One in 10 voted in Marinette and Oconto primaries

NORTHEAST WIS. – In low turnout primary elections, female candidates emerged as fierce competitors in contested races in Oconto and Marinette counties, with choice-in-education candidate Brittany Kinser netting the most votes of the three candidates running for State Superintendent of Education in both counties to outperform incumbent Jill Underly, whose campaign stressed the need for more funding. Both women will be on the ballot April 1.

In a three-way race for Town of Mountain Town Board chair, Supervisor Brenda Carey-Mielke received more votes than incumbent Board Chair Lindor “Skip” Maletzke. Both will be on the Town Board ballot in April.

In Marinette County, about 9.6% of registered voters cast ballots, or about 2,634 out of 27,471 voters, according to the county. In Oconto County, about 10.6% of the 24,912 voters who cast ballots in the Nov. 5 presidential election voted in the primary, according to data on the county website.

In the race for State Superintendent of Education, Kinser netted 1,263 votes in Marinette County to outperform incumbent Underly with 758 and Wright with 566 votes, according to unofficial results posted on the county website
Kinser was the top vote-getter in all but three municipalities in Marinette County. In the City of Peshtigo, Underly received 52 votes to Kinser’s 47 and Wright’s 41. In the City of Niagara, 26 votes to Kinser’s 24 and Wright’s 11.

In Wausaukee, Wright received 10 votes, followed by 6 for Underly and 5 for Kinser.

This election is decided on the state level, where unofficial tallies put Underly in the lead with 177,372 votes and Kinser close behind with 161,576, while Jeff Wright garnered 128,446, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel said. The Wisconsin Election Commissioner has until March 4 to certify the results, said John Smalley, a spokesman for the election commission.

In the Town of Stephenson where three Town Board candidates vied for two spots April 1, Town Firefighter Austin Van De Walle was the top vote-getter with 212 votes, followed by Supervisor Pete McCabe with 104 votes and resident Dan Bernetzke with 55, according to unofficial results. Van De Walle and McCabe were expected to advance to the April 1 election.

The turnout of about 395 voters in the Town of Stephenson compares with about 2,536 who voted in the Nov. 5 Presidential election, for a turnout of about 15.5%, higher than the turnout for the county overall.

In Oconto County, 2,640 voters cast ballots, including 711 absentee voters, the county said. In the State Superintendent for Education race, Brittany Kinser received 1,208 votes to outperform incumbent Jill Underly with 809 votes, while Jeff Wright came in third place with 599, according to unofficial results available Tuesday.

In the City of Oconto, Underly was the top vote-getter with 95 votes to Kinser’s 71 and Wright’s 43. In the Town of Chase, Underly and Kinser tied with 47 votes apiece, while Wright netted 39 votes. In every other town, village and city in Oconto County, Kinser was the top vote-getter, according to information on the county website.

In the Town of Mountain, a three-way contest for Town Board Chair included two challengers to incumbent Town Board Chair Lindor “Skip” Maletzke.

Supervisor Brenda Carey-Mielke emerged as the top vote-getter with 104 votes to Maletzke’s 80 and resident Tom Huff’s 59 votes.

The 245 voters who cast ballots include 68 absentee voters. This compares with about 630 Town of Mountain residents who voted in the Nov. 5 presidential election, or about 40%, much higher than the 10% turnout overall.