Doug La Follette has won the race for Wisconsin Secretary of State, TMJ4 News projects.
Incumbent Democrat La Follette won by just 7,660 votes against Republican competitor Amy Loudenbeck, according to preliminary voting data.
La Follette declared victory in the race last week; Loudenbeck conceded on Monday in a Facebook post.
IMPORTANT ELECTION LINKS:
La Follette established himself in the Democratic primary on Aug. 9 after defeating Dane County Democratic Party Chair Alexia Sabor.
La Follette is the longest-serving statewide elected official in the country. The 82-year-old first ran for office in 1970 and served a term as a state senator from 1972-1974 for Kenosha, according to his website. He has served as Wisconsin Secretary of State since 1974.
La Follette ran for Wisconsin governor against incumbent Gov. Scott Walker in the 2012 recall election.
According to his website, he earned his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from Columbia University and has taught at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
La Follette issued the following statement:
This is a victory for the people of Wisconsin, who chose to keep the supervision of elections out of the hands of corrupting partisan influences. I am excited to move forward working with Gov Evers and the Republicans in the State Legislature to secure the resources and staff the office requires to provide the services that we are obligated to the people of Wisconsin. We need to move this office out of the basement and let it work for the people. I also am looking forward to continuing my work to protect and preserve the absolute splendor of the natural resources of our state.
Loudenbeck issued the following statement:
Republican Candidate for Secretary of State, Amy Loudenbeck has issued the following statement following the completion of the canvass for the Tuesday, November 8th election:
“Obviously, the general election did not turn out the way we hoped it would. The feeling of disappointment is real, but so is the gratitude I have for the thousands of Wisconsinites who supported me in this campaign for Secretary of State. I have no regrets on how we ran our campaign or how hard we worked.
“Thank you to those who voted for me and a special thank you to my family, my team and the people around the state who stood with me throughout the campaign.”