Wisconsin state Senator Leah Vukmir
will face out Senator Tammy Baldwin in November after Vukmir won
Tuesday's Republican primary.
Vukmir received 49 percent of the vote,
compared to 42 percent going for Kevin Nicholson, who had the backing
of former White House strategist Steve Bannon.
Baldwin served two terms in the House
before being elected to the Senate in 2013, making her the first
openly gay person elected to the U.S. Senate.
During her 16 years in the Wisconsin
legislature, Vukmir has compiled a history of voting against LGBT
rights.
After the Republican Party of Wisconsin
endorsed Vukmir's campaign, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest LGBT rights advocate, said that she was “out of
touch with the majority of Wisconsinites who support equality.”
“Leah Vukmir has no place in the
United States Senate,” said HRC Wisconsin State Manage Wendy
Strout. “She has consistently worked to undermine LGBTQ equality,
and built a disturbing record that demonstrates a long standing
hostility to some of Wisconsin's most marginalized and vulnerable
communities.”
The group said that Vukmir has close
ties to the Family Research Council (FRC), a Christian conservative
group vocally opposed to LGBT rights, and had voted against LGBT
protections, including protections for LGBT students facing bullying
at school, and is opposed to marriage equality.
According to an NBC News/Marist poll
released in July, Baldwin leads Vukmir by 17 percentage points
(55-38%).