James Sensenbrenner re-elected to 19th term in U.S. House of Representatives

MILWAUKEE (AP) — U.S. Rep. James Sensenbrenner has been elected to a 19th term in the U.S. House.

The Menomonee Falls Republican first elected in 1978 defeated Democrat Chris Rockwood, a Wauwatosa engineer, on Tuesday.

Sensenbrenner was the chief architect of the 2001 USA Patriot Act, which expanded government surveillance powers, but in recent years has expressed concern about the National Security Agency overstepping its bounds.

He also clashed earlier this year with Republican Sen. Ron Johnson over a lawsuit Johnson filed challenging how the new health care law applies to Congress. Sensenbrenner opposes the Affordable Care Act but describes Johnson's lawsuit as a political stunt.

A federal judge later dismissed the suit.