Effective for April’s general elections

“Wisconsin enacted new maps for their state legislature that strike an even partisan balance between Democrats and Republicans.

“Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of Wisconsin signed into law Senate Bill 488 on Monday, which realigns the constituency boundaries for the Wisconsin State Assembly. The boundary maps, which were originally proposed by Evers to the state’s Supreme Court and legislature, will be effective for this year’s general election in November and are expected to make the state more politically competitive for both parties, according to the New York Times.”

“The maps are expected to yield 45 Democratic-leaning seats and 46 Republican-leaning seats, with eight seats being a tossup, the Times reported. Several incumbent assembly members will have their districts overlap under the change, which may require them to run against each other.”

Read the entire DAILY CALLER article here.

District lean percentages under Gov. Evers’ legislative maps

WisPolitics just compared the 2022 legislative maps and Gov. Tony Evers’ maps.

“Evers’ maps would provide a path to the majority for Dems after spending the last dozen years in deep minorities. Still, analysts believe it would take at least two cycles for Dems to have a chance to win control of the Senate and note factors such as the top of the ticket would play a role in the battle for the Assembly this fall,” the WisPolitics article stated.

New District Maps breakdown

Under the new Evers maps, Waupaca County has been divvied up into multiple districts, the vast majority going into the new Districts 6, 87, and 57.

The Villages of Iola and Scandinavia will join these townships of Harrison, Wyoming, Dupont, Iola, Helvetia, Union, and Scandinavia in District 87. Rep. Kevin Petersen and Sen. Joan Ballweg will no longer represent this area. The breakdown of District 87 demographics is as follows: Total voters 46,621 and 93.2% white, 11,820 Democratic voters and 18,320 Republican voters with Other at 585. The townships in Portage County included in the new district now have Katrina Shankland as Assemblyperson. She will represent District 71 until 2025 and will not run for re-election to the Assembly, according to her office.

Waupaca County townships now in District 57, which is Peterson’s new district, includes St. Lawrence, Manawa, Royalton, Weyauwega, Fremont, Lind, Caledonia, and Dayton.

Going in the new District 6 are Waupaca County townships Mukwa, Lebanon, Bear Creek, Larabee, and Matteson.

As far as political balance, the three new districts are heavily Republican: District 6 35% Democrat and 63% GOP, District 57 34.7% Democrat and 63.4% Republican, and District 87 38.5% Democrat and 59.6% Republican.

Joel Bartel, Waupaca County Republican Party chair, sent an email to party members stating, “This letter is about the recent redistricting legislation signed into law by Governor Tony Evers on February 19th, 2024. We the people of Waupaca County Republican party, residents of the State of Wisconsin strongly disagree with the recent decision by Governor Tony Evers and the Wisconsin State Legislature to redraw the state Assembly and Senate Districts that represent Waupaca County. Waupaca County Residents are being appointed a Senator by Tony Evers and the State Legislature by the removal of Waupaca County’s elected Senator Joan Ballweg district, whose term would end the fall of 2024. Instead, Governor Tony Evers and the State Legislature has appointed a non-elected Senator until 2026 for Waupaca County through redistricting. Because of this action the Residents of Waupaca County are now being disenfranchised by not being able to vote for their State Senator the fall of 2024 when election would be held in Waupaca County. This is clearly a violation of the rights of the citizens of Waupaca County to vote for their State Senate Representative every 4 years. We the People of the Waupaca County Republican Party call on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court to step in and overturn the redistricting maps that disenfranchise the voting rights of the residents of Waupaca County.”

Assembly District comparison

Incumbent pairings under Evers’ maps have the following, according to WisPolitics: 15 pairs, 12 GOP-GOP, 1 Dem-Dem, 3 Dem-GOP, 15 open seats.

2^nd Assembly was 59.1% GOP, Evers map 62.8% GOP. Two Republicans contend against each other.

3^rd Assembly was 58% GOP, Evers map 63.5% GOP. Two Republicans contend against each other.

4^th Assembly was 54.4% GOP, Evers maps 66% GOP. Two Republicans are pitted against each other.

7^th Assembly was 62.2% Dem, Evers map 60.1% Dem. A Republican opposes a Democrat.

13^th Assembly was 57.5% GOP, Evers map 57.5% Dem. Pits an Elm Grove Republican against a Wauwatosa Democrat.

25^th Assembly was 62.5% GOP, Evers map 59.5% GOP. Two Republicans face each other.

32^nd Assembly was 62.4% GOP, Evers map 65.6% GOP. Two Republicans run against each other.

42^nd Assembly was 61% GOP, Evers map 59.1% Dem. Two Republicans run against each other.

55^th Assembly was 54.9% GOP, Evers map 60.8% GOP. Two Republicans contend against each other.

68^th Assembly was 60.8% GOP, Evers map 69% GOP. Two Republicans face off.

80^th Assembly was 69.8% Dem, Evers map 74.6% Dem. Two Dems oppose each other.

84^th Assembly was 52.5% Dem, Evers map 71.4% GOP. Two Republicans run against each other.

86^th Assembly was 63.6% GOP, Evers map 65.1% GOP. Two Republicans contend for the district.

91^st Assembly was 65.2% Dem, Evers map 54.8% Dem. A Dem from Eau Claire faces off against a Republican from Fall Creek.

97^th Assembly was 62.6% GOP, Evers map 69.9% GOP. Two Republicans run against each other.

Senate District comparison

Incumbent pairings under Evers’ maps have the following, according to WisPolitics: 6 pairs (13 incumbents) with 4 GOP-GOP, 1 Dem-Dem, 1 Dem-GOP, 7 open seats.

8^th Senate was 55.6% GOP, Evers map 53% GOP. Two Republicans run against one another.

13^th District was 59.7% GOP, Evers map 65.7% GOP. Republican Joan Ballweg would run against Republican John Jagler. Waupaca County would be split differently from its current inclusion in this district.

21^st District was 61.4% GOP, Evers map 51.1% GOP. Two Republicans contend against each other.

26^th District was 86.9% Dem, Evers map 86.9% Dem. Two Democrats face off against one other.

30^th District was 57.2% GOP, Evers map 52.6% DEM. This district has three Republican candidates in the race, two from Green Bay and one from De Pere.

31^st District was 53.6% GOP, Evers map 53.6% GOP. A Republican from Altoona runs against a Democrat from Brunswick.