Julie Lassa (D) is running for congress in Wisconsin's 7th District.

Julie Lassa lost 44% to 52% against Republican Sean Duffy in Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District. Third party candidate Gary Kauther received 4% of the vote.

State Senator Julie Lassa (D) is running for Congress in Wisconsin’s 7th district. She faces a primary and a general election race.

Julie Lassa has received support from several Democratic Party officials, most importantly Rep. David Obey. Obey, the long-serving Wisconsin Democrat, announced his retirement at the end of his 21st term in the U.S House of Representatives. Lassa has also been chosen to be a part of the Democratic Party’s “Red to Blue Campaign.” Lassa’s opponent in the September 14th democratic primary is Don Raihala of Superior, Wisconsin. He filed his papers on Tuesday July 13th to run against Lassa in the Democratic Primary. That was the deadline for candidates to submit the required signatures in order to appear on the primary ballot. There is very little public knowledge on Don Raihala and up until the 13th the public was not aware that he intended to run for this congressional seat.

Two Republicans, Sean Duffy and Dan Mielke, will be facing off in their primary race. Duffy recently resigned from his former position as the District Attorney of Ashland County, Wisconsin in order to campaign. Duffy is an anti-choice Republican with endorsements from such political groups as the Wisconsin Right to Life Political Action Committee. In their endorsement of Duffy they stated that they supported…

"His opposition to the use of taxpayer dollars to pay for abortions, his firm belief that parents should be informed if their minor daughters are seeking abortions, his opposition to legal abortion on demand and his desire to protect human life at all stages of development.”

Duffy’s opponent in the Republican primary is a businessman and farmer named Dan Mielke who has been endorsed by the Wisconsin State Constitution Party. The Constitution Party is closely affiliated with the Tea Party and maintains a similar political platform.  As of now, both Duffy and Lassa are expected to win their primaries and run against each other in the general election race.

Lassa has consistently expressed her pro-choice views. Her outspoken advocacy for women’s reproductive rights has led the Catholic Church to refuse to give her communion. Yet, this ban did not impact Lassa’s re-election to the State Legislature. Once Lassa is elected to congress, she will continue her life-long advocacy for women and families. Her support for working families and small businesses will set her apart from her opponent and serve toward her success in Congress.

Lassa’s Background:
Lassa grew up on a dairy farm in Portage county Wisconsin. She has served as the chair of the Portage County Democratic Party. She was elected to the state Assembly in 1998 and re-elected in 2000 and 2002. In 2003, Lassa won a special election for an open sate Senate district. She was re-elected to that position twice, once in 2004 and once in 2008. Lassa currently serves as the Chair of the Senate Committee on Economic Development and as the Chair of the Special Committee on Performance-Based Disease Management Programs for Large Populations. She also serves as a member of the Senate Committee on Children and Families and Workforce Development, Senate Committee on Health, Health Insurance, Privacy, Property Tax Relief and Revenue, Senate Committee on Finance, Joint Committee on Finance, and the Special Committee on Review of State School Aid Formula. Throughout her time in office, Lassa has consistently voted to increase the minimum wage and eliminate ‘abstinence only’ sexual education in Wisconsin public schools.

Lassa’s Position on Key Issues:

• Women’s Rights:Supports Constitutional Equality, Equal Pay, and Affirmative Action.
• Reproductive Rights: Supports a Woman’s Right to Choose without restrictions. As a state senator she helped pass a bill which requires any hospital that provides emergency services to victims of sexual assault to immediately provide accurate information about and access to emergency contraceptives.
• LGBT Rights: Supports marriage equality

General Election Opponent: Sean Duffy (R) is the former Attorney General of Ashland County, Wisconsin. Prior to Duffy’s political career, he held roles on various MTV reality shows including ‘Real World’ and ‘Road Rules.’ Duffy is anti-choice, anti health-care reform, and anti-LGBT rights having stated on his website “I believe in the definition of marriage as a union between one man and one woman.” As of July 5, 2010 Duffy received endorsements by both Sarah Palin and Newt Gingrich. Gingrich will be campaigning for Duffy beginning in July.

Prospects: Lassa proves to be a strong and formidable Democratic Candidate who will have no problem competing with Duffy. With Lassa taking Obey’s place as the Democratic Candidate in the race Duffy has found himself with an irrelevant campaign strategy. He can no longer run an anti-incumbent race based on Obey’s age and years in office. Unfortunately, Lassa did not join the race until long after Duffy declared his candidacy and is therefore quite behind in fundraising. She has raised approximately $313,000 compared to Duffy’s approximate $971,000. Therefore, in order to elect a pro-choice, pro-family, pro-healthcare candidate we will need to provide Lassa and her campaign with as much support as we can offer. As a fresh face for the Democrats, Lassa has a real chance of beating Duffy in the fall election.

Endorsements: Feminist Majority PAC, EMILY’S List, Wisconson AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers,

Website: http://www.julielassa.com