as the regular primary and general election, Aug. 13 and Nov. 5.

The races have identical slates of candidates.

Republican businessman Tony Wied has received the endorsement of former President Donald J. Trump. He’s competing against state Sen. André Jacque and former state Sen. Roger Roth.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (right) listens to a question from Wisconsin Senate President Roger Roth (R-Appleton) during a question and answer session with state Republican legislators in the Senate chamber of the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wis. on Sept. 23, 2020. (John Hart/Wisconsin State Journal via AP)

Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an obstetrician-gynecologist, is running unopposed on the Democratic side.

Senate

Republicans are also competing in a Senate primary to challenge Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) in November.

Businessman Eric Hovde, recipient of the Trump endorsement, is widely expected to come out ahead in the primary. So far, he’s trailing the incumbent Baldwin in fundraising and polling.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Nov. 29, 2022. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Rejani Raveendran, who describes herself as “a regular mom,” will also be in the Republican primary. So will farmer Charles Barman, whose campaign website warns that “votes are bought and sold faster than a bunch of cheap penny stocks.”

Minnesota

5th District

The most visible primary is in the heavily Democratic 5th District, which covers Minneapolis and several of its suburbs.

Incumbent Rep. Ilhan Omar—a Somali-American refugee and the first hijab-wearing federal lawmaker—has for years attracted criticism for her positions on Israel.

And in the months since the Israel-Hamas war began, Omar has accused Israel of committing a genocide in Gaza. She also supported pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses earlier this year, which several Jewish groups accused of being anti-Semitic in nature.

Omar’s Democratic-Farmer-Labor opponents include former Minneapolis City Council member Don Samuels, who narrowly lost to her in 2022 by a margin of 2.15 percent. Samuels’s campaign has emphasized his opposition to Hamas. His website has called for a two-state solution.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) greets her supporters at the Minnesota Congressional District 5 Democrat Farmer Labor party’s Nominating Convention in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 11, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Democratic Congressional Candidate former member of the Minneapolis City Council Don Samuels speaks at the Minnesota Congressional District 5 Democratic Farmer Labor party’s Nominating Convention in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 11, 2024. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The Omar-Samuels faceoff comes after two of Omar’s fellow “Squad” members—Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)—lost high-profile Democratic primaries to well-financed, pro-Israel candidates.

Samuels has raised over $1.4 million for his campaign, according to the FEC, whereas Omar has raised over $6.7 million.

Polls sponsored by both Omar and Samuels’s campaigns show Omar with a double-digit lead, according to FiveThirtyEight.

7th District

In Minnesota’s heavily Republican 7th District, a primary challenge to two-term incumbent Rep. Michelle Fischbach (R-Minn.) is underway from Steve Boyd, a homeschool parent and business owner from the rural town of Kensington.

Then-candidate Michelle Fischbach campaigns in Bemidji, Minn., on Sept. 18, 2020. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

Fischbach failed to secure the endorsement of the Minnesota Republican Party after delegates voted to remain neutral in a snub to her. Yet, Fischbach was endorsed by former President Donald Trump and leads to a significant extent in fundraising.

Senate

The primary for Minnesota’s U.S. Senate seat held by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) will also occur. Klobuchar is running for a fourth term and has no serious primary challengers.

Populist candidate Royce White and establishment favorite Joe Fraser are among those vying for the GOP nomination.