Waldschmidt Wins Race for Sheriff

Captain Ryan Waldschmidt may soon be known as Sheriff Ryan Waldschmidt. The twenty-year veteran of the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Office won the Republican primary race for the position in a landslide over Deputy Mike Norton on Tuesday, receiving about 82-percent of the votes in the county. 

Speaking with KFIZ News, Waldschmidt says “it’s humbling to have all the support I had, a lot of coworkers here – a lot of family, a lot of friends – and it’s been a great night, a great experience throughout the campaign really. And just being part of it and having all of that support. The pinnacle of all of that work and all that support kind of peaked tonight and again, I don’t know how else to describe it but surreal.”

He also tells us he’s proud of the way he ran, “you know, running a good, clean campaign with a positive message and
the experience I had to offer – the hard work through the course of my career
certainly paid off. And again, the voters turned out and supported that.”

He will run unopposed in an election for the sheriff position in November.

Waldschmidt explains “technically I won’t become the sheriff-elect until November and then
after that in January – early January – is when the current sheriff, Mick Fink,
will retire and then I will be sworn in as the 59th Sheriff of Fond
du Lac County.”

During the campaign, Waldschmidt was endorsed by former Sheriff Jim Gilmore and current Sheriff Mick Fink, along with several county officials and other members of local law enforcement. 

We also reached out to Norton, but have yet to receive comment.