2024 Wisconsin Senate election

The 2024 Wisconsin Senate election is scheduled to be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. Sixteen of the 33 seats in the Wisconsin Senate are up for election—the even-numbered districts. Currently, 22 Senate seats are held by Republicans, 10 seats are held by Democrats, one seat is vacant.

The primary election is scheduled for August 13, 2024. The filing deadline to appear on the ballot was June 3, 2024.

Background

This election will be significantly affected by the legislative maps drawn as a result of the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, which declared the current legislative district map to be unconstitutional on December 22, 2023. The court was in the process of selecting a remedial plan, when the legislature chose to embrace the remedial map proposal from Governor Tony Evers. Evers signed the plan into law on February 19, 2024.

Under the new maps, Democrats are expected to gain seats in the Senate, but they are not expected to be able to win a majority because only even-numbered seats are up for election in 2024. Five of the sixteen seats up for election have no incumbents. Both parties are expected to spend heavily on the competitive races this cycle.

Democrats last won a majority of seats in the state senate in the 2012 recall elections, but they last seated a majority of seats in a session after the 2008 elections.

PFAS Legislation

To combat the threat of PFAS contamination, the Wisconsin legislature included $125 million in the state budget. Despite this, Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) have refused to release the funds to be used by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). On April 9, Evers vetoed a piece of legislation which would have created grants to fight pollution due to PFAS chemicals, in explaining his veto, Evers cited the restrictions the legislation would have placed on the DNR to prosecute polluters. In vetoing the legislation, Evers also continued calling for the release of the $125 million which was set aside in the budget for combatting PFAS contamination. In response to Evers' veto, JFC members said they would hold the funds hostage.

On April 16, Evers called the JFC to session, but its Republican members refused to attend, denying the committee a quorum to do business. In response to this inaction, Wisconsin Democrats launched a six-figures campaign called "No More Games" which served the purpose to pressure and target members of the Committee from competitive districts. Among their targets were Senate Republicans Joan Ballweg, Howard Marklein, Duey Stroebel, and Eric Wimberger, from the 14th, 17th, 20th and 30th districts respectively.

Summary

Outgoing incumbents

Retiring

• Robert Cowles (R–Green Bay), the longest currently-serving Wisconsin legislator, representing district 2 since 1987, is retiring.

Seeking other office

• Melissa Agard (D–Madison), representing district 16 since 2020, will instead run for Dane County executive.
• Dan Knodl (R–Germantown), representing district 8 since 2023, announced in February 2024 that he would not seek reelection to the district after the 2024 redistricting put him in an incumbent-vs-incumbent matchup. Instead, Knodl will run for Wisconsin State Assembly in Wisconsin's 24th Assembly district.

Vacated

• Lena Taylor (D–Milwaukee), representing district 4 since 2004, resigned on January 26, 2024, after her appointment as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County.

Special elections

There will be one special election scheduled in 2024 for the Wisconsin state Senate.

Incumbents and candidates

Predictions

See also

• Redistricting in Wisconsin
  • Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
• 2024 Wisconsin elections
  • 2024 Wisconsin State Assembly election
• 2024 United States elections
• Elections in Wisconsin
• Wisconsin Senate

Notes

References

External links

• Wisconsin Elections Commission
• Wisconsin at Ballotpedia