Randy Bryce has won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin’s first district, beating public school teacher Cathy Myers. The district is currently represented by House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), who announced his retirement earlier this year.

Bryce shot to national prominence last June, when his announcement video challenging Ryan to switch jobs with him went viral. He was endorsed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), as well as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

As of the time of publication, Bryce was leading Myers by about 21 points.

During the campaign, Bryce told ThinkProgress that Medicare for All was one of the most galvanizing issues for voters he met on the trail.


“They’re hungry for it… My ears are still ringing from the cheers of people,” Bryce said, referring to the audience reaction at a rally where he talked about single-payer. “It’s something that affects everybody, and it’s more than past due for us to look after each other.”

Bryce’s campaign also attracted national attention earlier in the campaign when his staff became the first campaign staff to unionize.

After Ryan’s announcemed that he would be retiring, however, Bryce lost his foil, and tensions have flared between Bryce and Myers. Myers criticized the fact that Bryce had never won an election in the state, as well as a drunk driving conviction from two decades ago.

As Alan Pyke reported for ThinkProgress on Tuesday, Myers’ allies said they were only behind by single digits, despite Bryce’s significant fundraising and name ID. Those claims didn’t hold up Tuesday night.


At any rate, Myers did appear to have at least spooked Bryce. In March, one Bryce staffer reportedly told state officials they had already won the race, but this month, at the last minute, the campaign cut an ad hitting Myers for her earlier criticisms of Bryce.