Here’s how Door County voted in 2024 general election

DOOR COUNTY – Voters in two Door County school districts approved referendums to exceed state-imposed spending limits in Tuesday’s general election, but did not extend its streak to seven of voting for the person who will be the next U.S. president.

Peninsula residents also backed the incumbents in races for U.S. Senate and the state Assembly but not the political newcomer who won the race to represent them in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Here’s how you voted.

School referendums pass for Sevastopol, Washington Island

Voters in the Sevastopol School District passed a non-recurring referendum, 1,950 to 1,667, that would allow the district to exceed its tax revenue limits for school operations by $4.25 million in the 2025-26 school year, $4.5 million the year after and $4.75 million in the following two years. The district includes residents not just in the town of Sevastopol but also the towns of Sturgeon Bay, Egg Harbor and Jacksonport and some in the city of Sturgeon Bay.

Pre-election materials from the district said the funds will allow it to better maintain smaller class sizes, maintain its facilities, continue to offer course options and support its staff with resources, competitive salaries and benefits in the face of rising costs. It also says because equalized property values have risen, the mill rate for property taxes would remain about the same.

And voters in the Washington Island School District passed a recurring referendum, 440 to 189, that would allow it to permanently exceed its tax revenue limit by $995,000 a year. Island voters have passed every non-recurring referendum they’ve been asked to vote on since 2002, and a handout from the district said they feel passage of the recurring referendum, as opposed to a non-recurring one that is good for a specific number of years, is a more reliable way to fund school operations than continuously asking for help.

U.S. president: Harris edges Trump in Door County

In the race for president, Democratic nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris edged Republican president-elect Donald Trump among Door County voters, 10,564 to 10,098.

However, Trump carried both Wisconsin and the country, winning both the popular vote and Electoral College vote, breaking a string of Door County voters backing the person elected president in every election of the 21st century.

Door County made national headlines recently as one of a very few counties, and the only one in the seven “swing states” that could vote for either candidate and have enough electoral votes between them to potentially decide the election, to have voted for the person who was elected president in each of the last six elections, dating back to George W. Bush in 2000.

None of the six other presidential candidates on the ballot surpassed 100 votes in Door County. Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., running independently on the We the People ticket, led with 99 votes; Libertarian Party candidate Chase Russell Oliver scored 51; Jill Stein of the Green Party earned 40; Randall Terry of the Constitution Party received 24; Cornel West, an independent running on the Justice for All ticket, received 10; and Claudia De la Cruz for the Party for Socialism and Liberation received 8.

U.S. Senate: The Door chooses Baldwin, but race is up for grabs

Democrat and two-term incumbent Tammy Baldwin outpolled businessman Eric Hovde, the Republican nominee, by a 10,502-9,901 vote in Door County. Baldwin’s U.S. Senate seat was considered one of the most vulnerable of the 34 up for grabs in this election, but Baldwin declared victory at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday holding a narrow lead with 97% of the vote in.

Other candidates in this race were Phil Anderson, running on the Disrupt the Corruption ticket, who scored 196 votes; and Thomas Leager on the America First Party ticket with 155.

U.S. House of Representatives: Wied wins but Door goes against the grain

Political newcomer Tony Wied, R-De Pere, handily won two races in this election to replace retired Rep. Mike Gallagher for the U.S. House of Representatives’ 8th Congressional District, but Door County voters went for the other candidate, obstetrician/gynecologist Dr. Kristin Lyerly, D-De Pere.

In Door County, Lyerly defeated Wied, former owner of a chain of convenience stores in the Green Bay area and recipient of an endorsement from Trump, by 10,640 to 10,049 in the special election to serve the remainder of Gallagher’s term through January. Lyerly also won the Door County vote over Wied for the usual two-year congressional term from 2025 to ’27, 10,578 to 9,969.

Wied handily defeated Lyerly in both elections to win the seat, leading by about a 57% to 43% margin, with 99% of the vote in.

State Assembly: Kitchens back for 7th term

Incumbent Joel Kitchens, R-Sturgeon Bay, will return for a seventh straight term representing the 1st District in the Wisconsin Assembly as held a 62% to 38% lead over challenger Renee Paplham, D-Kewaunee, with 99% of the votes counted in the district, which covers all of Door and Kewaunee counties and a small portion of the northeastern corner of Brown County.

In Door County, Kitchens outpolled Paplham, 11,689 to 8,942.

State, Door approve referendum on voter eligibility

Door County voters overwhelmingly voted yes on a statewide referendum, as did voters across the state, asking if the an article in the Wisconsin constitution about voting eligibility should be amended.

The “State of Wisconsin Eligibility to Vote Referendum” was supported in Door County by about a 2-to-1 margin, 13,367 to 6,725. The statewide vote had 70.5% voting yes with 97% of the state’s precincts counted.

The referendum asked if Section 1, Article III of the constitution should instead say that “only” a U.S. citizen who is age 18 or older and resides in an election district may vote in a national, state or local election or statewide or local referendum. The current language of the article says “every citizen” instead of only citizens and does not specify the types of elections.

Contact Christopher Clough at 920-562-8900 or cclough@gannett.com.

MORE: Veterans Day events in Door County and Kewaunee County: Here’s what you need to know

MORE: Door County Museum to host open house for public to learn about plans, exhibits, volunteering

FOR MORE DOOR COUNTY NEWS: Check out our website