RACINE, Wis. — Racine County went blue for both governor and attorney general, two big statewide races on the ballot, flipping from red to blue in both contests and joining a Democratic sweep felt across Wisconsin.
Racine County
Racine County voters select democrat Don Vandervest as new county sheriff
It was a night of celebration for many Democrats in Racine County, where voters selected a Democrat for sheriff and a Democrat for the 21st Senate District.
Watch this video for more about Racine County election results:
"People evaluated both candidates' history, experience, and priorities, and voted for the person who represented a change they wanted," Racine County Sheriff-elect Don Vandervest said during his acceptance speech Tuesday.
Wisconsin District 21 Senator-elect Trevor Jung pointed to a broad mandate.
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"I will be a senator for this entire district because the work of building a better Wisconsin belongs to all of us," Jung said.
For Bob Maynard, a Racine County Democratic Party volunteer, Tuesday's results reflected a change in mood among voters.
"People are just waking up and realizing that what's been going on for the past two to 12 years, depending on how you want to count, it just isn't working," Maynard said.
Maynard, once a lifelong Republican, has been volunteering with the Racine County Democratic Party for the past two years.
His volunteer work with the party has included phoning people.
"We do phone banks on Wednesday nights. We do our canvassing on the weekends, knocking on doors, trying to get people out to vote," Maynard said.
When asked if he ever imagined he'd be sitting with a WisDems hat on, he laughed and said, "Oh, God, no."
Maynard said he became a Democrat in response to the Trump administration, and now, he dedicates hours every week to influencing local elections.
"Our responses have been very good, been very positive," Maynard said. "And I think the results show last night."
While Congressman Bryan Steil did win Racine County, he ultimately lost his race and saw fewer votes from Racine County than in his previous campaign. Democrats gained control of the U.S. House in Tuesday's elections.
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"I'm proud of the work that I've done. I'm proud of the people that we work with in our office. The volunteers are everything," Maynard said.
But Maynard isn't convinced that what happened Tuesday is a trend that's set in stone, and he's already looking ahead to the next election.
"We have to prove to the public that this is the right way to go," Maynard said.
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