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Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District

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Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District
Incumbent
Assumed office: May 19, 2020

Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives is represented by Tom Tiffany (R).

As of the 2020 Census, Wisconsin representatives represented an average of 737,184 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 712,279 residents.

Elections

2024

See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District election, 2024

Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 13 Democratic primary)

Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District election, 2024 (August 13 Republican primary)

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Incumbent Tom Tiffany defeated Kyle Kilbourn in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Tiffany
Tom Tiffany (R)
 
63.6
 
273,553
Image of Kyle Kilbourn
Kyle Kilbourn (D) Candidate Connection
 
36.4
 
156,524
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
307

Total votes: 430,384
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Kyle Kilbourn defeated Elsa Duranceau in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kyle Kilbourn
Kyle Kilbourn Candidate Connection
 
58.0
 
32,917
Image of Elsa Duranceau
Elsa Duranceau Candidate Connection
 
41.9
 
23,795
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
63

Total votes: 56,775
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Incumbent Tom Tiffany advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Tiffany
Tom Tiffany
 
99.4
 
78,503
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.6
 
449

Total votes: 78,952
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2022

See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District election, 2022

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Incumbent Tom Tiffany defeated Richard Ausman in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Tiffany
Tom Tiffany (R)
 
61.9
 
209,224
Image of Richard Ausman
Richard Ausman (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.1
 
128,877
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
167

Total votes: 338,268
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Richard Ausman advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Richard Ausman
Richard Ausman Candidate Connection
 
99.8
 
43,265
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
67

Total votes: 43,332
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Incumbent Tom Tiffany defeated David Kunelius in the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Tiffany
Tom Tiffany
 
86.6
 
80,675
David Kunelius
 
13.4
 
12,456
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
52

Total votes: 93,183
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2020

Regular

See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District election, 2020

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Incumbent Tom Tiffany defeated Tricia Zunker in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Tiffany
Tom Tiffany (R)
 
60.7
 
252,048
Image of Tricia Zunker
Tricia Zunker (D)
 
39.2
 
162,741
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
218

Total votes: 415,007
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Tricia Zunker advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tricia Zunker
Tricia Zunker
 
99.9
 
51,139
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
50

Total votes: 51,189
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Incumbent Tom Tiffany advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Tiffany
Tom Tiffany
 
99.7
 
62,142
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.3
 
176

Total votes: 62,318
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Special

See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District special election, 2020

General election

Special general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Tom Tiffany defeated Tricia Zunker in the special general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on May 12, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Tiffany
Tom Tiffany (R)
 
57.1
 
109,498
Image of Tricia Zunker
Tricia Zunker (D)
 
42.9
 
82,135

Total votes: 191,633
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary election

Special Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Tricia Zunker defeated Lawrence Dale in the special Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on February 18, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tricia Zunker
Tricia Zunker
 
88.9
 
35,577
Image of Lawrence Dale
Lawrence Dale
 
11.0
 
4,388
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
34

Total votes: 39,999
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Special Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Tom Tiffany defeated Jason Church and Michael Opela Sr. in the special Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on February 18, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Tiffany
Tom Tiffany
 
57.4
 
43,714
Image of Jason Church
Jason Church
 
42.5
 
32,339
Michael Opela Sr. (Write-in)
 
0.0
 
18
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
29

Total votes: 76,100
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2018

See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Incumbent Sean Duffy defeated Margaret Engebretson and Ken Driessen in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sean Duffy
Sean Duffy (R)
 
60.1
 
194,061
Image of Margaret Engebretson
Margaret Engebretson (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.5
 
124,307
Image of Ken Driessen
Ken Driessen (Direct Participatory Democracy Party)
 
1.4
 
4,416
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
3

Total votes: 322,787
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Margaret Engebretson defeated Brian Ewert in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Margaret Engebretson
Margaret Engebretson Candidate Connection
 
57.3
 
27,194
Image of Brian Ewert
Brian Ewert
 
42.7
 
20,285

Total votes: 47,479
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7

Incumbent Sean Duffy advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 7 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Sean Duffy
Sean Duffy
 
100.0
 
60,708

Total votes: 60,708
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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2016

See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Sean Duffy (R) defeated Mary Hoeft (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Duffy defeated Donald Raihala in the Republican primary, while Hoeft defeated Joel Lewis to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on August 9, 2016.[1][2]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngSean Duffy Incumbent 61.7% 223,418
     Democratic Mary Hoeft 38.3% 138,643
Total Votes 362,061
Source: Wisconsin Elections Commission


U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngSean Duffy Incumbent 89.5% 29,501
Donald Raihala 10.5% 3,456
Total Votes 32,957
Source: Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commission
U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMary Hoeft 80.7% 27,289
Joel Lewis 19.3% 6,531
Total Votes 33,820
Source: Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commission

2014

See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District elections, 2014

The 7th Congressional District of Wisconsin held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Sean Duffy (R) defeated Kelly Westlund (D) and Lawrence Dale (G) in the general election.

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngSean Duffy Incumbent 59.3% 169,891
     Democratic Kelly Westlund 39.4% 112,949
     Green Lawrence Dale 1.3% 3,686
     Independent Rob Taylor - Write-in 0% 30
     Republican John Schiess - Write-in 0% 5
     N/A Scattering 0% 42
Total Votes 286,603
Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

2012

See also: Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012

The 7th Congressional District of Wisconsin held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 6, 2012. Incumbent Sean Duffy won re-election in the district.[3]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2012
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Pat Kreitlow 43.8% 157,524
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngSean Duffy Incumbent 56.1% 201,720
     Independent Dale Lehner 0% 20
     Miscellaneous N/A 0.1% 405
Total Votes 359,669
Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" (dead link)

2010
On November 2, 2010, Sean Duffy won election to the United States House. He defeated Julie M. Lassa (D) and Gary Kauther (Independent No War No Bailout) in the general election.[4]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngSean Duffy 52.1% 132,551
     Democratic Julie M. Lassa 44.4% 113,018
     Independent No War No Bailout Gary Kauther 3.3% 8,397
     N/A Scattering 0.2% 423
Total Votes 254,389


2008
On November 4, 2008, David R. Obey won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Dan Mielke (R) in the general election.[5]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2008
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDavid R. Obey incumbent 62.6% 212,666
     Republican Dan Mielke 37.4% 126,938
     Scattering 0.1% 233
Total Votes 339,837


2006
On November 7, 2006, David R. Obey won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Nick Reid (R) and Mike Miles (Wisconsin Green Party) in the general election.[6]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2006
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDavid R. Obey incumbent 62.2% 161,903
     Republican Nick Reid 35% 91,069
     Green Party Mike Miles 2.8% 7,391
     Scattering 0% 65
Total Votes 260,428


2004
On November 2, 2004, David R. Obey won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Mike Miles (Wisconsin Green) and Larry Oftedahl (Constitution Party) in the general election.[7]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2004
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDavid R. Obey incumbent 85.6% 241,306
     Green Party Mike Miles 9.4% 26,518
     Constitution Party Larry Oftedahl 4.6% 12,841
     Scattering 0.4% 1,087
Total Votes 281,752


2002
On November 5, 2002, David R. Obey won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Joe Rothbauer (R) in the general election.[8]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2002
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDavid R. Obey incumbent 64.2% 146,364
     Republican Joe Rothbauer 35.8% 81,518
     Scattering 0% 73
Total Votes 227,955


2000
On November 7, 2000, David R. Obey won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Sean Cronin (R) in the general election.[9]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 7 General Election, 2000
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngDavid R. Obey incumbent 63.3% 173,007
     Republican Sean Cronin 36.7% 100,264
     Scattering 0.1% 189
Total Votes 273,460


District map

Redistricting

2020-2021

See also: Redistricting in Wisconsin after the 2020 census

Wisconsin enacted its congressional districts on March 3, 2022, when the Wisconsin Supreme Court approved congressional proposals submitted by Gov. Tony Evers (D). Evers vetoed a legislatively-approved congressional district map on November 18.[10] Those maps had passed the state Senate on November 8, 2021, by a 21-12 vote split along party lines, with all Republicans in the chamber voting for the proposal and all Democrats voting against it. They had passed the House on November 11 by a 60-38 party-line vote.[11][12]

After Evers' veto, the Wisconsin Supreme Court assumed control of the drafting process, as the court had agreed in September to decide new districts if the legislature and governor failed to do so.[13] On November 30, the court announced it would seek to make as few changes as possible to the current legislative and congressional maps adopted in 2011.[14] Evers submitted a congressional district map proposal to the supreme court on December 15.[15]

On January 10, 2022, the court issued a 4-3 ruling in which it denied congressional Republicans' request to submit an additional, amended map for the court's consideration and granted Evers the ability to make corrections to the map he submitted.[16] On March 3, 2022, the court adopted Evers' proposal.[17] This map took effect for Wisconsin's 2022 congressional elections.



How does redistricting in Wisconsin work? In Wisconsin, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Wisconsin State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[18]

The Wisconsin Constitution requires that state legislative districts be compact and "that they be bounded by county, precinct, town, or ward lines where possible." The state constitution further stipulates that state legislative districts should be contiguous.[18]

Wisconsin District 7
until January 2, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Wisconsin District 7
starting January 3, 2023

Click a district to compare boundaries.

2010-2011

This is the 7th Congressional District of Wisconsin after the 2001 redistricting process.
See also: Redistricting in Wisconsin after the 2010 census

In 2011, the Wisconsin State Legislature re-drew the congressional districts based on updated population information from the 2010 census.

In redistricting, The Hill published a list of the Top Ten House Members who were helped by redistricting.[19] Duffy ranked 7th on the list.[19] The article notes that Republican state legislators traded some of the Democratic leaning areas with Republican areas, "making the district a toss-up and giving him a better chance of holding on to the seat."[19]

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index
See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

2026

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Wisconsin's 7th the 112th most Republican district nationally.[20]

2024

Heading into the 2024 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+12. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 12 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Wisconsin's 7th the 118th most Republican district nationally.[21]

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Donald Trump (R) would have defeated Joe Biden (D) 59.2%-39.3%.[22]

2022

Heading into the 2022 elections, based on results from the 2020 and 2016 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+12. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 12 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Wisconsin's 7th the 121st most Republican district nationally.[23]

Daily Kos calculated what the results of the 2020 presidential election in this district would have been following redistricting. Joe Biden (D) would have received 39.3% of the vote in this district and Donald Trump (R) would have received 59.2%.[24]

2018

Heading into the 2018 elections, based on results from the 2016 and 2012 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+8. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 8 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District the 167th most Republican nationally.[25]

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.02. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.02 points toward that party.[26]

See also

External links


Footnotes

  1. Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 2, 2016
  2. Politico, "Wisconsin House Primaries Results," August 9, 2016
  3. Politico, "2012 Election Map, Wisconsin," accessed November 11, 2012
  4. U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
  5. U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 4, 2008," accessed March 28, 2013
  6. U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2006," accessed March 28, 2013
  7. U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2004," accessed March 28, 2013
  8. U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 5, 2002," accessed March 28, 2013
  9. U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 7, 2000," accessed March 28, 2013
  10. WPR, "Evers vetoes Republican-drawn redistricting maps," November 18, 2021
  11. WIZM News, "GOP-led Wisconsin Senate OKs their own redistricting plan," November 8, 2021
  12. Wisconsin Public Radio, "Assembly passes Republican-drawn political maps," November 11, 2021
  13. Wisconsin State Journal, "Wisconsin Supreme Court takes redistricting lawsuit filed by conservatives," September 23, 2021
  14. The Hill, "Wisconsin Supreme Court hands win to GOP in key ruling on new congressional maps," November 30, 2021
  15. Wisconsin Examiner, "Gov. Evers submits ‘least changes’ map to state Supreme Court," December 15, 2021
  16. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin Supreme Court won't let Republicans in Congress offer a second redistricting plan," January 10, 2022
  17. Associated Press, "Wisconsin Supreme Court adopts governor’s redistricting maps," March 3, 2022
  18. 18.0 18.1 All About Redistricting, "Wisconsin," accessed May 7, 2015
  19. 19.0 19.1 19.2 The Hill, "House members most helped by redistricting," accessed April 17, 2012
  20. Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
  21. Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed January 10, 2024
  22. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts," accessed September 15, 2022
  23. Cook Political Report, "The 2022 Cook Partisan Voting Index (Cook PVI℠)," accessed February 6, 2023
  24. Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2020 presidential results by congressional district, for new and old districts," accessed September 15, 2022
  25. Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  26. FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018


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Tony Wied (R)
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