STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAU) — Another central Wisconsin candidate has entered the race for State Senate. Stevens Point resident and Portage County Republican Party President Patrick Testin is embarking on his second political campaign, this time against incumbent Julie Lassa for the 24th District Senate seat.
Testin officially kicked off the campaign Saturday morning at the Elks Lodge in Stevens Point. He told WSAU he anticipates a much different race now than when he opposed Katrina Shankland for the Assembly in 2012. “It’s a lot different. I feel like we know the issues a lot better than we may have back in 2012, and we have more support than we did back in 2012, and, there’s more focus on this race. I think we’re going to have a real opportunity here to show the voters that we can run on a pro-growth, pro-reform message for the 24th Senate District.
Republican Party of Wisconsin 3rd District Vice Chairman Julian Bradley and State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald attended the event. Fitzgerald knows the 24th Senate District has been difficult for Republicans to win, but believes the heavily-Democratic Portage County is balanced by other parts of the district. “Stevens Point is always going to be a tough nut to crack, but if you get beyond that, you go into some pretty rural territory pretty quickly, especially in the southern part of this state senate seat, and I think, I’ve known Pat now for a while, and we got to talk a little bit about his candidacy, and what he thinks he could bring to state government. (He’s an) outstanding, hard working young guy that I think is certainly going to put us in a good place.”
The Majority Leader likes Testin’s chances against long time incumbent Julie Lassa of Stevens Point. “You know, being in the minority for so many years now, and really been unable to get much done at all, because I think she’s got the wrong priorities, it sets up a good contrast for the voters here, and I’m looking forward to November.”
So far, there’s no official word from Lassa about her 2016 campaign, but an Act Blue study shows she is actively fundraising at this time.