Bryan Steil wins first congressional district race in Wisconsin election

Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil defeated the last Democrat to represent the 1st Congressional District on Tuesday, claiming a victory in southeastern Wisconsin.

Steil defeated Kenosha Democrat Peter Barca to win his fourth term representing Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District. He was about 13 points ahead – about 32,000 votes – over Barca, with about 65% of votes counted. The Associated Press called the race for Steil just after 11 p.m. local time.

“Thank you to the voters of Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District for your support and trust in me,” Steil said in a statement Tuesday night. “Together we can strengthen our country, reduce costs and create a nation that works for everyone. I will continue to work for you.”

Barca, who represented the district in the mid-1990s, were considered Steil's biggest opponents. He was the last Democrat to hold this seat (from 1993 to 1995) and was a leader in the state Assembly. And Steil pushed back against millions in spending by Democrats, who had viewed the Republican district as a potential target earlier in the cycle as they sought to reverse Republicans' weak hold on the House majority.

The liberal nonprofit group Opportunity Wisconsin spent around $2.4 million attacking Steil – even before Barca entered the race. The House Majority PAC, the Democrats' largest outside group for congressional campaigns, initially set aside $2 million for advertising buys for Barca, but lifted those reservations in the final weeks of the race, signaling waning confidence in their chances.

While Barca vastly outperformed Steil's 2022 Democratic challenger, Steil benefited from his own large war chest and the support of top allies in his party's leadership on Capitol Hill en route to victory.

Steil, who succeeded former House Speaker Paul Ryan in the district in 2018, has won each of his past elections by as many as 8.9 points. He is chairman of the House Administration Committee, a body that oversees day-to-day operations in the lower house of Congress, and has kept a low profile during a Congress known for its bombshells.

He focused much of his campaign on the cost of living and the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border and attacked Barca for rejecting a bill in the state Assembly in 2016 that would have banned sanctuary cities that offer protection to immigrants.

He pushed back against Democrats' attacks that he would not protect Medicare. In his first ad, which featured his 100-year-old grandmother, Steil vowed that he will “always protect our seniors.”

Democrats, meanwhile, had hoped that Barca could ride a wave of Democratic energy following Vice President Kamala Harris' rise to the party's leadership. Barca had focused much of his attention on reproductive rights – a top issue for Democrats – but was also vocal about the southern border.

Barca expressed support throughout his campaign for a bipartisan border proposal in Congress, led by a conservative senator whom Republicans killed earlier this year after opposition from former President Donald Trump.

Steil's victory leaves the district, which was solidly Republican until new maps in 2022 reduced the GOP lead to a few points, under Republican control.

The seat, which stretches from Rock County through Kenosha County to the southern Milwaukee area, remains slightly redder than the state as a whole.

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