Five backed by Koch brothers group win seats, 4 lose in county split by plan for huge mine
In a sparsely populated northern Wisconsin county where residents are split over a proposed open pit iron mine, five pro-mining candidates prevailed in Tuesday's county board election after receiving last-minute help from a well-funded national conservative group.
Four others, however, were defeated in Iron County Board elections despite aggressive support from the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, which was founded by billionaire businessmen David and Charles Koch.
The proposed mine would run for more than 4 miles through the Penokee Hills in the northeast portion of the state. Proponents say a mine would bring jobs, while critics say recently relaxed state regulations may not protect the environment.
Five AFP-backed incumbents won. Three other AFP-supported incumbents lost along with one challenger who had the group's backing. AFP didn't indicate a preference in the other contested race.
Losses by incumbents are unusual in a county where the election clerk can't remember the last time anyone even filed to challenge an board member in an election. But Bob Seitz, a spokesman for the Gogebic Taconite mining company, said the most vocally anti-mine challengers lost. Seitz said the current board has been cooperative.
"The three new board members, I don’t have a lot of history with any of them," Seitz said.
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