APPLETON – The mood among Republicans was high Tuesday night at The 10th Frame bowling alley as election results poured in.
“A lot of people are energetic, a lot of people are excited,” said Nate Gustafson, the incumbent in the race for Wisconsin Assembly District 55.
The bowling alley, 618 W. Wisconsin Ave., was the site of an election watch party hosted by the Outagamie County Republican Party. For Gustafson, like other state congressional candidates on Tuesday’s ballot, the watch party was one of several stops in the Fox Valley area Tuesday night. Others who stopped by included Shae Sortwell, who was running for re-election in Assembly District 2; Dave Murphy, candidate for re-election in Assembly District 56; and Chad Cooke, candidate for Assembly District 52.
The viewing party started at 6 p.m., with live music, food and a raffle with prizes. Proceeds from the raffle, as well as from sales of Donald Trump-related merchandise, went toward rent payments for the Outagamie County Republican Party’s office space. A donation box accepted cash donations for local veterans.
No end time was set, but around 11:30 p.m., the roughly three dozen attendees still at the party were told by staff that they would be kicked out at midnight so the bar would close.
Excited cheers erupted in the room throughout the night as Republican victories were announced on television, including races called in favor of Republicans at the local and state level, and updates on state totals in Trump’s favor.
When Sarah Van Camp was officially declared Outagamie County’s Register of Deeds winner — a position she previously held for three terms and ran unopposed — Dawn Leiser, events chair for the Outagamie County Republican Party, ran across the room with a shout from: “Victory Lap!”
Van Camp said it was “a very nice feeling” not to have to worry about losing the race to an opponent. Around 9 p.m., she said she was positive about the races for many of her fellow Republicans.
“I know what it feels like to run a campaign, and the time it takes and the energy you put into it – and the heartache of a night like tonight,” she said. But she said the other candidates she spoke to at the watch party “seemed to be feeling pretty good about their races.”
In addition to the candidates awaiting election results, the watch party was the culmination of months of work for many volunteers and members of the Outagamie County Republican Party.
“We wrote postcards, we knocked on thousands of doors – I personally did 969 of them. We’ve had waving parties … we did that last week in Little Chute at the (Kamala Harris) event,” Leiser said.
Patty Rochon, of Waupaca, said she became involved in politics two years ago after retiring from 35 years at an asphalt manufacturing company.
Rochon called herself an “employee” and said retirement was scary. She found purpose by throwing herself into political volunteer work.
“Every time I leave a rally, you feel like you can dream that dream of America,” Rochon said.
Richard Biga of Appleton said he is just as passionate as he volunteers for Republicans. He said volunteers helped out at the Outagamie County Republican Party office and he volunteered to work the polls during early voting.
“I hope and pray that the best man wins,” Biga said. “The United States needs a major turnaround.”
Contact Kelli Arseneau at 920-213-3721 or karseneau@gannett.com. Follow her on X, formerly Twitter, at @ArseneauKelli.
This article originally appeared on Appleton Post-Crescent: Appleton area elections: Republican Party Watch Party
