Romney/Ryan Ticket Wins Sussex

If it were up to Sussex, the Republican ticket of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would be headed to the White House and Tommy Thompson would be on his way to the U.S. Senate. 

Voters here overwhelming supported Romney/Ryan with a 68 to 32 percent margin. Thompson faired even better, garnering 69 percent of the vote, according to unofficial results. 

This is nothing new for Sussex, where Republicans enjoy heavy advantages during the past two presidential races. 

The Village of Sussex has voted predominately Republican during the last two elections. In 2008, John McCain defeated President Barack Obama 64 to 36 percent in Sussex. In 2004, George W. Bush earned 70 percent of the vote over John Kerry and in 2000, Bush won with 67 percent of the vote over Al Gore.  

According to local officials, the election in Sussex went off with only minor hitches along the way. For instance, Village Clerk Sue Freiheit indicated that several voters cast ballots for more than one candidate in certain races, including the presidential. 

The lines at the National Guard Armory were long at times, but they seemed to move steadily, especially if voters were already registered.  

In terms of unofficial turnout, Sussex voters proved once again that they are an engaged segment of the electorate. According to preliminary figures, about 90 percent of voters cast their ballots during Tuesday's historic election. 

"This is a very important election, the most important one of my life," said Election helper Ken Meske, a retiree who's been working at the polls for the last four years.

Emblematic of how Sussex residents view their right to vote was Lisa Bougie, a mother of twins, who came out in the dreary day with her children to cast her ballot. 

"If I can get out and vote with these two, anyone can," Bougie said.

In races down the ticket, Jim Sensenbrenner beat Dave Heaster for the 5th Congressional District seat and Paul Farrow topped Eric Prudent for the 98th State Assembly seat. Farrow also defeated Chris Kapenga in the 33rd State Senate primary. 

Note: The President and U.S. Senate totals are for Sussex only. All other results are racewide. 

Obama-Biden

1,918

1,839

4,113

More election coverage

• Election Central: A look back on the Election Day in Sussex
• Presidential race: Obama carries Wisconsin
• U.S. Senate race: It's Tammy over Tommy
• Waukesha County Clear: Novack to Replace Nickolaus
• 33rd Senate District: Kapenga Concedes to Farrow in 33rd Senate District
• Final Results: Area congressional and state legislative races
• Final Results: Federal races in Wisconsin
• Live Blog Replay: Revisit Patch's Election Day blog
• Problems at the Poll: Overvoting creates some headaches