U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan celebrated his victory over Republican opponent Paul Nehlen in the same way he ran his campaign for the Congressional seat: low-key.
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The Associated Press called the race at around 8:30 p.m. – just half an hour after the polls closed.
Although the race was far from competitive, it drew national attention because of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s decision to compliment Nehlen and initially withhold his support for Ryan.
He also received some notable support – former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin endorsed him, and conservative author Ann Coulter campaigned with him last weekend.
In particular, this rowdy branch of the GOP – a constellation of populist right-wing websites, pundits and strategists – wanted to make a statement on illegal immigration, an issue they see as central to Trump’s success and mishandled by Ryan, who has encouraged immigration reform.
“Paul’s overwhelming victory demonstrates that the people of Wisconsin trust him to be their voice in Washington who protects them from the failed policies of Nancy Pelosi and House Democrats”, said Rep. Greg Walden, chairman of House Republicans’ campaign arm.
Ryan’s challenger, businessman Paul Nehlen, managed to get outsized attention by staging protests near Ryan’s home. “I don’t know”, Trump said.
His views may sound alien to some but are in lock-step with other high-profile and controversial Republicans and Trump supporters, including former house speaker Newt Gingrich, Alabama senator Jeff Sessions and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani.
Clinton is leading in national opinion polls in the race for the November 8 election.
While speaking to supporters earlier in the day in North Carolina, Trump said Clinton would “essentially abolish the 2nd Amendment” and pick liberal Supreme Court justices.
Trump, too, had eventually come around to endorsing Paul Ryan, as well as Arizona Sen.
Ryan and Trump have clashed before, most recently when Ryan defended the gold star Khan family, who engaged in a back-and-forth with Trump after their appearance at the Democratic National Convention. Ryan’s huge financial advantage has allowed him to blanket the airwaves with ads, and he made the rounds on influential conservative talk radio stations as Trump threatened to steal the spotlight.
Ryan had largely ignored Nehlen in what had been a sleepy primary before Trump thanked Nehlen on Twitter for his comments defending Trump.
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There were about 100 blue-collar workers at this plant, where Ryan fielded a handful of questions from employees, including one on the Green Bay Packers’ chances this year.
