Democratic officials in Wisconsin are rallying around state Sen. Julie Lassa for the seat of retiring Rep. David Obey (D).

“Julie Lassa will be our nominee, and we will win the 7th Congressional district of Wisconsin,” a senior Democratic Party source said Monday.

Most Democrats said they wanted to avoid a contested primary election on Sept. 14, just seven weeks before a general election in which likely Republican nominee Sean Duffy, a county prosecutor, has a significant head start.

Lassa, 39, was first elected to the Wisconsin Assembly in 1998 and moved over to the state Senate in 2003, when she won a special election. Lassa doesn’t have to surrender her state legislative seat to run for Congress.