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By Kim McDarison
Tom Nelson, one of 11 Democratic candidates running for a Senate seat held by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, made a campaign stop Wednesday, Sept. 8, in Jefferson.
An election for the senatorial seat will be held Nov. 8, 2022.
Nelson, who serves as Outagamie County executive, arrived at Stable Rock Winery, 123 W. Milwaukee St., Jefferson, as part of his “Full Nelson 72 Counties Tour.”
According to information supplied by his campaign, Nelson announced that he would be traveling across Wisconsin, visiting 72 counties in 72 days.
Prior to stopping in the city of Jefferson, which represented the candidate’s stop in Jefferson County, Nelson had visited 62 counties. His stop in Jefferson County, along with six other counties Wednesday, marked the 12th day of the statewide tour.
On Wednesday, along with a stop in Jefferson, where Nelson met with three constituents, the candidate visited Rock County, making a stop at the Sandwich Bar in Janesville, as well as the counties of Adams, Juneau, Sauk, Columbia and Dodge.
According to a spokesperson for the Nelson campaign, the three people who met with the candidate in Jefferson were “very involved in the community.” The spokesperson identified the participants as a “co-chair of the Jefferson County Dems” and two others as “part of the Farmers Union.”
In a campaign video launching the tour and outlining his campaign, Nelson said: “I’m going to take on the corporate interests. I’m going to put the billionaires and the millionaires in a headlock because I’m going to Washington to work for you. I’m (going to) fight for a Green New Deal, Medicare for All, a $15 minimum wage. I come from the Fox Valley, a tough place for Democrats to win, but I’ve won six times. So look for us, coming soon to a restaurant, to a gas station, a community center near you.”
According to the campaign, the tour will continue through September and stops will be held in such places as local pubs, fast-food retail outlets and coffee shops. Locations have been selected, campaign literature states, so that any member of the public will find the candidate easily accessibly.
Johnson (https://www.ronjohnson.senate.gov) has yet to announce whether he plans to seek a third term in office. Johnson was first elected to his seat in 2010 after defeating then-incumbent Sen. Russ Feingold. The two faced off again in 2016, with Johnson, then the incumbent, retaining his seat. U.S. senatorial seats carry six-year terms.
Information, as presented by Democratic challengers on their campaign websites, includes:
Tom Nelson: https://nelsonforwi.com.
Mandela Barns: https://mandelabarnes.com.
Gillian Battino: https://battinoforsenate.us.
Sarah Godlewski: https://sarahforwisconsin.com.
Alex Lasry: https://alexlasry.com.
Chantia Lewis: https://www.chantialewis4senate.com.
Steven Olikara: https://www.stevenolikara.com.
Adam Murphy: https://murphyforwi.com.
Peter Peckarsky: https://www.peckarskyforwisconsin.com.
Darrell Williams: https://ballotpedia.org/Darrell_Williams (Campaign YouTube video and personal Facebook page listed).
Kou Lee: https://ballotpedia.org/Kou_Lee. (No campaign website listed.)
Withdrawn:
Chris Larson, who filed paperwork but has since withdrawn, according to Ballotpedia.org, from the race: https://ballotpedia.org/Chris_Larson.
Contenders from other parties, as listed on Ballotpedia.org:
John Berman (Republican): https://ballotpedia.org/John_Berman.
Scott Aubart (American Independent Party): https://ballotpedia.org/Scott_Aubart.
Aaron Frank (Independent): https://ballotpedia.org/Aaron_Frank.
Bradford Spencer (Independent): https://ballotpedia.org/Bradford_Spencer.
Election dates in Wisconsin:
The following seats are scheduled for election is Wisconsin on the following dates:
• Feb. 15, 2022: A spring primary is scheduled on this date.
• April 5, 2022: Three Wisconsin Court of Appeals seats, and various nonpartisan local and judicial offices. No Wisconsin Supreme Court seats will be elected unless a sitting justice retires before Dec. 1, 2021.
• Aug. 9, 2022: A registration deadline for candidates running for seats in the Nov. 8, 2022 election is June 1, 2022. Primaries for those races requiring one will be held on Aug. 9.
• Nov. 8, 2022: All partisan executive and administrative offices, including U.S. Senate seats, eight U.S. House of Representative seats, 17 odd-numbered seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly.
Redistricting
The Constitution of Wisconsin requires that redistricting shall occur in the first legislative session following the United States census, thus 2022 should be the first election to take place under new congressional and legislative maps, reflecting the results of the 2020 United States census.
More information about the redistricting process used in Wisconsin is here: https://ballotpedia.org/Redistricting_in_Wisconsin#State_process.
Tom Nelson, back, left, one of 11 Democratic candidates running for a senate seat held by U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, visits with three constituents, seated at right, during a campaign stop made Wednesday, Sept. 8, in Jefferson. The stop, made at the Stable Rock Winery, 123 W. Milwaukee St., Jefferson, was one among several made Wednesday as part of Nelson’s “Full Nelson 72 Counties Tour.” Wednesday marked day 12 of the tour, with campaign literature noting that by the end of day 12, 62 counties had been visited by the candidate. An election for the U.S. Senate seat will be held in November of 2022. Photo contributed.
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