David Varnam won the Republican nomination for Wisconsin lieutenant governor on Tuesday, defeating Will Martin in the primary for the statewide office.
Varnam, the former mayor of Lancaster in Grant County, previously served on the city’s common council and worked as a congressional aide and federal policy analyst.
He ran on a conservative platform emphasizing lower taxes, school choice, Second Amendment rights, pro-life policies and restrictions on transgender athletes in women’s sports. Varnam, who also sought the nomination in 2022, received endorsements including from U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden.
In Wisconsin, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor run separately in the primaries and are then paired on a joint ticket for the general election. Varnam will join Republican gubernatorial nominee Tom Tiffany against Democrat Sarah Godlewski, the current secretary of state who was unopposed in her party’s primary for lieutenant governor.
The Nov. 3 general election will determine the next lieutenant governor as the office is open following Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s decision not to seek reelection.
