Mary Spicuzza

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Republican Bryan Steil coasted to victory Tuesday, winning the southeastern Wisconsin seat held by his former boss, House Speaker Paul Ryan.

Steil, a lawyer and University of Wisconsin regent, fended off a well-funded challenge from Democratic candidate Randy Bryce, a union ironworker who racked up high-profile endorsements and raked in more than $6 million in campaign cash from around the country during his run.

"Thank you for the opportunity, the trust and confidence you've placed in me, and to the ideas and policies that are going to give us the opportunity to succeed," Steil told supporters during his victory speech. "And to those asking if we're going to take a step forward, tonight is your answer."

Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District is clearly more Republican than Wisconsin as a whole, but that didn't stop Bryce from launching a multimillion-dollar effort to try flip Ryan's seat.

Bryce, known as Iron Stache, got in the race over a year ago, in June 2017, with a viral campaign launch video in which he told Ryan, "You can come work the iron and I'll go to D.C." Bryce quickly won endorsements from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders as well as high-profile Democrats and celebrities.

For months, Bryce campaigned as the man who could "repeal and replace" Ryan.

The race shifted in April, when Ryan announced he would retire at the end of his term.

Still, Bryce in many ways remained the underdog in his race against Steil, in part because the district has leaned Republican in recent races.

Ryan won re-election by 35 points in 2016. Trump won the district by 10 points that same year. Two years earlier, Gov. Scott Walker won the district by 18 points.

Bryce also was targeted by $2.6 million in attack ads by the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC endorsed by Ryan and House GOP leaders.

Those ads slammed Bryce over his nine arrests, including a 20-year-old arrest for drunken driving, and financial problems, which included late child support payments to his ex-wife. One ad featured Bryce's police officer brother criticizing him; another labeled him a "deadbeat."

"This was a historically challenging midterm election year, and CLF is proud to have played a role in tonight's outcome in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District," said Corry Bliss, the group's executive director. "We look forward to Bryan’s leadership in Congress to help advance the Republican agenda.”

Bryce, 53, repeatedly condemned the group's ads. He said he thought Republicans decided to spend big in the race because they understood "how symbolic" it would be for a "working person" to take Ryan's spot rather than his friend and former staffer.

After Steil's win, Ryan acknowledged it was a personal win for him.

"This race was very important to me. It’s the district that my family and I call home and it's the district that I have had the honor of representing in Congress for twenty years," Ryan said in a statement. "While Bryan will chart his own course in Washington, I'm glad that voters have given him the chance to fight for the values we share."

ELECTION RESULTS: Wisconsin and Milwaukee-area midterm races

FULL COVERAGE:2018 Wisconsin Elections

Steil, 37, an attorney for the manufacturing company Charter NEX Films and a regent since 2016, is from a prominent Janesville GOP family.

Bryce, who lives in the Racine area, became heavily involved in politics during the 2011 protests at the state Capitol over Walker's Act 10, which sharply limited collective bargaining for the state's public workers. He has run unsuccessfully for the state Assembly, state Senate and for a seat on Racine's School Board, making this his fourth run.

Steil and Bryce clashed on just about every issue.

While Steil supports repealing the Affordable Care Act, Bryce backs "Medicare-for-all."

Bryce supports gun control measures such as mandatory background checks, waiting periods and banning military-style weapons, but Steil says the existing laws should be enforced.

Steil supports tighter border security, including building a wall, while Bryce wants to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and backs paths to citizenship for immigrants brought to the country illegally as children.

Bryce supports abortion rights, while Steil opposes abortion, saying that he believes life begins at conception.

The race drew national interest and a flood of campaign contributions for months, in part because it belonged to Ryan.

About 90% of Bryce's campaign contributions came from outside Wisconsin, compared to about 38% for Steil.

Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party, praised Bryce for his work to win the district.

"Working Families Party was one of the first organizations to recruit Randy, support Randy, encourage him to run. So we've been there from the very, very beginning," Mitchell said. "So we're really proud of him. We think what he's done so far has really transformed the district."

Independent candidate Ken Yorgan, a Racine chiropractor, also ran to represent the district.

In other races:

3rd District: Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind defeated Republican Steve Toft, a U.S. Army veteran from Osseo.

4th District: Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore easily defeated Republican challenger Tim Rogers, a Milwaukee delivery driver with no political experience or campaign funds to speak of.

5th District: Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner defeated Democratic challenger Tom Palzewicz of Brookfield.

6th District: Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman won re-election, defeating challenger, Democrat Dan Kohl.

Grothman won a third term defeating Kohl, who raised $1 million more than the incumbent, but was seeking a seat in a district that’s been reliably Republican since the 1960s.

7th District: Republican U.S. Rep Sean Duffy defeated Democratic challenger Margaret Engebretson.

8th District: Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher defeated Democratic challenger Beau Liegeois.

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