Tony Wied claims 8th Congressional District seat vacated by Mike Gallagher

Tony Wied rode former President Donald Trump's endorsement straight into Congress.

Wied, a former gas station and convenience store chain owner, defeated Democratic OB-GYN Kristin Lyerly Tuesday night to win the state's 8th Congressional District race to replace retired GOP U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher. He led Lyerly by just over 20 points — about 45,000 votes — with about 60% of the vote tabulated in the solid red district.

The Associated Press and CNN called the race for Wied shortly before 11 p.m. local time. A Lyerly campaign aide told the Journal Sentinel that Lyerly conceded and congratulated Wied on his victory.

"I want to thank the voters in Northeast Wisconsin for giving me this opportunity," Wied said in a statement declaring victory. "Only in America can you go from complete political outsider to representing Wisconsin families in Congress."

Wied will enter Congress this month after coming out on top in both the special and regularly scheduled general elections. Gallagher's abrupt departure from Congress in April triggered a special election, which appeared on the same ballots as the regularly scheduled primary and general elections. He will serve out the remainder of Gallagher's term before beginning his own two-year term on Jan. 3, 2025.

A spokesman for Wied said the Republican would arrive on Capitol Hill on Nov. 12.

Wied, a 48-year-old political newcomer, leaned almost entirely on his endorsement from Trump during a three-way Republican primary against two men who had long represented northeastern Wisconsin in the state Legislature. The primary result underscored Trump’s influence in the district and almost guaranteed Wied's victory on Tuesday.

The district is solidly red; Trump won it by about 18 points and 16 points in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

But Wied's victory also means the northeastern seat will be represented by someone who stands in stark contrast to Gallagher, who was one of Congress' top foreign policy experts and largely seen as among the more moderate Republicans in the current Congress.

Gallagher at times found himself at odds with the former president. Notably, he was critical of Trump during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. And his vote against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in February drew the ire of Trump’s base — including the threat of a primary challenge.

Wied, meanwhile, has pledged to give Trump “an ally he’ll need in Congress." He has declined to say whether President Joe Biden was rightfully elected in 2020 and said he opposes any aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia. (Gallagher was the only Wisconsin Republican to support aid to Ukraine as part of a sweeping foreign aid package in April.)

Wied sold the Green Bay-based Dino Stop gas and convenience store chain in 2022. He had been largely uninvolved in local politics before he was recruited to run for the seat by the Trump-aligned GOP consultant Alex Bruesewitz, who had teased a run of his own following Gallagher’s Mayorkas vote.

Lyerly, a De Pere Democrat, leaned heavily on her health care background as she focused her campaign on abortion access — a key issue for Democrats since the Supreme Court's decision to overturn the landmark abortion rights case Roe v. Wade in 2022. She had said the country is “suffering” from the “lack of ability to make our own personal health care decisions.”

Lyerly had also cast Wied as a MAGA "extremist" throughout the campaign.

Democrats in Wisconsin had largely run, and won, on abortion since 2022, but the 8th District's strong Republican nature makes it a reach for Democrats.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Tony Wied wins 8th Congressional District race in Wisconsin election