State Rep. André Jacque attributed his win against Alex Renard for the GOP Republican nomination in the 1st SD Tuesday to his “positive campaign” and independent record in the Legislature.
Meanwhile, in the 42nd AD, Jon Plumer, who owns a Lodi karate school, won a four-way GOP primary
Jacque said in a phone interview he’d bring the same strategy he used in the primary to the June 12 general election where he’ll face Dem Caleb Frostman, the former executive director of the Door County Economic Development Corp.
“I expect we’ll certainly see more negativity out there, but we’re going to continue to talk about the things we’ve been able to do,” he said. “I think we have a really strong record of results we’d like to communicate.”
Renard’s campaign didn’t immediately return a call or email seeking comment. But in a statement, he congratulated Jacque and said he was “humbled by the outpouring of support” his campaign received.
The De Pere Republican had a 330-vote margin of victory over Renard, with Jacque pulling in 4,369 votes to Renard’s 4,039, according to unofficial results from the six counties in the district. Jacque won nearly 52 percent of the vote.
During the run-up to the campaign, Appleton-based Midwest Growth Fund ran a series of ads touting Renard’s “outsider” status and knocking Jacque. Asked about the group, Jacque credited voters for being able to “see past attempts to influence the election by outside groups” and said the party will “pull together” in the race to fill the seat of Republican Frank Lasee, who joined the Walker administration in December.
“It’s a fantastic feeling when a lot of resources are brought to bear and people just respond to my record and the work that I’ve put in,” he said.
In the 42nd AD, which is north of Madison, Plumer took 1,418 of 2,012 votes cast, or around 70.5 percent, according to unofficial results. Plumer will face Dem Ann Groves Lloyd, a Lodi alderwoman and former UW-Madison academic adviser, on June 12.
The other Republicans vying to represent the 42nd AD were farmer Darren Schroeder, attorney Colleen Locke-Murphy and Spencer Zimmerman, who does not live in the district.
Plumer received an early backing from the Republican Party, which made a $3,109 in-kind contribution. Additionally, GOP committee transfers ranging from $250 to $1,000 came from 24 Assembly Republicans, including Speaker Robin Vos’ campaign committee. Those donations amounted to $16,600. No other GOP candidate in the race received such financial assistance.
Plumer did not immediately return a call and email seeking comment.
