WASHINGTON – With the resignation of Mike Gallagher, Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District seat will be vacant until the next Congress is seated in January. Under state law, a primary election in August will decide candidates for the November general election ballot. In the meantime, the northeast Wisconsin district will have no vote in Congress. Gallagher said, however, that his office will continue to operate and provide constituent services for the remainder of his term. Gallagher, a Republican, chose to date his resignation effective April 19. A day earlier, state law would have allowed Democratic Governor Tony Evers to appoint an interim replacement.
Battleground Wisconsin
The Gallagher midterm resignation leaves the Republican leadership in Congress with a slight majority: 217 to 213. Defections can be increasingly problematic for the oarty. A critical question is whether Gallagher’s successor in January is a Democrat or Republican. Historically the Wisconsin 8th leans Republican.
Wisconsin’s 8th. In purple. Green Bay, population 107,000 is the core of the 709,000-citizen district. Other population centers: Appleton, Oshkosh.