Pro-life PAC celebrates Varnam's upset win in Wisconsin
How the pro-life vote factors into the general election remains to be seen.
Pro-Life Wisconsin's political arm is celebrating former Lancaster Mayor David Varnam's upset primary win for lieutenant governor, after the Republican made opposition to abortion a central pitch to GOP primary voters.
Varnam defeated Will Martin — a former aide to Govs. Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker who had the state Republican Party's own endorsement — 54.1% to 45.5% in Tuesday's primary, with 69% of the vote counted when The Associated Press called the race. He'll join U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who won the GOP nomination for governor in a landslide, on the fall ticket against Democrats Sarah Godlewski and David Crowley.
"Pro-Life Wisconsin congratulates David Varnam on a hard-won victory," said Matt Sande, director of the Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund PAC, which made Varnam its sole endorsement in the race. Sande said Varnam had "earned the trust and commitment of the pro-life electorate" over five years campaigning statewide, and that voters "appreciate his bold and consistent pro-life voice."
Pro-Life Wisconsin Victory Fund describes a "100 percent pro-life" position as acknowledging that “a human life begins at fertilization and that there may never be a legal exception to an innocent child’s inalienable right to life.”
Varnam, a former Focus on the Family policy analyst who lost a bid for the same office in 2022, said he drove more than 55,000 miles visiting nearly all of Wisconsin's 72 counties this campaign. He was also endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life and Wisconsin Family Action.
Dan Miller, a Victory Fund PAC board member, said five other pro-life-endorsed candidates also won primaries Tuesday, including secretary of state candidate Jay Schroeder. "Now it's time to redouble our efforts for the general election," Miller said.
But translating that approach into winning in the general election depends heavily on a state's political terrain. Wisconsin does not register voters by political party affiliation, but the Independent Voter Project lists a breakdown of 37.7% Republican, 31.1% Democrat, and 31.2% Independent. Additionally, a Pew Research Forum study from 2025 found that 67% of Wisconsinites favor abortion being legal in all or most cases, while 32% support it being illegal in all or most cases.
Wisconsin remains a closely divided battleground on the issue. The state's 1849 near-total abortion ban was struck down by the state Supreme Court's liberal majority in July 2025, leaving in place a 2015 law that bars most abortions after 20 weeks post-fertilization.
