How to use this guide

1. Pick the issues you care about. Choose the two or three that matter most to you.
2. Find which office handles them. The U.S. House votes on every federal law and the federal budget, and all bills that raise revenue must start there. Ballot measures change the Wisconsin Constitution directly, without further action by the legislature or governor.
3. Compare the candidates. Read where each candidate stands on your top issues, then check the candidates' own words, who funds each campaign, and — for the incumbent — the voting record.

The 2026 race uses the post-2020-census congressional map shown in the Wisconsin Legislature's District 8 poster map; the district's lines for 2026 do not differ from those used in 2024. The Wisconsin Supreme Court rejected a 2024 challenge to the congressional map, leaving those boundaries in place. ​

No official printed ballot order for the 2026 House candidates was found; candidates appear in this guide alphabetically by last name: Rick Crosson, then Tony Wied.

The U.S. House race

What this office does

House members serve two-year terms and vote on every federal law and the federal budget. Local coverage has focused on PFAS contamination in Marinette and Peshtigo and on agricultural consolidation and data-center development in northeast Wisconsin. The race is rated Solid Republican by the 270towin consensus; Tony Wied is the incumbent running for re-election.

Candidates in brief

| | Rick Crosson | Tony Wied |
| -------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Party | Democrat | Republican |
| Incumbent? | No | Yes |
| Background | Retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and Master Army Aviator, served 1980–2000; former chief operating officer in transportation and logistics; served on the Green Bay Area Public School District Board of Education until 2025 | Has represented Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District since November 12, 2024; founded and operated businesses in northeast Wisconsin for nearly three decades, including Dino Stop gas stations; attended St. Norbert College |
| Top priorities | Affordability, accountability, and results; healthcare as a fundamental human right; affordable housing, a livable wage, and a stable economy | Keeping the southern border secure; cutting federal spending; American energy independence |
| Campaign website | rickcrosson.com | tonywiedforcongress.com |

Where they stand

| Issue | Rick Crosson | Tony Wied |
| -------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Cost of living | Raise the minimum wage to a living wage, restore food and housing assistance, lower health premiums, and address price gouging and consolidation | Supports the Working Families Tax Cuts and cutting government spending, saying those measures put more money in people's pockets |
| Health care | Healthcare should be a fundamental human right; supports affordable, accessible care for everyone, lower prescription costs, and freedom to choose a doctor | The healthcare system should let people go directly to doctors rather than deal with insurance companies |
| Housing | Calls for lowering housing costs | Not found |
| Immigration | Immigration laws are outdated; Congress should enact reforms creating pathways to citizenship and work opportunities | Calls for securing the border, ending catch-and-release, and supporting Border Patrol and ICE |
| Abortion | Reproductive healthcare decisions belong to women and their doctors, not government | Not found |
| Climate and energy | Climate change is real and significant and government should do what it can to mitigate it | Expanding nuclear energy is the solution to climate concerns; calls for expanding American energy production |
| Foreign policy | Congress should reclaim its war-powers authority and end a war it did not authorize | A strong military is needed for national security; supports action to address threats from Iran |
| Elections | Not found | Supports requiring citizenship and identification to vote in federal elections |
| PFAS contamination | Calls PFAS an unresolved issue; says contamination remains in Marinette and Peshtigo and supports remediation costs proportionate to the scale of damage | PFAS regulation is more effectively handled by states; supports cleanup of contaminated sites; says water systems managing PFAS should not be held liable as polluters |
| Data centers and agriculture | State and federal rules should protect communities from data-center impacts; local communities should be involved in decisions | Data-center development should require local approval; the U.S. should lead in artificial intelligence |

In their own words

Rick Crosson, responding to the PFAS contamination questionnaire, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Oct. 1, 2026:

"This is an unresolved, critical issue."

Tony Wied, responding to the PFAS contamination questionnaire, Green Bay Press-Gazette, Oct. 1, 2026:

"This is an incredibly pertinent issue in northeast Wisconsin, and it should continue to be addressed locally."

Questionnaires and debates

Both candidates responded to the Northeastern Wisconsin News Lab questionnaire published by the Green Bay Press-Gazette. Neither candidate's response was found on Vote411. Rick Crosson completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey; no response from Tony Wied was found there.

Both candidates took part in a debate on WFRV on Oct. 22, 2026.

Endorsements

| Candidate | Endorser | Type | Source |
| --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------------- |
| Tony Wied | Donald Trump | Executive branch / federal officials | wispolitics.com, Nov. 3, 2025 |
| Tony Wied | U.S. Chamber of Commerce | Organizations | uschamber.com, Sept. 3, 2026 |

No endorsements for Rick Crosson were found in the available records. Voters can check Ballotpedia's Rick Crosson page for any endorsements listed there.

Who is funding them

Campaign finance figures for Rick Crosson and Tony Wied cover activity through Oct. 14, 2026.

| | Rick Crosson | Tony Wied |
| ------------------------------------ | ------------- | -------------- |
| Total raised | $168,000 | $1.4 million |
| Small donors (under $200) | 13% | 17% |
| Larger donors (over $200) | 80% | 33% |
| PACs and other committees | 6% | 51% |
| Party committees | 0% | 0% |
| Self-funding | $1,500 (1%) | $0 (0%) |
| Transfers from joint fundraising | $0 | $16,000 |
| Cash on hand | $62,000 | $242,000 |
| Larger-donor dollars from WI | $62,000 (91%) | $254,000 (68%) |
| Outside spending for / against | $0 / $0 | $0 / $0 |

Tony Wied's top PAC donors were the Allied Pilots Association Political Action Committee, American Crystal Sugar Company Political Action Committee, American Forest & Paper Association Political Action Committee, Buckeye Liberty Political Action Committee, and Direct Supply, Inc. Partners PAC (DSI Partners PAC), each at $10,000. No PAC donors were reported for Rick Crosson.

Wied raised more than eight times what Crosson raised and held nearly four times as much cash on hand as of Oct. 14. More than half of Wied's money came from political action committees (PACs), while Crosson drew most of his from larger individual donors, with 91 percent of those dollars coming from Wisconsin addresses.

Donors who give more than $200 in a cycle are reported to the FEC by name, while smaller gifts are reported only as a total.

The incumbent's record

Votes listed here were selected by one rule applied to every incumbent: final passage of each spending, budget or defense bill that became law, every vote on a war powers resolution, and every vote against the majority of the member's own party, from the official House and Senate roll calls.

Committees and caucuses

Tony Wied serves on the House Agriculture Committee, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and the House Small Business Committee. Wied chairs the House Small Business Committee's Contracting and Infrastructure Subcommittee and serves as vice chair of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Aviation Subcommittee.

Caucus memberships include the Congressional Agricultural Trade Caucus, Congressional Baking Caucus, Congressional Caucus on Modern Agriculture, Congressional Diabetes Caucus, Congressional Franchise Caucus, Congressional Psychedelics Advancing Therapies Caucus, Congressional Western Caucus, House General Aviation Caucus, House Great Lakes Task Force, House Organic Caucus, House Republican Conference, House Republican Study Committee, and Republican Main Street Caucus.

Voters interested in those issues can track Wied's committee activity at his lawmaker page.

Key votes since June 2026

| Date | Measure | Question | Wied's vote | Outcome | Broke with party? |
| -------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------- | ----------- | ------- | ----------------- |
| June 4, 2026 | Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2027 | On Passage | Yes | Passed | No |
| June 3, 2026 | Directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran (War Powers Resolution) | On Agreeing to the Resolution | No | Passed | No |
| June 4, 2026 | Directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from Lebanon (War Powers Resolution) | On Agreeing to the Resolution | No | Failed | No |
| June 30, 2026 | Directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities in Lebanon (War Powers Resolution) | On Agreeing to the Resolution | No | Failed | No |
| July 22, 2026 | Making continuing appropriations for fiscal year 2027 | On Passage | Yes | Passed | No |
| July 22, 2026 | National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 | On Passage | Yes | Passed | No |
| July 23, 2026 | Directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran (War Powers Resolution) | On Agreeing to the Resolution | No | Passed | No |
| Sept. 1, 2026 | To amend the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 to extend regulations concerning the North Atlantic right whale | On Passage | Yes | Passed | No |
| Sept. 16, 2026 | Directing the President to remove U.S. Armed Forces from hostilities with Iran (War Powers Resolution) | On Agreeing to the Resolution | No | Passed | No |

The war powers votes above show Wied voting against resolutions that directed the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran or Lebanon. Three of those resolutions passed the House; Wied voted No on all three. On spending and defense bills, Wied voted Yes on every final-passage vote in this period.

Party breaks

Tony Wied voted against the majority of the Republican Party on three roll-call votes since June 2026.

| Date | Roll call | Question | Wied's vote | Outcome |
| ------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | ----------- | ------- |
| July 15, 2026 | Roll call 241 | On Agreeing to the Amendment | Yes | Failed |
| July 22, 2026 | Roll call 258 | On Agreeing to the Amendment | Yes | Passed |
| July 22, 2026 | Roll call 262 | On Agreeing to the Amendment | No | Failed |

All three party breaks came on amendment votes, not on final passage of legislation.

Tony Wied missed two of 123 roll-call votes since June 2026. A full-Congress attendance figure was not found in the available records; voters can check Tony Wied's lawmaker page for updated attendance data.

Bills sponsored

Tony Wied sponsored 21 bills or resolutions in the 119th Congress: 15 remain at the introduced stage, three are in committee, and three passed the House. Wied cosponsored 222 bills.

The three bills that passed the House are:

Passing the House is one step in the legislative process; a bill must also pass the Senate and be signed by the president to become law. Whether any of these three bills advanced further was not confirmed in the available records.

Contested claims

Wied's congressional office, as quoted by WBAY, said government-funded franked communications describe "major wins" including the Working Families Tax Cuts. WBAY reported that franked communications are allowed under congressional rules and must be approved by a bipartisan committee; no fact-check of the claimed tax-cut benefits was found.

Rick Crosson, as quoted by WBAY, said Wied used taxpayer money for ads promoting himself and his agenda while having campaign money available. WBAY reported that the ads cost taxpayers more than $100,000 and that franking permits congressional offices to spend some budget on constituent communications, subject to restrictions and approval. WBAY did not assess whether these ads primarily promoted Wied.

Rick Crosson, as quoted by Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), said Wied's stock trades in industries overseen by committees on which Wied serves raise questions about whether his congressional work serves constituents or his portfolio. WPR reported that a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report found such trades but reported no evidence Wied violated congressional rules; Wied's office said an independent financial adviser managed the investments and Wied had no involvement. No fact-check was found.

Tony Wied, as quoted by WPR, said his office opened and closed more than 3,000 constituent-service cases in his first term and that he voted for tax cuts in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The congressional roll-call record shows Wied voted yes on July 3, 2025, on the motion to concur in the Senate amendment to H.R. 1. No independent fact-check of the constituent-case figure or the claimed tax-cut effects was found.

Challengers' records

Rick Crosson served on the Green Bay Area Board of Education, appointed in April 2024 to serve the remainder of a term ending April 2025. Crosson has not held elected or appointed federal office and has no congressional voting record to review.

Scorecards readers can check

Several interest groups publish annual scorecards rating Tony Wied's votes. Heritage Action for America gave Wied a rating for the 119th Congress (2025/2026). The AFL-CIO gave Wied a 0 percent rating for 2025. The League of Conservation Voters gave Wied a 0 percent rating for 2025. The National Taxpayers Union gave Wied an 87 percent rating for the 119th Congress, First Session (2025). The American Conservative Union/CPAC rating was not available. The Lugar Center Bipartisan Index rating was not found.

Different groups select different sets of votes for their scorecards, so their ratings measure different things and are not directly comparable. Heritage Action for America and the National Taxpayers Union rate members on votes aligned with conservative fiscal and policy priorities; the AFL-CIO rates members on votes affecting workers and labor; and the League of Conservation Voters rates members on votes affecting the environment.

No scorecard ratings were found for Rick Crosson, who has not served in Congress.

Also on your ballot

Wisconsin voters in the 8th District will decide three statewide constitutional amendments on Nov. 3. All three were referred to voters by the 2025 Wisconsin Legislature. Because they are constitutional amendments, a Yes vote on any of them changes the Wisconsin Constitution directly; the change takes effect without further legislative or executive action.

Statewide measures

| Designation | Topic | What a Yes vote does | What a No vote does |
| ----------- | ---------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| Question 1 | Partial veto and taxes | Amends the Wisconsin Constitution to prohibit the governor from using the partial veto to create or increase any tax or fee | Leaves the Wisconsin Constitution unchanged on this point |
| Question 2 | Places of worship during emergencies | Amends the Wisconsin Constitution to prohibit the state and local governments from closing places of worship or forbidding gatherings there during a state of emergency | Leaves the Wisconsin Constitution unchanged on this point |
| Question 3 | Government discrimination and preferential treatment | Adds a section to the Wisconsin Constitution prohibiting governmental entities from discriminating or granting preferential treatment on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, education, contracting, or administration | Leaves the Wisconsin Constitution unchanged on this point |

Question 1 — Partial veto

The official question, from the Wisconsin Elections Commission Type C Notice of Referendum: "Partial veto. Shall section 10 (1) (c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating or increasing or authorizing the creation or increase of any tax or fee?"

Current law allows a governor's partial veto of a spending bill to result in more or fewer taxes or fees, including authorizing local governments to increase them. A Yes vote would prohibit using that veto power to create or increase taxes or fees, including local taxes or fees.

No fiscal impact estimate was found in the available records. The Wisconsin Elections Commission identifies this as 2025 Senate Joint Resolution 116 and states that the 2025 legislature agreed to the amendment and referred it to voters. Final legislative vote tallies by party were not found.

State Rep. Amanda Nedweski, a lead sponsor, said the amendment addresses the ability of one person to create or raise taxes and fees through a partial veto. State Sen. Chris Larson argued the amendment would make it harder for a future governor to address what he sees as inadequate legislative revenue for shared priorities, including education.

Question 2 — Freedom to gather in places of worship during an emergency

The official question: "Freedom to gather in places of worship during an emergency. Shall section 18 of article I of the constitution, which deals with religious liberty, be amended to prohibit the state or a political subdivision of the state from ordering the closure of, or forbidding gatherings in, places of worship in response to a state of emergency, including a public health emergency?"

Under current law, officials may limit public gatherings, including religious gatherings, during a declared emergency if religious and secular gatherings are treated equivalently. A Yes vote would prohibit government orders closing places of worship or forbidding gatherings there during any emergency, including a public health emergency.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission identifies this as 2025 Assembly Joint Resolution 10 and states that the 2025 legislature agreed to the amendment and referred it to voters. Final legislative vote tallies by party were not found.

Pro-Life Wisconsin, a supporter, argued that places of worship provide "stability, purpose, and connection" during emergencies and isolation. The Wisconsin Council of Churches argued that existing protections allowed congregations to continue serving members during the pandemic and raised concerns about adding an uncertain policy to the state constitution.

Question 3 — Governmental entity discrimination prohibited

The official question: "Governmental entity discrimination prohibited. Shall section 27 of article I of the constitution be created to prohibit governmental entities in the state from discriminating against, or granting preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in public employment, public education, public contracting, or public administration?"

Current state and federal law prohibit many forms of discrimination and allow certain classifications under specified standards. A Yes vote would add a new constitutional prohibition on discrimination or preferential treatment by governmental entities on the listed bases, with exceptions including certain federal-program requirements and bona fide qualifications based on sex.

No fiscal impact estimate was found. The Wisconsin Elections Commission identifies this as 2025 Assembly Joint Resolution 102 and states that the 2025 legislature agreed to the amendment and referred it to voters. Final legislative vote tallies by party were not found.

State Sen. Steve Nass, a co-sponsor, said preferential treatment is wrong regardless of whom it targets or the reason for it, and that past discrimination should not be addressed with more discrimination. The ACLU of Wisconsin argued that identity-conscious initiatives can help level an uneven playing field and promote equal opportunity across differences.

Local measures

No local ballot measures were confirmed for the counties in the 8th District. Voters can check their county clerk's sample ballot for any county or municipal questions. Brown County's official sample ballot page is a starting point for Brown County residents.

Before you go

  • Early voting: In-person absentee voting is available through your municipal clerk; hours and locations vary by municipality. The last day to vote early in person is Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. Contact your municipal clerk for hours and locations.
  • Election Day hours: Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Nov. 3, 2026. Voters must be in line by 8 p.m.
  • Photo ID: Bring an acceptable photo ID to vote. The ID does not need to show a current address. A voter without an acceptable photo ID must be offered a provisional ballot and an opportunity to submit photo ID within three days after the election. See the Wisconsin Elections Commission photo ID page for the full list of accepted IDs.
  • In the booth: No specific booth rules were confirmed in the available records. Check the Wisconsin Elections Commission voter information page for guidance.
  • Registration: Online and mail registration are available up to 20 days before the election. In-person registration at the municipal clerk's office is available until the Friday before the election. Same-day registration is available at the polling place on Election Day; a proof-of-residence document is required. See the Wisconsin Elections Commission voter registration page.
  • Mail ballots: Ballots must arrive by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, 2026, to count. Voters who have not yet mailed their ballot should contact their municipal clerk for drop-off options.
  • Polling-place lookup: Find your polling place at MyVote Wisconsin.
  • Hotlines: Wisconsin Elections Commission: 1-866-VOTE-WIS. Nonpartisan Election Protection: 866-687-8683 (866ourvote.org).

Sources

Official records

Campaign finance

Candidate statements and questionnaires

News and fact-checks

Advocacy groups

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