Republican businessman Tony Wied is favored in the right-leaning district, but trails his Democratic opponent, OB-GYN physician Kristin Lyerly, in fundraising.
By Maggie Zale / The Badger Project
Dr. Kristin Lyerly, an OB-GYN physician from De Pere, has raised nearly $2.4 million in Democrats’ uphill struggle to retake the 8th Congressional District, which they haven’t held since 2010.
By comparison, her Republican opponent, De Pere businessman Tony Wied, has raised nearly $1.5 million. That includes a $500,000 loan he gave his campaign.
Those figures are through mid-October, the last deadline for reporting campaign finances before the election. Candidates can continue to fundraise through the election.
Lyerly reported about $580,000 in the bank for the last three weeks of the election. Wied reported about $250,00 on hand. That money can be used for last-minute advertisements and other political messaging.
Lyerly has spent about $1.8 million, while Wied has spent about $1.2 million, according to their mandatory reports to the Federal Elections Commission.
Donations to candidates for federal offices from individuals are capped at $3,300 per election, so a person can give a candidate for Congress a max of $6,600 per election cycle, as it includes both a primary and a general. Political action committees that give to multiple candidates can donate up to $5,000 per election, for a total of $10,000 per election cycle.
Lyerly has received the maximum $6,600 from several donors including Laurie Murphy of De Pere, Steve and Bonnie Van Lannen of Suamico, Sage Weil, CEO of Civic Media, a network of Wisconsin news radio stations and a partner of The Badger Project, and from John Miller of Fox Point. Weil and Miller are major donors to Wisconsin Democrats.
Several political action committees, including the American College of OB-GYNS PAC (OB-GYN PAC) and Emily’s List, which supports female candidates, have given Lyerly’s campaign the maximum $10,000.
Wied has received the maximum $6,600 from several people including billionaire right-wing megadonor Richard Uihlein, the co-founder of the shipping supplies company ULINE.
The Republican has also received the maximum from both James and Sarah Wied of Green Bay, from both James and Meghan Greene of De Pere, from both Angelo and Jennifer Ninivaggi of Appleton, and from David Charles of New Franken, according to his filing.
The normally comfortably Republican 8th Congressional District, which includes Green Bay and Appleton, opened after popular Rep. Mike Gallagher’s resignation in the spring.
Democrats recruited the doctor to run in a year when abortion is a top issue for many voters.
Her medical practices in Wisconsin and Minnesota perform abortions and she is making reproductive rights a major issue in the campaign.
The Cook Political Report, which rates the races for congressional seats, does not consider the seat competitive.
Wied received an endorsement from Donald Trump during the primary campaign on his social media platform Truth Social, in which the former president said Wied would “work hard to Unleash American Energy, Stop Inflation, Secure our Border, Support our Military / Vets, and Protect our always under siege Second Amendment. Tony Wied has my Complete and Total Endorsement – He will not let you down!”
Wied used to own Dino Stop, a Green Bay-based chain of gas stations, but sold them in 2022.
The Badger Project is a nonpartisan, citizen-supported journalism nonprofit in Wisconsin.
This article first appeared on The Badger Project and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Editor’s Note: Civic Media CEO Sage Weil donated $6,600 to Lyerly’s campaign. Civic Media is also a partner with The Badger Project, which originally ran this story.
