¶ How To Win Against Tony Wied
Tony Wied campaigned as a small business owner who would "never do anything to pull" the Affordable Care Act and pledged to focus on "cutting the cost of everyday items" for Wisconsin families. Instead, he voted for the Big Beautiful Bill that the Wisconsin Department of Health Services projects will strip health insurance from 270,000 Wisconsinites and cut SNAP benefits for 375,000 families, refused to extend ACA subsidies, and enthusiastically backed tariffs that economists project will cost Wisconsin dairy farmers $1-2 billion in lost income. Meanwhile, Wied filed 11 stock transactions worth between $1.6 million and $6.5 million in a single month while voting on policies that move markets, ducked in-person town halls in favor of "curated" virtual events that screened out tough questions, and left Medicaid advocates waiting outside his locked office. Green Bay's mayor called the bill Wied voted for one that "literally makes the poor poorer, and the rich richer."
¶ HEALTH CARE: PROMISED TO PROTECT THE ACA, THEN VOTED TO GUT IT
Wied pledged on the campaign trail he would "never do anything to pull" the ACA, then voted for a health care bill that deliberately excluded ACA subsidy extensions, letting premiums spike for nearly 290,000 Wisconsin marketplace enrollees.
Wied voted for the Big Beautiful Bill, which the Wisconsin DHS projects will strip health insurance from 270,000 Wisconsinites through Medicaid work requirements, even as 63,000 current enrollees already don't meet the new requirements. He then claimed "no cuts to Medicaid have been identified" despite an $880 billion cut target.
Wisconsin ACA enrollees like Donna Cuyler now face premium increases of $8,000 per year after the subsidies Wied refused to extend expired.
Message: Wied promised to protect your health care, then voted to take it away.
¶ AFFORDABILITY: CAMPAIGNED ON CUTTING COSTS, THEN BACKED TARIFFS THAT RAISE THEM
Wied ran on "cutting the cost of everyday items" then applauded Trump's reciprocal tariffs that economists project will cost Wisconsin dairy farmers $1-2 billion and have already driven grocery prices up 3.1%.
The CBO found the Big Beautiful Bill Wied voted for will cut incomes for the poorest 10% by 3.1% while boosting the richest 10% by 2.7%. The Yale Budget Lab found that combined with tariffs, the bottom 10% of households lose about 7% of their income.
Wied voted for SNAP cuts that threatens food assisatnce for the 700,000 Wisconsinites who receive beneifits — including 27,000 Brown County residents in the heart of his district — then blamed Democrats when SNAP benefits ran out during the government shutdown.
Message: Wied promised to cut costs for Wisconsin families. Instead, he backed tariffs that raised them and voted for a bill that makes the poor poorer.
¶ JOBS AND THE ECONOMY: PROMISED JOBS, DELIVERED LAYOFFS
Wied said tariffs would "bring jobs and manufacturing back" — instead, a Federal Reserve analysis found tariffs cost the economy 19,000 jobs per month, and Wisconsin has the highest share of its workforce in industries targeted by retaliatory tariffs — nearly 10%.
In Wied's own district: 240 workers lost their jobs when the Saputo cheese plant in Suamico closed, 93 shipbuilders were laid off at Marinette Marine, and Wisconsin Aluminum Foundry laid off 150-200 workers after tariffs destroyed demand.
Message: Wied said tariffs would bring jobs back. Instead, they're destroying jobs in his own district while Wisconsin workers pay the price.
¶ STOCK TRADING: MILLIONS IN TRADES WHILE VOTING ON MARKET-MOVING POLICIES
Wied is one of the most active stock traders in Wisconsin's congressional delegation, filing 11 transactions worth between $1.6 million and $6.5 million in a single month.
Wied moved $1-5 million into Treasury bills as stock market turmoil mounted around Trump's tariff announcements — a "slow-growing but safe asset" — while ordinary Wisconsinites watched their grocery bills climb.
Message: Wied is making millions trading stocks while voting on the policies that move the markets — and while his constituents struggle to afford groceries.
¶ ACCOUNTABILITY: DUCKING CONSTITUENTS AND DECEPTIVE PRACTICES
Wied refused to hold in-person town halls unlike Republican counterparts, held "curated" virtual events that screened out tough questions, and left Medicaid advocates waiting outside his locked office.
Wied's campaign circulators were accused of tricking voters into signing nomination papers by claiming they were a petition to help the homeless.
Message: Tony Wied won't face his own constituents — and his campaign used deceptive tactics from the very start.
¶ Issue Back-Ups
¶ Policies That Hurt Everyday People
Can't Be Trusted on Health Care
Can't Be Trusted on Affordability
Can't Be Trusted on Jobs and the Economy
Active Stock Trading While Voting on Market-Moving Policies
Ducked Constituents and Held Curated Town Halls
Deceptive Campaign Nomination Paper Collection
Said One Thing on the Campaign Trail, Did the Opposite in Congress