State Sen. Leah Vukmir, of Brookfield, won the state GOP’s endorsement for U.S. Senate on Saturday, pulling nearly 73 percent of the vote.

That eclipsed the 60 percent threshold needed for the endorsement over business consultant and former Marine Kevin Nicholson.

The endorsement gives Vukmir access to party infrastructure such as fundraising lists and staff. That could be significant for the state lawmaker, who has trailed Nicholson in fundraising.

In accepting the endorsement, Vukmir thanked party activists, saying they can count on her.

“Let’s move forward. Let’s get this done. Let’s tell Tammy Baldwin it’s time for her to go home,” Vukmir said.

Immediately after the vote, Vukmir’s campaign called on Nicholson to drop out of the race, saying it was time “to respect the will of the people that have delivered Gov. Walker and Sen. Johnson into office time and time again.”

Spokesman Brandon Moody said Nicholson will continue to campaign and reach out to the “hundreds of thousands” of Republicans who will vote in the August primary.

“Nothing changes today,” Moody said. “Nothing changes at all.”

Vukmir had expressed confidence in recent weeks that she would win the endorsement. Nicholson, meanwhile, has focused on polls of GOP primary voting showing him leading the race by significant margins.

This post is part of our coverage of the 2018 state GOP convention in Milwaukee. See the rest of our coverage here: https://www.wispolitics.com/category/gop-convos/

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