Last month, Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) announced that he was retiring from Congress, and has since announced that he is leaving Congress on April 19. The race is on to see who will replace him in Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District, in what is at least a R+10 seat that is considered "Safe" or "Solid Republican." Although he has yet to enter the race, Alex Bruesewitz, who is closely aligned with former and potentially future President Donald Trump and his family, enjoys a healthy lead if he does choose to run.
Recently, Cygnal conducted a poll obtained by Breitbart showing Bruesewitz with 36 percent support, compared to state Sen. André Jacque's 15 percent. Former state Sen. Roger Roth, described as "Gallagher’s handpicked replacement," has 12 percent support. Such results are even more telling given that unlike Bruesewitz, Jacuqe and Roth have both already declared that they running.
The poll found that 64 percent of respondents want a political outsider over a career politician, which also benefits Bruesewitz.
The poll was conducted March 26-27 with 300 likely Republican primary voters in the district and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.6 percentage points.
The great patriots of #WI08 are sick of the RINOs! That’s why in a head to head matchup, conducted by A-RATED pollster, @cygnal, I am crushing Mike Gallagher’s hand picked replacement by over 30%.
— Alex Bruesewitz 🇺🇸 (@alexbruesewitz) March 28, 2024
Wisconsin-8 deserves a rep who will always put them first! pic.twitter.com/zxuy30G7qv
Cygnal pollster Mitch Brown provided a statement for Townhall highlighting how well-positioned Bruesewitz is in the race. "Our polling indicates that this is Alex Bruesewitz’s race to lose if he so chooses to enter the race. The district is hungry for a MAGA outsider and is done with career politicians," he shared.
Bruesewitz also chimed in with a statement for Townhall. "The momentum we are seeing in Wisconsin-8 is truly humbling. The great patriots of northeast Wisconsin are hungry for a leader who will work with President Trump to advance his America First agenda. This race will be won by a MAGA outsider who will do just that. The district is fed up with career politicians like Mike Gallagher and his handpicked candidate Roger Roth!"
In recent months, Bruesewitz has made headlines for criticizing Gallagher for his multiple votes against impeaching Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. He also threatened to primary Gallagher, before the congressman announced he was retiring.
He was also disinvited from the Montana GOP convention last month, due to pressure from allies of Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT). The congressman, who is also retiring, was considering and ultimately decided to run for Montana's U.S. Senate seat against vulnerable Democratic incumbent Sen. Jon Tester, albeit very briefly.