2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin

The 2016 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, to elect the eight U.S. representatives from the state of Wisconsin, one from each of the state's eight congressional districts. The elections coincided with the elections of other federal and state offices, including President of the United States and U.S. Senator from Wisconsin. The primaries were held on August 9.

Wisconsin was one of two states in which the party that won the state's popular vote did not win a majority of seats in 2016, the other state being Virginia.

District 1
Republican incumbent Paul Ryan, who had represented the 1st district since 1999, ran for re-election. This district had a PVI of R+3. Since October 29, 2015 Ryan sat as the Speaker of the House.

Nominee

 * Paul Ryan, incumbent U.S. Representative and Speaker of the United States House of Representatives

Eliminated in primary

 * Paul Nehlen, senior vice-president of operations at Neptune-Benson

Campaign
Nehlen filed campaign papers to run against Ryan on April 1, 2016, and officially launched his campaign on April 14, with the opening of his first campaign office in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Nehlen claims to have been a Paul Ryan supporter and worked for his election in earlier campaigns but at least one conservative media report has questioned that claim.

According to a Janesville Gazette report about his campaign launch, "Nehlen declined to talk about issues such as abortion and would not say what presidential candidate he supports or whether he would support a Republican running for the presidency." Nehlen ran on a platform calling for secure borders, enforcement of existing immigration laws, and reduced government spending, and he opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty. On May 5, 2016, Nehlen pledged to support Donald Trump for the presidency.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on July 14, 2016, that Nehlen had hired Dan Backer as his campaign treasurer. Backer is nationally known for his fundraising activities.

In an August 2016 radio interview, Nehlen suggested that the United States should "have a discussion" about the possibility of deporting Sharia-adherent Muslims living in the country. The remark occurred when Nehlen was asked about his thoughts regarding the dispute between 2016 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and Khizr and Ghazala Khan, the parents of Humayun Khan, an American Muslim Army captain who died in a suicide bombing while serving in Iraq in 2004. During the interview, Nehlen also said that every mosque in the United States should be monitored for signs of potential radicalization.

Because of Nehlen's support for Trump, Trump publicly thanked him on Twitter and later told The Washington Post that Nehlen was "running a very good campaign", even though he did not endorse him. On August 5, 2016, Trump endorsed Ryan's re-election after pressure from fellow Republican leaders.

Results
Nehlen lost the Republican Party primary to Ryan by 68 points.

Nominee

 * Ryan Solen, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Veteran's Caucus Secretary/Treasurer

Eliminated in primary

 * Tom Breu, plumbing engineer

Declined

 * Rob Zerban, former member of the Kenosha County Board and nominee for this seat in 2012 & 2014

Nominee

 * Jason Lebeck, I.T. technician

Independents

 * Spencer Zimmerman, appears on the ballot as "Trump Conservative"

District 2
Democratic incumbent Mark Pocan, who had represented the 2nd district since 2013, ran for re-election. This district had a PVI of D+17.

Nominee

 * Mark Pocan, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Peter Theron, mathematics professor and nominee for this seat in 2008 & 2014

District 3
Democratic incumbent Ron Kind, who had represented the 3rd district since 1996, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 56.5% of the vote in 2014 and the district had a PVI of D+5.

Nominee

 * Ron Kind, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Myron Buchholz, retired teacher

District 4
Democratic incumbent Gwen Moore, who had represented the 4th district since 2005, ran for re-election. She was re-elected with 70.2% of the vote in 2014 and the district had a PVI of D+23.

Nominee

 * Gwen Moore, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Gary George, former state senator

Declined

 * Dan Sebring, automobile repair shop owner and nominee for this seat in 2010, 2012 & 2014

Nominee

 * Andy Craig, political activist and 2014 candidate for Secretary of State of Wisconsin

District 5
Republican incumbent Jim Sensenbrenner, who had represented the 5th district since 1978, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 69.5% of the vote in 2014 and the district had a PVI of R+13.

Nominee

 * Jim Sensenbrenner, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Khary Penebaker, businessman and entrepreneur

Nominee

 * John Arndt

District 6
Republican incumbent Glenn Grothman who had represented the 6th district since 2015, ran for re-election. He was elected with 56.8% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+5.

Nominee

 * Glenn Grothman, incumbent U.S. Representative

Nominee

 * Sarah Lloyd, farmer

Eliminated in primary

 * Michael Slattery, farmer

District 7
Republican incumbent Sean Duffy, who had represented the 7th district since 2011, ran for re-election. He was re-elected with 59.3% of the vote in 2014 and the district has a PVI of R+2.

Nominee

 * Sean Duffy, incumbent U.S. Representative

Eliminated in primary

 * Don Raihala, small business owner

Nominee

 * Mary Hoeft, university professor

Eliminated in primary

 * Joel Lewis, Marathon County Board Supervisor

Withdrawn

 * Kirk Bangstad, political consultant
 * Ethel Quisler, independent contractor

Declined

 * Kelly Westlund, businesswoman, Ashland City Council member and nominee for this seat in 2014

District 8
Republican incumbent Reid Ribble, who had represented the 8th district since 2011, announced on January 30, 2016 that he would retire at the end of his third term, opening the seat for the 2016 election. The district had a PVI of R+2.

Nominee

 * Mike Gallagher, retired U.S. Marine and former advisor to Governor Scott Walker

Eliminated in primary

 * Frank Lasee, state senator
 * Terry McNulty, Forestville, Wisconsin village president, Southern Door School Board member

Withdrawn

 * Gary Schomburg, former Hilbert, WI village board member

Declined

 * Andre Jacque, state representative
 * John Macco, state representative
 * John Nygren, state representative
 * Roger Roth, state senator
 * David Steffen, state representative * Jim Steineke, Majority Leader of State Assembly
 * Chad Weininger, former state representative

Nominee

 * Tom Nelson, County Executive of Outagamie County and former state representative

Declined

 * Penny Bernard Schaber, former state representative
 * Eric Genrich, state representative
 * Steve Kagen, former U.S. Representative
 * Jamie Wall, businessman, nominee for this seat in 2012 and candidate in 2006

Independent

 * Wendy Gribben, part-time grocery store employee
 * Robbie Hoffman, artist and psychologist