Wiedenfeld has no declared foe in November election
By Kellen Olshefski
Staff Writer
Court Commissioner Zeke Wiedenfeld came out on top of Tuesday’s winner-take-all primary election for district attorney, according to unofficial results posted by Walworth County.
Wiedenfeld, who won the seat by more than 2,800 votes, went up against Rich Sullivan, a prosecutor who lives in Walworth County and has worked with the Rock County District Attorney’s Office for the past 19 years.
Wiedenfeld worked with the Walworth County District Attorney’s Office for five years prior to being appointed as a court commissioner in Walworth County Circuit Court. He has served in that position for the past three years.
Wiedenfeld garnered a total of 6,192 votes from Walworth County voters, accounting for about 65 percent of the vote. Sullivan had 3,348 votes in his favor, or about 35 percent of the vote. A total of 12 write-in votes were also cast in the election.
Because both candidates ran as Republicans and there is no Democrat challenger for the seat, Wiedenfeld will most likely take the seat following the November election.
In Assembly District 83 – which includes portions of northwest Walworth County – Chuck Wichgers won the four-way Republican primary to succeed David Craig, who is seeking a state Senate seat. Wichgers garnered 4,074 votes (49 percent) to defeat Steve Whittow (2,812 votes), Karen Schuh (913) and Jordan Karweik (576), according to unofficial results.
Whittow was the top choice among Walworth County voters with 53 votes. Wichgers was able to garner 38 votes in the county, followed by Schuh (19) and Karweik (7).
As for Walworth County seats, County Clerk Kim Bushey will likely retain her seat with 8,738 votes, Treasurer Valerie Etzel will likely retain her seat with 8,526 votes, and likewise, Register of Deeds Donna Pruess will also likely retain her seat with 8,561 votes. None of the three had registered opponents, though there were 31, 23 and 26 write-in votes, respectively.
