Paul Ryan Scores Easy Primary Victory Over GOP Challenger

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has handily defeated a longshot Republican primary challenger in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District.

The Associated Press called the race for Ryan over Delavan businessman Paul Nehlen roughly 30 minutes after the polls closed Tuesday night.

Ryan earned 84 percent of the votes after wielding 57,391 votes to Nehlen’s 10,852 votes, according to the Associated Press.

Ryan’s victory was widely expected. The Janesville incumbent enjoys high approval ratings among GOP voters in his district and led consistently in polls leading up to Tuesday’s vote.

Still, the race attracted its share of drama on the national level thanks to Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s social media praise for Nehlen and Trump’s initial reluctance to officially back Ryan, the highest-ranking elected GOP official in the nation.

Trump eventually endorsed the speaker during a campaign event late last week in Green Bay.

Nehlen’s attempt to unseat Ryan focused heavily on charges that the incumbent had a weak stance on immigration. Nehlen also attacked Ryan on his support for international trade agreements.

At a press conference in Janesville after the race was called, Ryan downplayed the seriousness of the challenge, telling reporters,”We knew we were going to do well. We received the vote we were hoping and expecting to get all along … The outcome is exactly what we were hoping for.”

Ryan largely sidestepped Nehlen altogether in his remarks, instead characterizing the landslide win as a referendum on his own job performance.

“I want to thank my employers, the people I work for here in the 1st Congressional District, for hiring me to fight on their behalf,” he said. “I simply want to say thank you very much for your confidence. I appreciate it.”

Ryan also took the opportunity to bring up the presidential race, criticizing the Obama administration and saying Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton would continue similar policies.

Shamane Mills contributed reporting to this story.