Meet the candidates in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District Democratic primary

A former legislator, an attorney, and a computer programmer are promising something increasingly appealing to voters: a return to normal.

There’s something happening here. People living in a reliably Republican congressional district in northern Wisconsin are seeing things they don’t recognize from traditional conservatives — and they’re not happy about it, according to three candidates running in the 7th Congressional District.

“People are fatigued, is one word,” said candidate Ginger Murray. “Disgusted. It’s gone too far. It’s just gone too far.”

“I know for a fact that there are true conservatives who are really disgusted with what’s going on in the current administration,” added Chris Armstrong. “And they’re not sitting back and taking it.”

“Voters are going to have a really clear choice to make in this election,” said Fred Clark. “That’s getting more and more apparent every day.”

Clark, Armstrong, and Murray are Democrats who believe the political winds are shifting and making it possible for one of them to flip a district that’s been in GOP hands for 15 years. Each would have faced an uphill fight against the incumbent Republican, US Rep. Tom Tiffany. But his decision to run for governor is giving the district’s Democratic candidates an opportunity to share their messages in earnest.

Or perhaps it’s giving voters an opportunity to send their own message about a country where streets are filled with protests, tear gas, and violence from federal officers against not just minorities but everyone who dissents — all exacerbating tensions about high prices, massive layoffs, and cuts to government services.

WATCH a video summary from Pat Kreitlow’s interviews with all three candidates

“I think most Republicans in office, if they didn’t feel their actions could come back to haunt them, would be more vocal about the fact that they too think this has gone too far,” said Murray, an attorney and Forest County native now living in New Lisbon. 

“I am absolutely confident that more and more of these people are going to come to our side and protect the republic,” said Armstrong, a computer programmer from New Richmond.

“We always imagined the federal government being the source of stability and peace in a crisis, but now the federal government is the source of that chaos. And people are recognizing that across the political spectrum,” noted Clark, a former state Assembly representative from the Baraboo area, who served from the 2008 election until stepping down in 2014 and moving up north to Bayfield.

Top issues: economy, health care, Trump’s chaos

At nearly 19,000 square miles, Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District is made up of all or parts of 20 counties. As a result, there are often multiple Democratic candidates out of happenstance more than personal competition.

“I did not expect that I would be the only candidate,” said Armstrong. “There had to be similar people that felt the same way, that we just got to get out there and do something. It is challenging, you know, given the size of the district, considering it’s larger than the country of Denmark. Go figure.”

But like many other districts — each averaging around 760,000 people — the candidates may come from widely-scattered areas while sharing similar priorities.

“The economy and health care have been number one and number two,” said Clark. “And this administration has just been making both of those situations so much worse. We’re all going to be paying more for health care or having our access to health care reduced because of the impact on the rural health system of these cuts to Medicaid and the cuts to the Affordable Care Act.”

“And there is just absolutely no excuse that everybody can’t have decent health care,” Armstrong said. “The Republicans seem to think that you have to work in order to get health care. I think that’s completely freaking backwards. You have to be able to be in good health to work.”

“Getting affordable access to quality medical care,” said Murray. “Earning a meaningful wage so that you can take care of your family — at a job where you might get at least one week of paid vacation. Having schools that are safe for children and fully funded by the government.”

The candidates see small businesses across the district getting hit by President Donald Trump’s economic policies.

“I was in Spooner visiting business owners,” Clark said. “A number of them talked to me about the impact of tariffs on their businesses. If you’re running a retail shop selling clothing, you’re buying inventory six months to eight months in advance and a lot of product already has a 10% to 20% price increase built into it because of tariffs that the shippers and wholesalers are eating. This is just creating chaos and uncertainty for business.”

Those traditional issues have been joined by another type of chaos brought upon the nation by Trump, especially just across the border in Minnesota.

“It’s just been, you know, so disturbing, so disgusting,” Armstrong said. “It’s more than just that. I mean, roving thugs, illegally and unconstitutionally tagging people, pulling people out of cars, asking people for papers, interrogating them based on their skin color or their accent.”

“I think what’s happening right now, the complete disregard for due process,” said Murray, “where we’re capturing leaders of other countries because we think they’re illegitimate. And we’re doing so without the support of Congress and we’re doing so in an unprecedented way.”

Trump set aside his militaristic actions — domestic and international — long enough to recently endorse one of the Republican candidates in the 7th District: Michael Alfonso, the 25-year-old son-in-law of Sean Duffy, the former congressman and current US Secretary of Transportation.

“I think it’s a tactical mistake by the president, to be honest,” Clark said, “not to allow more time to figure out who is actually going to be the strongest candidate. But, there it is so that there would be no mistake that the lead candidate is just going to sign off on whatever this administration wants to do. And voters are going to have a choice to decide whether they want somebody who will independently represent them or simply write a blank check to this president.”

A return to normal

The candidates are convinced that despite historical differences and recent divisions, voters are ready to return to a time when leaders in both parties tried to govern together, rather than to rule alone.

“It’s one of the many things that I want to get into Congress and basically take back, so that we’re actually doing our job,” Clark said.

“You know, it used to be that politicians were well-regarded when they were able to reach across the aisle and broker deals with the other party,” Murray said. “When you find that common ground, you can build on it. I think the voters get that sometimes there’s compromise to be able to actually pass those bills — the middle of the ground where we’re socially progressive and financially responsible.”

“The fact that people are coming out, watching what’s happening in their communities, protecting their neighbors, gives me a lot of great hope that things are going to go our way,” said Armstrong, whose campaign announcement began with a summary of his political philosophy.

“Don’t be a dick.” 

The Democrats will face off in their party’s 7th District primary on Aug. 11, as will Republicans, with each party’s nominee competing for the seat on Nov. 3. Democrats are trying to win back a seat that was held for 40 years by Dave Obey until his retirement in 2010.