Former La Crosse County board chair Tara Johnson wins Wisconsin Assembly primary, now faces Republican Loren Oldenburg

Tara Johnson won a Democratic primary Tuesday for Wisconsin’s state Assembly in District 96.

Johnson, who was the first-ever woman to chair the La Crosse County Board, won with over 74% of the over 8,500 votes cast.

She got 86% of that vote in La Crosse County, and won by a narrower margin in Vernon County with about 60%.

Campbell is a Viroqua native and owns businesses there.

Johnson moves on to face Republican Loren Oldenburg in the fall election.

Oldenburg is running for his fourth term but the district is somewhat new to him with map changes. It now includes the south side of La Crosse.

Both candidates have recently been on La Crosse Talk PM — Johnson in late July, while Oldenburg joined early last month.