April Legislative Update 

Waiting for the Maps

The Wisconsin Legislature is adjourned and before campaign season can start to really ramp up there is one essential outstanding question – what are the legislative districts? The saga of Wisconsin’s redistricting – which occurs once every decade – continues to be in limbo after the United States Supreme Court ordered the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider its decision adopting state legislative maps proposed by Gov. Tony Evers at the end of March.

The issue of redistricting went before the Wisconsin Supreme Court after the Republican-led Legislature and Democratic Gov. Evers reached an impasse and could not agree on new legislative or congressional maps. In a March 3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court adopted the redistricting plan proposed by Gov. Evers for both state legislative and congressional districts. The court’s order directed the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) to begin using the new maps for the 2022 primary and general elections.

Republican legislative leaders immediately appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court. The core legal issue raised by legislative Republicans and considered by the U.S. Supreme Court is whether Gov. Evers’ legislative maps comply with the federal Voting Rights Act (VRA) and related equal protection jurisprudence. The decision from the U.S. Supreme Court now kicks it back to the Wisconsin Supreme Court to issue maps that satisfy the VRA while also being racially neutral.

The decision is expected any day now and could be already issued by the time of this publication circulating.

Who’s Not Retiring? 

Tis the season for legislators to announce their candidacy for a different office or decide it is time to step away from politics. These days, it seems like there is an announcement every day – look the running list of retirements to see if your legislator will change in 2023. 

Senate

  • District 5: Dale Kooyenga (R) was moved out of the 5th Senate District due to redistricting and will not seek reelection if the new maps approved by the Wisconsin Supreme Court remain in place.
  • District 15: Janis Ringhand (D) will not seek reelection.
  • District 19: Roger Roth (R) is running for lieutenant governor.
  • District 23: Kathy Bernier (R) will not seek reelection.
  • District 25: Janet Bewley (D) will not seek reelection.
  • District 27: Jon Erpenbach (D) will not seek reelection.
  • District 29: Jerry Petrowski (R) will not seek reelection.
  • Sens. Lena Taylor (D-4) and Patrick Testin (R-24) are running for lieutenant governor but will retain their seat if they lose because only odd-numbered Senate seats are up for election this year.

Assembly

  • District 5: Jim Steineke (R) will not seek reelection.
  • District 6: Gary Tauchen (R) will not seek reelection.
  • District 10: David Bowen (D) is running for lieutenant governor.
  • District 13: Sara Rodriguez (D) is running for lieutenant governor.
  • District 15: Joe Sanfelippo (R) will not seek reelection.
  • District 27: Tyler Vorpagel (R) will not seek reelection.
  • District 31: Amy Loudenbeck (R) is running for secretary of state.
  • District 33: Cody Horlacher (R) will not seek reelection and plans to run for Waukesha County Circuit Court.
  • District 45: Mark Spreitzer (D) is running for the open Senate seat in District 15.
  • District 46: Gary Hebl (D) will not seek reelection.
  • District 52: Jeremy Thiesfeldt (R) will not seek reelection.
  • District 54: Gordon Hintz (D) will not seek reelection.
  • District 55: Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R) is running for the open Senate seat in District 19.
  • District 59: Tim Ramthun (R) is running for governor.
  • District 61: Samantha Kerkman (R) won the race for Kenosha County Executive on April 5 and must resign from the Assembly within 60 days of the date the election is certified.
  • District 68: Jesse James (R) is running for the open Senate seat in District 23.
  • District 73: Nick Milroy (D) will not seek reelection.
  • District 74: Beth Meyers (D) will not seek reelection.
  • District 79: Dianne Hesselbein (D) is running for the open Senate seat in District 27.
  • District 80: Sondy Pope (D) will not seek reelection.
  • District 82: Ken Skowronski (R) will not seek reelection.
  • District 84: Mike Kuglitsch (R) will not seek reelection.