Wisconsin has been on a different political trend than the rest of its fellow Great Lake states recently—its more conservative voters are concentrated in the suburban areas, while its more rural parts tend to vote Democratic. In 2006, however, both rural and suburban voters voted for the Democrat on the 8th Congressional District ticket, sweeping Steve Kagen and his policies of out of control spending into office. It seems, however, that 8th District voters are experiencing buyer’s remorse with Kagen and have effectively given Republican challenger Reid Ribble a solid shot at victory.
The 8th Congressional District occupies the northeastern corner of the state and borders Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Lake Michigan. Cities such as Appleton and Green Bay also call this district home. Although it has a Cook Partisan Voting Index of R+2, Obama handily took this district with 54% of the vote in 2008. However, in 2004 Bush won out over Kerry by 11 percentage points. Bad news looms for Kagen here as well, since Democrats in Congress here have never kept their seat for more than two terms – especially when they’re like this incumbent, who has been so entrenched with the liberal Democrat’s leadership that he has voted with Pelosi an astounding 98.2% of the time.
Steven Kagen has his work cut out for him this November in his bid for reelection. Kagen has hardly been shy about his voting record, and he has been a rubber-stamp for Pelosi and the reckless Obama agenda. His unwavering support for legislation that was extremely unpopular in his district alienated him from voters, and it will likely present a major problem. Kagen not only voiced his support for Obamacare but bragged about helping craft it. As Wisconsin voters are feeling the squeeze of these hard economic times, Kagen’s votes for the stimulus, government takeover of healthcare, and bailouts have burdened them even more.
We’re fortunate to be able to highlight a quality challenger today: Reid Ribble. Ribble relates well to voters, as he knows that the Democrats in Washington, like Kagen, have been pushing this country along the wrong path for too long. While Kagen is voting for reckless spending and job-killing legislation, Ribble understands that government intervention is not the answer to our economic troubles. Kagen and his fellow Democrats are blind to this, and have created even bigger problems. Ribble, in contrast to his opponent, will listen to his voters and do whatever he can to dig the country out of this mess by voting for legislation that promotes responsible spending and lower taxes.
This fall, voters will be able to choose between two vastly different candidates: there is the candidate that will continue to bring down our country and stifle economic growth through reckless legislation, and then there is the candidate that will be dedicated to voting for bills that will help begin to bring our country out of the dismal times we are in now. Wisconsin voters are ready to have a real voice in Congress.
For more information, please visit Reid Ribble’s website, or visit his Facebook and Twitter pages.
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