MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Assembly Speaker Robin Vos has defeated challenger Adam Steen in the Republican primary for the state's 63rd Assembly district, TMJ4 News projects. Vos will continue working as the state's longest-serving Assembly speaker in history.
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As speaker, Vos has presided over efforts to restrict abortions, weaken unions, expand gun rights and push back against COVID-19 mandates.
Vos, who has served as speaker since 2013, has taken sharp criticism for not pursuing a resolution decertifying Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the state. Trump endorsed his Republican challenger, Adam Steen, saying that “Vos refused to do anything to right the wrongs that were done” in the 2020 election.
Under pressure from Trump, Vos hired former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman last year to investigate the election. Gableman said decertifying the election was “a practical impossibility.”
Vos has supported a wide array of election law changes that Evers vetoed. But he hasn’t gotten behind decertification of Wisconsin’s 10 Electoral College votes that went to President Joe Biden.
Vos was one of nine GOP Wisconsin lawmakers facing primaries. Though the challengers face an uphill fight, they could push the already conservative Legislature even further right if they notch a few victories. That would mark a significant shift in a state that plays a crucial role in national elections.
Wisconsin’s state legislative districts had some of the largest pro-Republican tilts among all states during the past decade and underwent only minor changes before this year’s election.
The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2022. Head to the state's election page for voting details.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
