Retired Appleton business owner Mark Scheffler announced he’s running as a progressive Dem for the strongly Republican 8th CD.
Meanwhile, Whitewater School Board member Miguel Aranda has filed a statement of candidacy to run for the 1st CD, becoming the fourth Dem to register for the 2026 race.
Scheffler, who owned Appleton Group Wealth Management LLC, pledged to cap his spending at $2.1 million, about $5 per voter in the northeastern Wisconsin district. Scheffler said he will hire a local campaign manager and use in-district vendors.
He’s looking to take on U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, R-De Pere, another businessman who won election to the seat last fall with more than 57% of the vote. He simultaneously ran to complete the term of fellow Republican Mike Gallagher, who resigned last spring, and for a full two-year stint representing the district.
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Wied reported spending less than $1.5 million between launching his campaign in early April and the end of November. He had $240,463 in the bank at the end of June.
Aranda is the associate director of a program at UW-Whitewater that provides support for students’ academic success. He was first elected to the school board in 2022.
He joins Mitchell Berman, an emergency room nurse from Raymond who has spent the past decade working at the VA; 2018 candidate Randy Bryce, of Racine; and 25-year-old computer analyst Gage Stills, of Racine; vying for the Dem nomination to take on U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville.
