Borup beats Plunkett for Wisconsin State Assembly

The primary elections for the Wisconsin State Assembly were held in the University Center on Sept. 14.

The race for Assembly District 30 featured two men, Matt Borup and Ben Plunkett, both of whom are representatives of the Democratic party.

Borup, a native of the River Valley area, came out victorious over his opponent, winning the election with 69 percent of the vote total.

Borup said that the victory was no easy task, and that preparation is something that you have to do until the point of exhaustion.

“It’s simply about how many hours you can spend talking with people who are in the same district,” Borup said. “ It comes down to talking about issues that are important to the people that surround you everyday.”

Borup said that the election process is demanding and something that requires a lot of time.

“Up front, we did a lot of studying and research about the issues that are important not only to us, but to the people around us as well,” Borup said.

Borup said that putting together a good campaign is about finding people that you can trust and who you know will work hard.

“You have to have people that you can relate to on a personal level,” Borup said. “There are going to be mistakes along the line and you need good people there to catch them.”

Bridget Hieb, deputy clerk for the city of River Falls, said that the planning for an event of this nature starts months in advance.

“Planning for an election starts months before the actual day,” Hieb said. “There is such a wide range of activities that take place to prepare for an election.”

Small details about voting lines and locations are at the head of the planning process.

“River Falls lies within two counties, so our office must work with both county clerks,” Hieb said. “Residents must vote at the proper location according to where they live.”

Hieb said that the maintenance of voter records and machine testing are all things that go into planning the host of an election.

“Notices must be published, write-in ballots are sent to over-seas and military electors and absentee ballots are sent to those who request them,” Hieb said.

Hieb said that the UC location has 2,595 registered voters and is one of four voting locations in River Falls.

“For the September primary, the turnout was about 4 percent for the University Center,” Hieb said.

Borup was not available for comment about his campaign plans in the time leading up to the election.

Borup said that he could not be happier about the results of the primary. He said that this is a matter of passion for him.

“I love this area in Wisconsin,” Borup said. “For me it is really about getting a chance to stand up for the area and the people in the area, as well as what they believe in and care about, so I am very proud to be doing this.”