NEW RICHMOND, WI — One year ago, Chris Armstrong walked out of his house, drove to the corner of Highways 64 and 65 in downtown New Richmond, and stood there by himself holding a homemade protest sign.
No crowd. No campaign. No plan. Just a guy who had hit his limit.
“I had to get out of the house and do something,” Armstrong said. “I was enraged by the illegal and unconstitutional executive orders and what Elon Musk was doing to the federal government. I needed to act before I broke something or pulled out what little hair I have left.”
That solo stand in February 2025 turned out to be the first domino.
Armstrong began attending Democratic Party meetings in St. Croix and Polk counties, canvassed New Richmond ahead of the April 1st Supreme Court election, and watched Susan Crawford win with a 10-point swing to the left.
Riding that momentum, he created a local Hands Off protest event, and when the day came, more than 250 people showed up at the same intersection where he had stood alone 7 weeks earlier. Democrats, Republicans, and Independents together.
He went on to found the New Richmond chapter of Indivisible and filed his FEC paperwork to run for Congress in WI-07 shortly thereafter.
“Like a lot of Americans, I spent years putting up a lawn sign, writing a small check every now and then, showing up to vote and telling myself I had done my part,” Armstrong said. “The last year woke me up to how wrong I was about that. I have spent every day since building something real in this community, and now I am taking that fight to Congress. The people of this district are ready for a representative who is actually one of them. 2026 is the Year of the People.”
To learn more or get involved, visit https://www.armstrongforwisconsin.com/