Marathon County voters turned out in droves on Tuesday, seeing a turnout of more than 83 percent of registered voters. Poll workers reported steady streams of voters throughout the day at location across Wausau and nationwide. Early estimates put statewide turnout at nearly 70 percent.
In the race to represent the 85th Assembly District in Wisconsin, Incumbent Rep. Pat Snyder (R-Schofield) will hold onto his seat after beating Democratic challenger Alyson Leahy of Wausau by a margin of 55 to 45 percent. This will be Snyder’s second term representing the district.
Rep. John Spiros (R-Marshfield) will continue to represent the 86th Assembly District of Wisconsin, beating Democratic challenger Nancy Stencil of Rib Mountain. Spiros won by a margin of 60 percent to 37 percent. Independent candidate Michael Tauschek tallied 695 votes.
Republican Jerry Petrowski will retain his Wisconsin Senate seat, defeating Democratic challenger Richard Pulcher handily. In all, Petrowski earned 33,834 votes, compared to 19,192 for Pulcher.
Locally, Marathon County voters weighed in on the medical marijuana issue and signaled overwhelming approval of legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin for medicinal uses. More than 81 percent of voters in Marathon County signaled their approval for such legislation. But the advisory referendum is just that – an advisory – and state representatives are not bound to follow the will of voters on this issue.
Wisconsin residents in nine communities voted on whether to amend the U.S. Constitution to clarify that only humans have constitutional rights. The nonbinding referendum aims to keep big money out of politics and limit influence by special interest groups.
In Marathon County, both Rib Mountain and Weston voters voted on the issue. Weston voters voted In favor of the proposed amendment by a margin of 83 percent to 17 percent. Rib Mountain voters also voted in favor by a margin of 78 to 22 percent.
