Wisconsin First District Congress: Steil, Bryce Sprint To Finish

RACINE COUNTY, WI -- When Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) announced in April 2018 that he was no longer seeking re-election in Wisconsin's First Congressional District, it opened the door for new candidates to fill the office for the first time since 1999.

The race pits perennial candidate Randy Bryce, a Racine-County Democrat, against Bryan Steil, a person commonly viewed as a protege of Ryan.

A New York Times poll in September showed that Steil had a 5 percentage point lead over Bryce. Another poll conducted in October by Change Research showed Bryce with a 1 percentage point lead over Steil.

On Monday, Ryan and Steil appeared at campaign stop at the Racine County GOP headquarters to help get out the vote on Tuesday.

Ryan was effusive of his former assistant, saying: "As I move on, the thing that matters most to me is to make sure that the people who trusted me to represent them in Congress have an excellent human being and a wonderful leader to take that mantle on and be a great representative, and Bryan Steil is going to be a great congressman."

Ryan said that Steil's best qualities include having the intelligence and candor to be an effective representative.

Steil, in a short speech Monday afternoon, Steil opened by sharing some of the lessons he learned while on the campaign trail. He concluded with talking about the direction of the country, and what his vision is in the event he's elected.

"At the federal level, we elected Republicans in the House of Representatives, and we took the Speaker's gavel from Nancy Pelosi, and we began chipping away at the Obama administration's overreach," Steil said. At the end of this year Paul Ryan is going to take the Speaker's gavel, and he's going to hand it to somebody new. He's either going to hand it back to Nancy Pelosi and the failed economic policies of the past, or he's going to hand it forward to continue the economic growth that we've seen here in Wisconsin."

The Bryce campaign stopped in Racine on Sunday in an eleventh-hour effort to rev up his voter base.

“I’m the guy that’s been fighting for good paying jobs in the state,” Bryce said in a Journal Times report Sunday, adding he’s going to fight for Social Security and Medicare. “We’ve seen Republican policies take those things away; they’re going after them saying ‘We can’t afford Social Security’ after giving a gigantic tax cut to the wealthiest people in the country.”

Bryce called Steil a "millionaire corporate attorney" who's out of touch with the American people.

Enter Bryan Steil

Bryan Steil is a 37-year-old Republican from Janesville, is seeking to succeed fellow Republican Paul Ryan for the right to serve in Wisconsin's First Congressional District. Steil currently serves as Corporate Counsel for Charter NEX Films Inc., and previously worked as Corporate Counsel at Regal Beloit Corporation, and previously worked as an Attorney at McDermott Will & Emery in Chicago.

Steil has also served as a Legislative Assistant to Speaker Ryan in Washington D.C.

In the way that Ryan considered himself a political "problem solver," Steil sees himself in much the same light: "As a leader and a problem solver, my job is to bring together diverse groups of individuals and focus on tackling the task at hand and getting results. That's the background and experience I'll take to Washington," he stated to Patch.

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5 Things Bryan Steil Means For The Middle Class: A Patch Report

Steil says that he's in favor of many of the things that traditional Republican candidates support: lower taxes, education that prepares people for work, and keeping educational costs low.

"In Congress, I'll always fight to keep taxes low so more money stays in the pockets of Wisconsin families. The recent tax cuts are returning $2,500 to the average Wisconsin family of four," he told Patch.com. "In Congress, I'll fight for affordable, effective education to prepare workers for the jobs of the future."

Bryce's Background

Bryce, a 53-year-old iron worker from Caledonia, says he champions building a strong middle class while protecting civil rights for all. Bryce believes in Medicare for all, and protecting people who paid into their pensions over their careers.

Bryce has served for several years as the Political Coordinator for Ironworkers Local 8. In that position he told Patch that was able to help bridge the gap between labor and outside movements and organizations.

Related Reading:

5 Things Randy Bryce Means For The Middle Class

Bryce told Patch that he sees himself as a middle-class champion: someone who will work to expand public protections for working families.

"I believe we need Medicare For All because our current healthcare system does not work for middle-class families. With healthcare tied to employment, families can face sudden loss of care if the head of the household loses their job, doubling their economic crisis," Bryce told Patch. "I also support the Butch-Lewis Act because pensions that hardworking union members have paid into their entire careers are in grave jeopardy. Many retirees have already seen their monthly payments cut by a third or more."

The Money Race

Regardless of who wins the election Tuesday, Bryce has hands-down won the money race, netting big dollars from small individual contributors - nearly 68 percent of all funds collected by his campaign has come from donors who give $200 or less . According to Opensecrets.org, Bryce has collected $7.8 million during the 2018 Congressional election cycle. Of that, he's spent $7.5 million. His campaign currently has $360,000 on-hand in cash.

Steil has raised $1.8 million in this election cycle, and has spent about $1.5 million of that. His campaign has about $300,000 cash on hand. The bulk of Steil's funding - just more than 63 percent - comes from large individual contributions, according to Opensecrets.org.

Top 5 Donors by Candidate - Fall 2018:

Randy Bryce (D)

Rose Assoc $31,400
Alphabet Inc $20,438
University of Wisconsin $17,154
Ironworkers Union $16,000
University of California $15,855

Bryan Steil (R)

Abc Supply $16,000
Foley & Lardner $13,600
Burke Properties $10,800
Fortive Corp $10,800
Greenhill & Co $10,800

For a full list of campaign donors, go to Opensecrets.org

Patch File Graphic, Campaign Handout Photos