Over the past few weeks, more legislators have begun announcing their plans for the 2020 election cycle. Several legislators are retiring, while others are making the jump from the state legislature to Congress or from the state Assembly to state Senate.
As of 5/6/20
Rep. David Crowley (D-Milwaukee) plans to resign from his seat after being elected Milwaukee County Executive.
As of 4/24/20
Rep. Jason Fields (D-Milwaukee) announced he will not run for re-election in November.
As of 4/8/2020
Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) announced she won’t run for re-election this fall. Shilling was elected to the Senate in a special election in 2011 and previously served 11 years in the Assembly. Republican Dan Kapanke, the former state senator whom Shilling ousted in the 2011 recall election, had already announced a run in Senate District 32 this fall.
The longest serving legislator in the country, Sen. Fred Risser (D-Madison) announced his retirement after 64 years in the Legislature. Risser was elected to the Assembly in 1956 and moved to the Senate in 1962.
After Risser’s announcement, former state representative and Democratic candidate for governor Kelda Roys announced her run for Risser’s seat via Twitter. Three other Democratic candidates had already registered to run in Senate District 26: William Henry Davis III, Nada Elmikashfi, and Aisha Suraya Moe.
On the same day as Risser’s announcement, Rep. Chris Taylor (D-Madison) also announced she won’t run for Assembly District 76 again in November. Taylor was elected to the seat in 2011.
As of 3/17/2020
Rep. Romaine Quinn (R-Barron) announced he won’t run for re-election to AD 75.
As of 3/2/2020
Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon) announced he will retire at the end of the session after 26 years in the Legislature. Olsen was elected to the Senate in 2004 and had served in the Assembly for 10 years prior. After Olsen announced his retirement, Rep. Joan Ballweg (R-Markesan) announced she will run to replace him in Senate District 14.
Rep. Deb Kolste (D-Janesville) announced during the final Assembly floor session on Feb. 20 that she will not seek re-election to Assembly District 44.
Sen. Tom Tiffany (R-Minocqua) is running for Wisconsin’s 7th Congressional District in a special election this spring. After advancing from the Republican primary against Jason Church in February, Tiffany is likely to succeed in the general in May, leaving his state Senate seat open. Rep. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk) announced a run to replace Tiffany in Senate District 12.
As of 1/23/20
Sen. Mark Miller (D-Monona) announced he won’t run for re-election in 2020. Miller has served in the legislature since 1998. Rep. Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) plans to run for Miller’s seat.
After holding the seat for 20 years, Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) has announced he will not run for re-election in Senate District 30. Sen. Hansen’s nephew Jonathon Hansen has announced he will run for the open seat. SD 30 is potentially a target for Senate Republicans to flip, though no Republican candidate has announced yet.
Rep. Bob Kulp (R-Stratford) also recently announced his retirement from the legislature. Kulp was first elected to represent Assembly District 69 in a special election in November 2013.
Rep. Rob Stafsholt (R-New Richmond) has decided not to seek re-election in Assembly District 29 and instead will make a run for Senate District 10, currently held by Sen. Patty Schachtner (D-Somerset).
Rep. Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah) announced this summer that he will not seek re-election to Assembly District 55 in 2020. Instead, Rohrkaste will focus on his new appointment as executive director of the Fox Valley Memory Project.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) is running for Wisconsin’s 5th Congressional District. With Republican Matt Neumann declining a run, Fitzgerald faces no primary challenger, so the path is likely clear for a win in this heavily Republican seat. State Senate District 13 is not up for election this year, so a special election would be held to replace Fitzgerald. Read more about the 5th CD race.
Also running for Congress in 2020 is Rep. Amanda Stuck (D-Appleton), who is challenging U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Green Bay) for the 8th Congressional District. Following Stuck’s announcement, Lee Snodgrass announced she will run for Stuck’s open seat (Assembly District 57).
In the 2020 election Wisconsinites will vote in elections for:
- President
- All Assembly districts.
- Even-numbered Senate districts.
- All eight U.S. House districts.
- State Supreme Court (nonpartisan Spring election). Read more about the Supreme Court candidates here.
Wisconsin does not have a statewide gubernatorial or U.S. Senate race in 2020.
As the 2020 elections grow closer, keep an eye on the Hamilton Consulting Group blog for more Wisconsin 2020 election news.