Josh Kaul won the race for Wisconsin Attorney General after competitor Eric Toney conceded during a speech early Wednesday morning.
Democratic incumbent Attorney General Kaul clinched 51% of the vote, compared to his Republican competitor, Toney, who received 49% of the vote, according to preliminary voting data. Votes are still coming in, as of early Wednesday morning.
Following his victory, Kaul released the following statement:
"Earlier tonight, I spoke with District Attorney Eric Toney, who offered his congratulations. I want to thank him for running a hard-fought race. I’m grateful that Wisconsinites have put their trust in me to serve as Attorney General for another four years, and I look forward to the work ahead of us as we continue to deliver results and work to build safer and stronger communities across the state."
Toney is serving as the Fond du Lac County district attorney while Kaul had his eyes set on winning a second term as attorney general, which he was first elected to in 2018.
Toney has been working to portray himself as a tough-on-crime prosecutor, the Associated Press previously reported. Kaul meanwhile built his campaign around a lawsuit he filed seeking to undo Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban as well as his efforts to advance gun control legislation.
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Josh Kaul was elected as state Attorney General in 2018 after defeating incumbent Brad Schimel by less than a percentage point. His victory marked the first time a Democrat held the position in Wisconsin since 2007, when Kaul's mother, Peggy Lautenschlager, left the spot after serving a four-year term. Kaul was raised in Oshkosh and Fond du Lac and later graduated from Yale and Stanford universities. Kaul went on to work for law firms and as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore. In 2014, Kaul moved back to Wisconsin and joined a Madison law firm.
Eric Toney was elected Fond du Lac District Attorney in 2012 and won reelection in 2016 and 2020. Before serving in public office, Toney worked as an attorney in private practice. Tony won the Republican primary for Attorney General, winning by less than a percentage point.