Fred Clark, former Democratic state legislator, former executive director of Wisconsin’s Green Fire and owner of Clark Forestry, Inc., won a three-way race for the Democratic nomination in Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District Tuesday night, with 37.3% of the vote. AP called the race at 11:37 p.m.
Ginger Murray, a small business owner and lawyer from the Northwoods received 31.8% of the vote and Chris Armstrong, a New Richmond resident and IT small business owner got 30.2%.
Clark will face Republican candidate Michael Alfonso, who received President Donald Trump’s endorsement, in the general election. Alfonso is the son-in-law of Sean Duffy, Trump’s transportation secretary, who previously held the 7th CD seat. The seat is open because current Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany is running for governor. The general election will be an uphill battle for the Democratic nominee in a district that has been represented by Republicans since 2011. Prior to Tiffany and Duffy, Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District was represented by Democrat Dave Obey, the longest serving U.S. House member in Wisconsin history, from 1969 until 2011.
In 2021 Clark, who represented Baraboo as a Democratic representative in the state Assembly from 2009 to 2014, moved north to Bayfield County to retire, but over the last year, he told the Examiner, he has become concerned about what he sees as an assault on the U.S. Constitution and the future of America, so he decided to re-enter politics.
Clark sees an opportunity to mount a strong campaign as he tries to flip the large, Republican-leaning district, which covers much of the top half of Wisconsin, from red to blue.
“I think this is the first time in 15 years to have a truly competitive election in the 7th Congressional District,” he said.
Clark’s background in logging, as the owner of Clark Forestry, Inc., could appeal to voters in the northwestern district, where forestry products are a critical part of the economy. He has also worked as a forestry consultant with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and as a forest ecologist for The Nature Conservancy, and was the executive director and a founding board member of Wisconsin’s Green Fire, a conservation group.
He also has a history of building relationships with Republicans and independents, which is critical in a district that has voted by wide margins for Republicans since 2010, starting with former U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Hayward), now Secretary of Transportation. Duffy who won the district before it was redrawn following the last Census, and then increased his winning margins in the redistricted boundaries for four more elections. Tiffany also won by wide margins.
Clark celebrated his primary victory in Washburn, Wisconsin. In a statement after he was declared the winner, he said: “This election isn’t about left and right — it’s about right and wrong. And we all know that what we’re seeing is wrong.
“It’s wrong to make healthcare more expensive for millions of Americans.
“It’s wrong to slash a trillion dollars from Medicaid.
“It’s wrong to do those things so you can call another round of tax giveaways to billionaires and trillionaires “paid for.”
“It’s wrong to turn a blind eye to the staggering corruption going on in DC right now.
“It’s just plain wrong.
“And northern Wisconsin deserves a Congressman willing to say so.
“Tom Tiffany hasn’t. Michael Alfonso won’t.”
