Randy Bryce
Personal details
Born
Randall John Bryce

(1964-12-09) December 9, 1964
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationUniversity of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (attended)
WebsiteCampaign website
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/service United States Army
Rank Sergeant

Randall John Bryce (born December 9, 1964)[1][2] is an American ironworker, activist, and former political candidate. He was the Democratic Party nominee for Wisconsin's 1st congressional district in the 2018 midterm elections. Bryce has been nicknamed "IronStache" due to his former occupation and prominent mustache, a moniker which he adopted for his Twitter account.[3]

Early life

Born in Milwaukee,[1] Bryce was raised in South Milwaukee. He is of Mexican and Polish descent.[4] His mother worked in a doctor's office and his father was a police officer: he has a brother who is also a policeman and a sister who is a teacher.[5] Bryce briefly attended college at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee,[6] but did not receive a degree[5] and served in the Army after graduation from high school, obtaining the rank of sergeant.[7][8]

Political career

According to Politifact, Bryce' 2018 House campaign was his 4th run for office in 6 years.[9] Bryce ran for state Assembly in 2012, losing in the Democratic primary 30% to 70%.[10] Bryce and nine others ran for Racine School Board in 2013, but he failed to get in the top six and move on to the general election.[9] In 2014, Bryce ran for state Senate and was defeated 39% to 61% by a Republican who formerly held the seat.[11]

2018 congressional campaign

Bryce launched his campaign in mid-2017,[5] originally to challenge incumbent Paul Ryan, the former Speaker of the United States House of Representatives[12] and the congressional representative for Wisconsin's 1st since 1999.[13] However, in April 2018 Ryan announced that he would not seek reelection.[14] Bryce was persuaded to run for Congress by Marina Dimitrijevic, the Wisconsin director of the Working Families Party.[7] The congressional campaign was launched with a widely watched[15] announcement ad released in July 2017.[16] In the ad, Bryce discusses his cancer and his mother's multiple sclerosis and the associated costs.[17] The spot raised approximately $430,000 for Bryce's campaign.[16]

Bryce has been endorsed by Justice Democrats,[18] by Wisconsin politicians such as Chris Larson, JoCasta Zamarripa and Rob Zerban, as well as environmental activist Bill McKibben and U.S. Senator from Vermont Bernie Sanders.[17][19][20][21]

During the campaign, Bryce raised millions from a viral campaign video. His campaign was marred with stories of past actions and legal troubles. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in 2002, Bryce borrowed and failed to pay back $1,776 from his then-girlfriend for a car.[22] A court ordered a lien against Bryce in 2004, but only once he was a candidate was the debt paid, by Democratic Party lawyer Jeremy Levinson. Then, in 2015 according to The New York Times and Bryce's own admissions, he paid for fake Twitter followers[23] while, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel failing to pay his court-ordered child support.[24]

In February 2018, Bryce's campaign became the first to agree to a collective bargaining contract with the Campaign Workers Guild.[25]

Bryce was defeated 55% to 42% by Republican Bryan Steil in the election held November 6, 2018.

Political positions

Bryce has supported the Fight for 15 movement and has stated he believes in providing a living wage to those working a full-time job.[26] Personal experiences with cancer and times spent uninsured in part inspired Bryce to enter politics.[12] He has supported single-payer healthcare[27] and opposed Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act.[17]

Bryce has also supported subsidizing the production of American steel, in part because of his personal experience of difficulties when welding Chinese steel, and is in favor of new stipulations on buying American products for government vehicles.[7] Regarding the environment, he has supported a Green New Deal, no new pipelines, and prosecuting ExxonMobil for "lying to the public".[21] He opposes the Trump travel ban and advocates the abolition of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with the agency's "necessary" functions being transferred to other parts of the federal government.[28]

Personal life

After the Army, Bryce worked as an appliance deliveryman. After suffering from chronic pain for some time, Bryce was diagnosed with testicular cancer and was saved by an experimental treatment.[7] Following his recovery, he became an ironworker after his mother tipped him off about an apprenticeship vacancy: among the job's benefits was health insurance, covering his necessary CT scans, lymph node dissections and regular checkups.[7] Bryce currently lives in Caledonia, north of Racine.

Bryce has been arrested nine times for multiple reasons, including public protests, driving under the influence, and marijuana possession.[29]

Bryce has two sons.

Electoral history

Wisconsin Assembly (2012)

Wisconsin Assembly, 62nd District Election, 2012
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Primary Election[30]
Republican Tom Weatherston 5,775 76.88%
Democratic Melissa Lemke 1,202 16.00%
Democratic Randy Bryce 522 6.95%
Write-ins 27 0.09%
Total votes '1,039' '100.0%'
General Election[31]
Republican Tom Weatherston 17,045 53.05%
Democratic Melissa Lemke 15,054 46.85%
Write-ins 31 0.10%
Total votes '32,130' '100.0%' +65.29%
Republican gain from Democratic

Wisconsin Senate (2014)

Wisconsin Senate, 21st District Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
General Election[32]
Republican Van H. Wanggaard 44,967 61.42% +11.96%
Democratic Randy Bryce 28,106 38.39% -12.15%
Independent Bill Thompkins 34 0.05%
Write-ins 106 0.14%
Total votes '73,213' '100.0%' +1.79%
Republican gain from Democratic

U.S. House (2018)

U.S. House of Representatives, Wisconsin 1st District Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Primary Election[33]
Democratic Randy Bryce 36,406 30.06%
Republican Bryan Steil 30,885 25.50%
Democratic Cathy Myers 24,699 20.39%
Republican Nick Polce 8,948 7.39%
Republican Paul Nehlen 6,638 5.48%
Republican Kevin Adam Steen 6,262 5.17%
Republican Jeremy Ryan 6,226 5.14%
Republican Brad Boivin 924 0.76%
Write-ins 136 0.11%
Total votes '121,124' '100.0%'
General Election[34]
Republican Bryan Steil 177,492 54.56%
Democratic Randy Bryce 137,508 42.27%
Independent Ken Yorgan 10,006 3.08%
Independent Joseph Kexel 7 0.00%
Write-ins 304 0.09%
Total votes '325,317' '100.0%'
Republican hold

References

  1. 1 2 "Randy Bryce's Biography". Vote Smart. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  2. ↑ Gorney, Charles (July 30, 2012). "Randall Bryce, Democratic Candidate for 62nd State Assembly District Representative". Caledonia Patch. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
  3. ↑ Mascaro, Lisa. "Meanwhile, a Democratic union worker known as 'IronStache' on Twitter makes a bid for Paul Ryan's Wisconsin seat". Los Angeles Times.
  4. ↑ Bustamante, Ernie (August 2, 2017). "Randy Bryce is the Candidate Latinos Have Been Waiting For". Medium. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Mettler, Katie (June 21, 2017). "This union ironworker wants Paul Ryan's job. He's got a great ad but a losing record". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  6. ↑ "The Fall of Wisconsin and the Rise of Randy Bryce". The New Yorker.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Murphy, Tim (November 1, 2017). "Can "the Iron Stache" Really Take Down Paul Ryan?". Mother Jones. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Randall Bryce, Democratic Candidate for 62nd State Assembly District Representative". Patch.com.
  9. 1 2 Kertscher, Tom (May 16, 2018). "Is IronStache Randy Bryce a politician?". @politifact. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Canvass Results for 2012 PARTISAN PRIMARY - 8/14/2012" (PDF). elections.wi.gov. August 14, 2012. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Canvass Results for 2014 GENERAL ELECTION - 11/4/2014" (PDF). elections.wi.gov. November 4, 2014. Retrieved July 12, 2018.
  12. 1 2 DePiero, Leah. "Ironworker announces run against Paul Ryan in 2018 with ad that's making Democrats cheer". Washington Examiner. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  13. ↑ Price, Lillian (June 19, 2017). "Democrat and iron worker Randy Bryce challenges Paul Ryan for Congress". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  14. ↑ Alex Moe; Hallie Jackson; Jane C. Timm; Rebecca Shabad (April 11, 2018). "House Speaker Paul Ryan won't seek re-election". NBC News. Retrieved August 12, 2018.
  15. ↑ Moore, Jack (June 26, 2017). "An Interview with Randy Bryce, the Wisconsin Iron Worker Who Wants to Bring Down Paul Ryan". GQ. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  16. 1 2 Freedlander, David (September 18, 2017). "I Am a Working-Class Guy". Slate. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  17. 1 2 3 Jones, Sarah (June 22, 2017). ""I'm A Working Person. That's My Life": A Q&A with Paul Ryan Challenger Randy Bryce". New Republic. Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Justice Democrats Candidates". now.justicedemocrats.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Candidates". Justice Democrats. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  20. ↑ Glauber, Bill (November 13, 2017). "Bernie Sanders endorses Randy Bryce in congressional bid against Paul Ryan". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 14, 2017.
  21. 1 2 Sandler Clarke, Joe (April 12, 2018). "Meet the trade unionist hoping to replace Paul Ryan: "I don't blame him for running scared"". New Statesman. Retrieved April 13, 2018.
  22. ↑ Bice, Daniel (November 30, 2017). "Bice: Paul Ryan challenger Randy Bryce finally pays off debt - 15 years late". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  23. ↑ Nicholas Confessore; Gabriel J.X. Dance; Richard Harris; Mark Hansen (January 27, 2018). "The Follower Factory". The New York Times. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  24. ↑ Bice, Daniel (November 7, 2017). "Bice: Candidate Randy Bryce paid off delinquent child support after entering race against Paul Ryan". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  25. ↑ Nichols, John (February 12, 2018). "Randy Bryce's Campaign Is Not Just Pro-Union—It's Unionized". The Nation. Retrieved April 15, 2018.
  26. ↑ Cullerton, Brendan (September 4, 2017). "Hundreds rally for higher wages on Labor Day". CBS58. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  27. ↑ Waldman, Paul (July 6, 2017). "The dumbest criticism of single payer health care". Washington Post. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
  28. ↑ Stern, Mark Joseph (April 4, 2018). "Randy Bryce Wants to Abolish ICE". Slate. Retrieved April 14, 2018.
  29. ↑ McDermott, Nathan. "Democrat running for Paul Ryan's seat has history of arrests, including DUI". CNN. Retrieved July 13, 2018.
  30. ↑ Canvass Results for 2012 Partisan Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 14, 2012. p. 47. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  31. ↑ Canvass Results for 2012 Presidential and General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 6, 2012. p. 23. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  32. ↑ Canvass Results for 2014 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 4, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  33. ↑ Canvass Results for 2018 Partisan Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 14, 2018. pp. 9, 10. Retrieved March 26, 2019.
  34. ↑ Canvass Results for 2018 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 6, 2018. p. 3. Retrieved March 26, 2019.

Further reading

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