Elections: 2006 Candidate Profiles

Wisconsin - House (3)

District Geography | Summary | History | Outlook | Polls

Ronald James Kind (Democrat, 5-term incumbent)

Website: www.kindforcongress.org

Paul R. Nelson (Republican)

Website: paulrnelson.com

District Geography:

Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District follows the Mississippi and St. Croix River counties from the southern border of the state almost to Lake Superior. It encompasses the counties of: Buffalo, Crawford, Dunn, Eau Claire, Grant, Iowa, Jackson, Juneau, La Crosse, Lafayette, Monroe, Pepin, Pierce, Richland, St. Croix, Trempealeau, Vernon and parts of Clark and Sauk.

Summary:

Five-term Democrat incumbent Ronald James Kind serves on the House Budget, Education and Workforce, and Resources Committees. Kind touts himself as a deficit hawk and is pressing for a strategy that would lead to redeployment of US forces from Iraq. Kind is also campaigning to increase access to affordable health care and energy.

Paul Nelson, a real estate agent, is campaigning on a platform that is very tough on illegal immigration (no amnesty, provisions for deportation, heavy penalties to employers, building a fence), seeks energy independence for the U.S., supports the Marriage Protection Amendment, eliminates all federal taxes and institutes a national sales tax, and reigns in government spending.

History:

Kind was elected to represent the 3rd District in 1996 filling the open seat left by eight-term GOP congressman Steven Gunderson. Kind beat his GOP counterpart in that election, James E. Harsdorf, by 4 points. Since then Kind has capitalized on the incumbent's advantage - winning by 43 points in 1998, 28 points in 2000, 29 points in 2002, and 13 points in 2004.

Outlook:

Kind seeks his sixth straight congressional election victory. His string of four consecutive double-digit victory margins in the current political climate indicates he is in a strong position to do just this.

Polls:

None.