Ryan Primary Win Disappointment to Americans Wanting Less Immigration, Refugee Resettlement Abroad

House Speaker Paul Ryan’s easy primary win over challenger Paul Nehlen could have been predicted. Issues that concern Californians for Population Stabilization, its members and other border state residents – over-immigration, the ensuing overcrowding and a reckless refugee resettlement plan that President Obama embraces and Ryan enables – don’t resonate as loudly in Wisconsin’s District 1 as they do elsewhere in the nation.

Wisconsin’s indifference to immigration made a David Brat (R-VA)-type upset unlikely from the beginning. Brat, in a 2014 primary election, defeated then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor. But, unlike Wisconsin, Virginia’s demographic profile looks more like California with each passing day, something Brat campaigned on to his advantage.

Ryan wins Wisconsin District 1, but not the hearts and minds of American public.

Ryan’s 17-1 fundraising advantage, his name recognition and his incumbency since 1998 made Nehlen’s odds even longer. In the last 50 years, the re-election results for a House incumbent have never been lower than 85 percent, and have been as high as 97 percent.

An aside: even though Ryan represents a tiny congressional district that has only 713,000 people and won a mere 182,000 votes in the 2014 general election, as House speaker he holds one of the most powerful positions on Capitol Hill, and is No. 2 behind the vice president in the presidential succession line.

Wisconsin District 1 voters may not understand the consequences of too much immigration, the lost quality of life that overcrowding creates and the Obama/Ryan politically driven but deeply flawed refugee resettlement program, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t see the urgency of more sustainable policies. The CAPS’ Action Alert page offers opportunities to demand that Congress mandate E-Verify, which Ryan could help bring to the House floor for a full vote to protect American jobs, end sanctuary cities and implement a more compassionate approach to refugee resettlement.