Wisconsin's 8th congressional district election, 2006

The Wisconsin 8th congressional district election of 2006 took place on November 7, 2006, and is Wisconsin's most expensive House race to date cite news|url=http://wfrv.com/topstories/local_story_255221045.html|title=Gard, Kagen Advance; Falk Tops Lautenschlager|publisher=WFRV-TV|date=2006-09-13] [cite web|url=http://www.opensecrets.org/states/election.asp?State=WI&year=2006|title=Summary of fund raising and spending|publisher=OpenSecrets.org|accessdate=2006-10-10] . Wisconsin's Representative for the 109th Congress, Mark Green, announced that he would run for governor of Wisconsin rather than seek re-election to the House. The candidates for the open seat were Republican nominee John Gard and Democratic nominee Steve Kagen. Steve Kagen won the general election with 51% to Gard's 49%.

Overview

Wisconsin's 8th congressional district is a moderate district with Republican leanings. Democrat Jay W. Johnson was elected in 1996, followed by Republican Mark Green in 1998. In the 2004 presidential election, 55% of the district voted for Bush. cite web|url=http://projects.washingtonpost.com/elections/keyraces/86/|title=Key Race: U.S. House, Wisconsin District 8|publisher=Washington Post|accessdate=2006-10-10] The Cook Political Report currently listed the district as Republican Tossup. [cite web|url=http://www.cookpolitical.com/races/report_pdfs/2006_house_comp_oct6.pdf|title=2006 Competitive Race Chart|date=2006-10-06|publisher=Cook Political Report] A July 2007 Wisconsin poll by the firm Strategic Vision, has only 19% of surveyed Wisconsinites approving of Bush's job performance.

Primaries

In the September 12th Republican primary, John Gard won 71% of the vote to win the nomination over State Representative Terri McCormick .

In the Democratic primary held the same day, Steve Kagen won 47% of the vote to win the nomination over Jamie Wall (29%) and former Brown County executive and mayor of De Pere Nancy Nusbaum (23%).

Candidates

John Gard

John Gard was a Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the 89th district from 1987 until 2007, and had served as Republican leader and Speaker of the Assembly.

Steve Kagen

Democratic nominee Steve Kagen is a physician who founded [http://www.kagenallergy.net/ four allergy clinics] in Wisconsin, and is assistant clinical professor at the Medical College of Wisconsin. [cite web|url=http://www.kagen4congress.com/aboutdrkagen.html|title=About Dr. Kagen|accessdate=2006-10-10]

He earned an honors degree in Molecular Biology and his medical degree from the Medical College of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

References

External links

* [http://www.gardforcongress.com/ John Gard's campaign site]
* [http://www.kagen4congress.com/ Steve Kagen's campaign site]