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Voters head to the polls today to vote in primaries for congressional, statewide and legislative races.

Visit the WisPolitics Primary Election Guide for information on candidates in key races, along with links to interviews and debate coverage.

Visit MyVote Wisconsin for voting information. The polls opened at 7 a.m. and are to close at 8 p.m.

Crowley, Hong make final pitches to voters ahead of primary

Aug 11 @ 9:07 a.m.

Dem frontrunners David Crowley and Francesca Hong highlighted their experiences as elected officials and warned of the dangers of presumptive GOP nominee Tom Tiffany ahead of today’s gubernatorial primary election.

Hong, a state rep from Madison, has continued to lead Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, and the rest of the Democratic primary field by double digits in the latest polling.

Hong held events with campaign volunteers in both Madison and Sun Prairie yesterday, while Crowley also made a Madison stop along with events in Oshkosh, Stevens Point and Milwaukee.

Read a WisPolitics-State Affairs story here.

Trump reiterates his support for Tiffany, Alfonso

Aug 11 @ 9:07 a.m.

On the eve of Wisconsin’s primary, Donald Trump again endorsed Tom Tiffany in the governor’s race, calling him a highly respected “America First Congressman” who “has always been at my side.”

The president also restated his support for Wisconsin’s GOP congressmen: Bryan Steil in the 1st CD, Derrick Van Orden in the 3rd, Scott Fitzgerald in the 5th, Glenn Grothman in the 6th and Tony Wied in the 8th in a series of posts on Truth Social. 

And Trump once again praised Michael Alfonso in the 7th CD, calling the 26-year-old a “MAGA Warrior” and “a young ‘STAR.’”

Tiffany faces Andy Manske, an underfunded medical services technician from Greendale, for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, and Alfonso is running in a five-way Republican primary in the 7th CD. The others Trump endorsed are unopposed on today’s ballot.

Trump issued a series of endorsements late yesterday on his Truth Social page for candidates in states that have races on today’s ballot.

He also hosted a second tele-rally for Alfonso yesterday afternoon.

Read more in Tuesday’s AM Update.

Absentee voting down compared to four years ago

Aug. 11 @ 9:07 a.m.

Wisconsin voters have so far returned fewer absentee ballots than they had at the same point four years ago.

Still, Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe cautioned against reading too much into the number, telling reporters it could simply be that more voters want to cast their ballots in person compared to 2022.

The agency doesn’t predict turnout ahead of an election.

“We never know what that voter behavior is going to look like, and it can fluctuate a lot,” Wolfe said.

As of Monday morning’s update, voters had returned 268,110 absentee ballots. That’s behind the 295,059 that had been returned at the same point ahead of the primary four years ago.

In the August 2022 primary, more than 1.2 million voters turned out, or about 26.3%. That was the highest level for a midterm primary since 1982. 

That ballot included a contested race for the GOP nomination in the governor’s race, as well as a Dem primary for the U.S. Senate, though three of the four candidates dropped out of that race in the weeks leading up to the primary. 

This year’s ballot includes a contested race for the Dem gubernatorial nomination, as well as partisan primaries in the races for lieutenant governor, secretary of state and treasurer. 

Six lawmakers also face primary challenges.

The city of Milwaukee will have at least 24,905 absentee ballots to count, though that number could climb higher. City election officials sent 33,566 absentee ballots to voters, and they’re due back by 8 p.m. today to be counted. 

Four years ago, city officials sent 35,673 absentee ballots and had reported 27,555 returned by the day before the primary.