County, state voters choose Trump
Taylor County voters flocked to polling places on Tuesday with voters in the town of Medford reporting at times hour-long waits due to high volumes.
In the city of Medford, the volume was high and steady throughout the day, with delays at times due primarily to a large number of new voter registrations. Wisconsin is one of 23 states that allows voters to register at election sites the day of elections.
Overall, Taylor County saw 11,242 votes cast in the November 5 general election. By comparison, Taylor County had 10,710 total votes cast in 2020 and 9,566 votes cast in 2016.
Based on the Wisconsin Election Commission statistics on registered voters in the county as of Nov. 1, Taylor County saw an unofficial voter turnout in this election of 96.3% up from 94.8% in the 2020 election. The final turnout percentage will be impacted by the number of voters who registered at polling places on the day of the election.
Much of the increase is attributed to a tightly contested presidential race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
In the presidential race, Taylor County remained solidly in support of president Donald Trump with 8,209 votes for Trump compared to 2,823 votes for Harris. Statewide, Wisconsin was called for Trump early Wednesday morning, pushing Trump over the threshold of 270 electoral votes needed to secure another term in the White House.
Vote totals remain unofficial until certified by the board of canvassers when that bipartisan body meets on November
See TRUMP on page 4 12, becoming just the second person to hold non-consecutive presidential terms.
In the U.S. Senate race, Taylor County voters supported Republican challenger Eric Hovde by a more than two to one margin over Democrat incumbent Tammy Baldwin. Hovde had 7,892 votes among county voters compared to Baldwin’s 2,943. Other candidates on the ballot were Phil Anderson who received 138 votes and Thomas Leager who had 149 votes. Baldwin narrowly won reelection in the statewide contest garnering 49.3% of the overall vote to Hovde’s 48.6% of the vote.
In the 7th Congressional District race, incumbent Rep. Tom Tiffany received 8,390 votes to challenger Kyle Kilbourn’s 2,518. Tiffany easily won reelection with 63.6% of votes in the district compared to his challenger’s 36.4% At the state level, the county is split into two Assembly districts.
The southeastern corner of the county, including the city of Medford, village of Stetsonville and surrounding towns, are in the 69th district while the remainder of the county is in the 68th district.
In the 68th district, county voters favored Robert Summerfield with 3,934 votes to Richard Puncher who received 1,083 votes. This margin mirrors the overall district totals where Summerfield won with 72.9% of the vote to Pulcher’s 27.1%.
In the 69th district race, county voters showed strong support for Republican Karen Hurd, giving her 4,337 votes to Democrat Roger Halls while independent Joshua Kelley received 197 votes in Taylor County. District-wide, Hurd won with 71.9% of the vote to Halls’ 24.2%. Kelley received 3.9% of the vote.
Constitutional Amendment
A constitutional amendment specifying that only U.S. citizens are allowed to vote in elections, mirroring existing state laws, passed by a large margin at both the county and state levels. At the local level, 9,131 county voters supported the amendment to 1,655 opposed. Statewide, the amendment passed by a margin of 70.49% in favor to 29.51% opposed.
County races
In addition to the hotly contested national state elections, Taylor County voters were being asked to reelect county constitutional officers including district attorney, county clerk, county treasurer and register of deeds.
Incumbents in all of these races were unopposed. District Attorney Kristi Tlusty won reelection with 7,788 votes. County Clerk Andria Farrand won reelection with 9,642 votes. County Treasurer Sarah Holtz won reelection with 9,870 votes. Register of Deeds Jaymi Kohn won reelection with 9,753 votes.
Holway referendum
Town of Holway voters approved having the town clerk and town treasurer be appointed positions rather than elected positions by a vote of 198 to 138. This continues a trend among town governments around the state toward hired versus elected people in these positions.
Lions from Jump River, Gilman, Whittlesey, Rib Lake and Medford presented 200 Large Print Calendars to Taylor County Commission on Aging for use by area citizens with low vision. Proceeds from the Lions Maple Fest were used for this project. The calendars will be available at Taylor County Senior Nutritional Sites & the Commission on Aging. The office for the Commission on Aging is located at 845 E Broadway. SUBMITTED
