Kagen Leads in Three Key Counties

With just over a third of the vote reporting district wide, Dem Dr. Steve Kagen had a slight edge of 52 percent to 48 percent over Republican John Gard, but the Dem leads by significant margins in three key counties.

In the GOP-leaning Brown County, Kagen held a three-point lead with over 80 percent reporting.

Kagen spokeswoman Stephanie Lundberg said it was important for Kagen to be competitive in Brown County, but she suggested that the election may hinge on Outagamie and Door County, where many independent voters reside.

With nearly all precincts reporting in Door County, Kagen led Gard 54 percent to 45 percent. Meanwhile, in Outagamie County, Kagen held a 10-point lead over Gard with most precincts in.

Lundberg said she was "really happy" with the early results and predicted it was going to be a long night.

"We had a great program. The polls last week were showing it was neck and neck, so we needed to get out the vote to get that final push," said Lundberg.

Gard spokesman Brandon Rosner said the results do not show victory for Kagen as key precincts have yet to come in. "We have not seen a vote from Marinette County, we're expected to do pretty well up there," he said.

Rosner added, "A lot of rural areas in Outagamie and Brown County have yet to come in as well. ... A lot of what we've seen is what we expected and I think it's going to be a long night," Rosner added.

-- By Tim Maylander, Joe Ahlers and Alec Loftus