AD 55: Gustafson (R) vs Kehoe (D)
Located in east-central Wisconsin, the district comprises most of Winnebago County and part of southern Outagamie County. It includes all of the city of Omro and the village of Winneconne, the portion of Fox Crossing west of the Fox River, and the southern quarter of the city of Oshkosh.
Republican Incumbents Michael Schraa and Nate Gustafson were drawn into the 55th Assembly District and had a primary battle in this 60% GOP District. The winner was Nate Gustafson with 57% of the primary vote and has advanced to the final ballot to face Democrat Kyle Kehoe.
The Democrat has shown more support for legalizing marijuana in Wisconsin than either of these two Republicans, but we will first examine the GOP Candidate has down while being an elected official.
Nate Gustafson (R)
Elected Winnebago County Board supervisor 2022. Elected to Assembly 2022. Occupation: Systems analyst, Outagamie County Health and Human Services.
Republican insider said he is for legalization and libertarian leaning on this issue. During the 2022 campaign he did not return our requests for his stance on cannabis reform.
Early in 2023 Gustafson was ‘blamed’ for putting the brakes on the initiative for move Winnebago County to the $1 fine for personal possession of marijuana via ordinance change.
In 2023 Gustafson was a lead author on a “medical mushroom research bill” but absent on the Kratom Bill.
In 2024 he was a vocal critic of the Republican version of medical marijuana presented. His main statements and talking points he used in public were “he does not support using government to grow government”.
I personally spoke to Nate Gustafson on the issue and told him renewing the $1 fine decriminalization initiative for Winnebago County would be his best angle yet show he cares about the issue before the election, but so far that has not happened.
You can follow his campaign on facebook at Gus4Us.
As Schraa and Gustafson still try to figure it out, the Democrat has it right!
Kyle Kehoe (D)
A Winneconne native; worked as a police officer and has been in real estate for almost a decade.
I had a chance to speak with Kyle about marijuana reform and in short, he told me this: I support legal recreational use in Wisconsin.
Kyle Kehoe received an A+ rating from NORML in the Smoke the Vote Project.
Please follow and visit Kehoe for Assembly on Facebook and visit his official campaign website for more information on this candidate.
Both candidates have indicated they will be attending the Pizza, Pot and Politics – Fox Valley Meet and Greet Event on October 5th from 12pm until 4:20pm in Appleton. Come meet the candidates!
Stay tuned and get active!
I will provide you additional 2024 Wisconsin State Election coverage throughout the campaign season. This next election is extremely important for marijuana reform and I will continue to bring you information as more candidates make their political moves.
In the event that we end up with divided government in the 2024-25 legislation session, the official formation of The Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus would be a must first step towards reform. The official establishment of this Caucus will represent the growing, bipartisan support in Wisconsin.
Although session as ended we still urge you to contact your elected officials. The top four action alerts are still functionable on The Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Action Network for you immediate use.
Sources: CNanalysis (Very Likely Rep +18) WisPolitics /2024 Assembly Races (60% Rep), Davesredistircing, PeoplesMaps, Ballotpedia
