House Speaker Paul Ryan wins Wisconsin primary

House Speaker Paul Ryan.
(Image credit: Getty Images)

On Tuesday, House Speaker Paul Ryan (Wis.) easily beat his Republican primary challenger, a water filtration company executive who received national attention after being praised by GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.

With 86.5 percent of precincts reporting, Ryan has 84.2 percent of the vote, compared to challenger Paul Nehlen with 15.8 percent. Last week, Trump thanked Nehlen on Twitter for defending him amid his war of words with a Gold Star family; ultimately, Trump endorsed Ryan. Nehlen was backed by former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) and conservative commentator Ann Coulter, and ran to the right of Ryan, The Associated Press reports; he also said if Ryan wouldn't debate him, he should at least arm wrestle him.

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.