Elijah Behnke, Karl Jaeger will vie in the 89th Assembly District

Political newcomer Elijah Behnke earned a nomination for a state Assembly seat in a special Republican primary election Feb. 16.

Behnke will face Democrat Karl Jaeger in the April 6 special election to succeed former Rep. John Nygren, who resigned Dec. 1 to take a private-sector post. Jaeger was unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

Behnke, 37, lives in rural Oconto, operates Echelon Professional Cleaning and is a hobby farmer.

“I want to thank all of you who graciously spread the word of my campaign and turned up to vote in overwhelming numbers,” he said in a social media post. “Together, we as a district sent a clear message to Madison that we are done being ignored.”

Behnke received 1,643 votes or 45 percent in the Republican primary, followed by Michael Kunesh (23%), Debbie Jacques (21%), Michael Schneider (7%), and David Kamps (4%).

He earned 32% of the vote in Brown County, finished five votes behind Kunesh in Marinette County, where Kunesh owns a real estate business, and picked up two-thirds of the vote in his home Oconto County.