Come November, the Republican Party ballot can have just one name for District 69.
At present there are two contenders, meaning a primary election prior to November in order to decide who will advance to the fall ballot.
The two Republican contenders for District 69 are Fall Creek native and recent Clark County transplant Karen Hurd along with Lori Voss of Abbotsford. The current seat District 69 incumbent, Donna Rozar of Marshfield, is running for District 86 on account of new maps approved this spring, which exclude Marshfield from District 69.
Currently the Assembly representative for District 68, Hurd chose to move to rural Withee in order to keep representing her constituents for similar reasons, after maps were redrawn to exclude Fall Creek from District 68, meaning she could not otherwise run for the seat.
The only candidate for District 69 with a legislative record thus far, Hurd has served on several committees in Madison, including the Agricultural Committee, Corrections Committee, Energy Committee, Family Law community, and Rural Development Committee, among others. As District 68 representative she authored a bill as District 68 Assembly representative for 100-day Senior which aids seniors and taxpayers by reducing trips to the pharmacy and cutting dispensing fees. She has also authored two other bills, one that would seek to provide 1200 bed for the severely mentally ill and work at de-stigmatizing mental health issue, and another called the Mainstreet Housing Hill that created a revolving loan fund for the rehabilitation of mainstream housing.
Hurd has also coauthored a bill on the child and dependent care tax credit as well as one assigning money previously allocated for healthy initiatives but never used and directed this to support Wisconsin agriculture and SNAP benefit recipients. She has been married to her husband Steve for 46 years, with five children and six grandchildren and has served in the United States Army.
As for Voss, she is a retired veteran, small business owner, and has served as mayor and city council member in Abbotsford, among other qualifications. With a 42-year record of public service, she is also an EMS with Central Fire and EMS for the past 14 years and served in the Army National Guard.
“I have always stood for the Stars and Stripes, kneeled for the cross and I will always carry these values forward as our area’s voice in Madison,” Voss shared of her candidacy. “I love rural Wisconsin and have lived here all my life, raised my children here and now am asking for your vote to bring my experience and the values we share to Madison.”
Growing up on a local dairy farm, Voss promises to restore common sense to government and protect the unborn, among others.
“My promise to voters is to work to restore common sense to government by supporting local law enforcement, standing up against woke ideologies, protecting the unborn, closing our open borders, and getting government out of the way of economic development,” Voss said. She faces Hurd in a primary later this year.
Also registered as candidates in District 69 but without a primary challenger are Roger Halls of Stanley (Democrat) and Joshua Steven Kelley (Independent) of Greenwood. A possible fifth contender, Isaac Hunt of Thorp (Family, Freedom and Farmers) still had his candidacy pending with the Wisconsin Elections Commission at press time.
Websites and social media have both been set up for Hurd and Voss, with Hurd’s website being www.karenhurdforassembly.com while Voss is on Facebook at Lori Voss for State Assembly.
More information on each of the candidates will be made available as the primary and fall election approach.