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2018 is not looking like it will be a good year for Republicans.

A month after deep-red Alabama voted for a Democratic senator, a deep-red Wisconsin district rejected a Republican candidate for a state Senate seat.

Patty Schachtner picked up 55 percent of the vote to defeat Republican Rep. Adam Jarchow. She credited the win to her message: “Be kind, be considerate and we need to help people when they’re down,” she told the Associated Press. She said that “negative mailings” against her from third-party groups likely influenced voters to rally around her.

Schachtner’s win is sending alarm bells off in Republican circles, as the district has traditionally been a Republican stronghold. It was carried by Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential election — even though he lost Wisconsin overall, as well as by Donald Trump (by a 55-38 margin) during the 2016 presidential election. Even John McCain came close to winning the district during the 2008 presidential election, though Barack Obama managed to win Wisconsin without difficulty.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called the loss “a wake-up call for Republicans.”

Senate District 10 special election win by a Democrat is a wake up call for Republicans in Wisconsin.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) January 17, 2018

WAKE UP CALL: Can’t presume that voters know we are getting positive things done in Wisconsin. Help us share the good news.

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) January 17, 2018

Schachtner — once the chief medical examiner for St. Croix County and someone who appeared on the reality TV show “Wife Swap” — was not willing to openly attribute her victory to public dissatisfaction with Trump.

“I’m just worried about western Wisconsin right now. Right now, in western Wisconsin, Wisconsin values is what keeps us going,” Schachtner told the Journal Sentinel.

Schachtner’s upset victory is without question an ominous sign for Republicans in the state, as Wisconsin columnist Christian Schneider noted:

Some inside stuff on #SD10 – You know how everyone always talks about GOP dominance in Waukesha County? Well, St. Croix County is the Waukesha County of the Twin Cities. If Rs lose it, it's catastrophic.

— Christian Schneider (@Schneider_CM) January 17, 2018

In a down year, even Romney won St. Croix County by 12. It's basically wealthy suburban Republicans who have fled the Twin Cities, but it looks like the GOP may quickly be losing them.

— Christian Schneider (@Schneider_CM) January 17, 2018

In WI’s #SD10 race, the Republican (Jarchow) actually did well in the eastern, rural, working-class areas of the district – what we would consider to be “Trump country.” But in the wealthy GOP areas bordering the Mississippi River, it was a bloodbath for the GOP.

— Christian Schneider (@Schneider_CM) January 17, 2018

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