Democrat Randy Bryce, the “Iron Stache,” has been the beneficiary of Hollywood money and attention while House Speaker Paul Ryan was the target in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District. But now that it’s an open seat, will Democrats content themselves with someone who has already lost three elections, has demonstrated little knowledge of the issues, and who paid for fake Twitter followers but only caught up on his child support payments when he decided to run for Congress?
The Kenosha News asked former Congressman and current state Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) if he was interested in making another run for Congress:
“I haven’t even talked to my family yet. But I’ve gotten a lot of encouragement in the last 10 hours since it became official,” Barca said.
“Now,” he added, “there has to be a very deliberate, broad discussion among Democrats in the 1st Congressional District. This is a vital seat, and it’s going to have to be about who has the best chance of winning.”
Barca served in the House of Representatives from May 1993 to January 1995 after winning a special election to replace Congressman Les Aspin after he was appointed Defense Secretary by President Bill Clinton. Barca lost to former Congressman Mark Neumann in a rematch in the 1994 election.
Barca returned to the state Assembly and served as the Minority Leader for the Democrats until he was dumped by his caucus for supporting the Foxconn development in nearby Racine County.
Democrats have another candidate in the district, Cathy Myers, a teacher and school board member. Myers, though, has received less attention nationally and has not been able to raise nearly as much money. Bryce raised a total of $4.75 million and had $2.3 million in cash on hand, according to the campaign.
