Sen. Howard Marklein and Rep. Mark Born, who will continue to serve as co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee in 2025, during a press conference in May 2023. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Assembly leaders have announced their appointments to the influential Joint Finance Committee for next session. The 16-member committee is responsible for writing the state’s two-year budget and reviewing state appropriations and revenues.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) announced last week that Rep. Mark Born (R-Beaver Dam) will continue to serve as co-chair of the committee alongside Sen. Howard Marklein (R-Spring Green). Born has served as a co-chair since 2019.
Rep. Tony Kurtz (R-Wonewoc) is replacing outgoing Rep. Terry Katsma (R-Oostburg), who decided to retire this year, as vice-chair of the committee.
“I am confident that together, Reps. Born and Kurtz will work with their colleagues on the Joint Finance Committee to always put taxpayers first,” Vos said in a statement.
Rep. Karen Hurd (R-Withee) will join the committee next session.
“I look forward to the task of balancing the state budget and ensuring our state’s finances remain strong,” Hurd said in a statement. “We will work to strengthen Wisconsin’s economy.”
Reps. Alex Dallman (R-Green Lake), Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) and Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls) will all return to the committee next session.
Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) announced Thursday that Reps. Tip McGuire (D-Kenosha) and Deb Andraca (D-Whitefish Bay) will continue to serve on the committee next session.
“Both legislators have proven themselves as powerful communicators and effective leaders, and I am sure they will both serve their communities and our state well on the legislature’s most powerful committee,” Neubauer said in a statement. “Next year, Assembly Democrats will fight for a visionary budget that moves our state forward, and I am confident that Rep. McGuire and Rep. Andraca are ready to advocate for what’s best for our state on the Joint Finance Committee.”
McGuire has served on the committee since January 2023, and Andraca was first appointed to the committee in August 2023 to fill a vacancy left by Rep. Evan Goyke.
McGuire said in a statement that his top priority on the committee will be ensuring “working families in Wisconsin can thrive.”
“That means fighting for affordability in housing and healthcare, quality public education, and a strong economy that grows the middle class and ensures hard-working people can get ahead,” McGuire said.
Other members of the committee include:
Sen. Patrick Testin (R-Stevens Point), who will serve as the Senate co-chair
"Fire Duey Stroebel" sign at Habush Sinykin Election night party. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Tuesday’s election results for the Wisconsin State Legislature were mixed. Wisconsin Democrats won several key state Senate races, breaking the Republican 22-seat supermajority and laying the groundwork for Democrats to compete for a majority in 2026. In the Assembly, Republicans appear to have held their majority with many incumbents defeating their challengers.
New legislative maps, which were adopted in February after the state Supreme Court ruled the old maps were an unconstitutional gerrymander, gave Democrats the opportunity to run in competitive districts in many cases for the first time in over a decade.
Half of the state Senate was up for reelection this year, and Democrats ran in each Senate district.
Democrats won five districts they were targeting on Tuesday — ousting Republican incumbents, winning newly created open seats and keeping a Democratic incumbent in office. The results bring the Senate makeup to 18 Republicans and 15 Democrats. The previous makeup was 22 Republicans and 10 Democrats.
Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein (D-Middleton) celebrated in a statement Wednesday morning.
“Senate Democrats defeated Republicans’ manufactured supermajority, and we are on a pathway to the majority in 2026,” Hesselbein said “Our candidates knocked on thousands of doors, listened to voters, and clearly articulated their vision for Wisconsin. Senate Democrats will tirelessly defend our shared values and uplift working families.”
Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin of Whitefish Bay declared victory over Sen. Duey Stroebel of Saukville, ousting the lawmaker who has served in the Senate since 2016. The race was one of the most expensive state legislative races in the state with spending surpassing $10.2 million, according to a review by WisPolitics.
The district sits north of Milwaukee and includes Whitefish Bay, Fox Point, Bayside, River Hills, Menomonee Falls, Germantown, Mequon, Cedarburg, Grafton and Port Washington.
This will be Habush Sinykin’s first time holding public office. She ran for office once before in a special election for an open seat in 2023, but lost to Sen. Dan Knodl.
Hesselbein welcomed Habush Sinykin in a release, saying that she and her team ran an “incredible” campaign.
“As the underdog, she did not shy away from the hard work necessary to win this race,” Hesselbain said. “Jodi’s deep ties to the community, thoughtful decision-making, and experience as an attorney will allow her to effectively legislate for the needs of this community.”
At an election night party in Theinsville, Habush Sinykin started the night greeting, thanking and talking to her supporters, though results of the race hadn’t been called by 2 a.m. when the party ended. Signs declaring “Fire Duey Stroebel” were placed throughout the party.
Habush Sinykin started the night greeting, thanking and talking to her supporters, though results of the race hadn’t been called by 2 a.m. when the party ended. (Baylor Spears | Wisconsin Examiner)
Democrat Sarah Keyeski, a mental health provider from Lodi, declared victory over incumbent Sen. Joan Ballweg just after midnight in the race for the 14th Senate District. Keyeski is a political newcomer, and this will be her first term in office.
The district sits north of Madison and covers parts of Dane, Columbia, Sauk and Richland counties, including the cities of Deforest, Reedsburg, Baraboo, Lodi, Columbus, Portage, Richland Center and Wisconsin Dells. The district changed under new legislative maps, and Ballweg, who has served in the Senate since 2021, was drawn into another district but decided to move to remain in the 14th district.
Hesselbein said she is “confident that Sarah will be a strong voice for folks living in the 14th Senate District.”
Democrat Jamie Wall, a business consultant from Green Bay, declared victory over Republican Jim Rafter in the race for the open 30th Senate District. The newly created district sits in Brown County, representing Green Bay, Ashwaubenon, De Pere, Allouez, Bellevue.
Democrat Kristin Alfheim, a member of the Appleton Common Council, defeated Republican Anthony Phillips, a cancer physician, in the race for the 18th Senate District in the Fox Valley, including Appleton, Menasha, Neenah and Oshkosh.
Democratic Sen. Brad Pfaff of Onalaska, won reelection over Republican challenger Stacey Klein, clinching his second term in office. Pfaff was first elected to the Senate in 2020, and previously served as the secretary-designee of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection, after being appointed by Gov. Tony Evers, though Republicans later denied his nomination.
Highly contested Assembly races
All of the Assembly’s 99 seats were up for election this year, and after the new maps were implemented, Democrats saw an opportunity to make gains, and potentially flip the body. The new majority is likely 54 Republicans to 45 Democrats.
While Republicans held onto enough seats to retain their majority this year, Democrats cut the previous 64-seat Republican majority by 10 seats and had all their incumbents reelected.
“Fair maps have allowed voters to hold legislators accountable, and this will change how policy is written and what bills move through the legislature,” said Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) in a statement Wednesday. “I hope and expect that this shift will result in more collaboration and bipartisan work in the legislature, because that is what the people of Wisconsin have asked us to do.”
The Assembly Democrats will add 23 new members to their caucus.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), told reporters Wednesday afternoon that the party was proud of those who won. He said the Republican Assembly caucus will have eight new members in the Legislature.
“We are at 54 strong,” Vos said. “Many people, especially the minority leader, spent the last three months telling everybody, they were going to be in the majority. They were clearly wrong, and again now we get the chance to set the agenda for the rest of the state with our colleagues in the state Senate.”
Vos and Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August (R-Walworth) said the results were a sign of Republican strength, and that Democrats were only able to pick up seats because the maps, which were proposed by Evers and passed by the Republican-majority Legislature, were drawn to favor them.
“The only way that Democrats picked up seats was by having a map that was clearly gerrymandered to give them a result,” Vos said.
“We were able to fight against that because we have better candidates, a better message and we are right on the issues when it comes down to it,” August said.
Vos, the longest speaker in state history, said he will run to lead Assembly Republicans again. He said the caucus’ priorities for the session will need to be discussed in the coming weeks, but one will likely focus on the state’s budget surplus.
“We are not going to spend that. It’s going to either go back to the taxpayers as relief, or it’s going to stay in the budget as a surplus because I am not going to support a plan that says if Evers vetoes tax cuts, we’re going to spend it on growing the size of government,” Vos said.
Many Republican incumbents defeated their Democratic challengers. Republican Rep. Jessie Rodriguez of Oak Creek defeated Democratic challenger David Marstellar in the race for the 21st Assembly District, which sits in Milwaukee County.
Republican Rep. Todd Novak of Dodgeville defeated Democratic challenger Elizabeth Grabe in the race for the 51st Assembly District, which represents part of Lafayette, Iowa and Grant counties.
Republican Rep. Shannon Zimmerman of River Falls defeated Democrat Alison Page in the 30th Assembly District, which represents the cities of Hudson and River Falls as well as the towns of Troy and St. Joseph. Zimmerman has served in the Assembly since 2016.
Republican Rep. Bob Donovan defeated Democrat LuAnn Bird in their rematch to represent Assembly District 61, which covers Greendale and Hales Corner in Milwaukee County.
Republican Rep. Patrick Snyder defeated Democratic challenger Yee Leng Xiong, executive director at the Hmong American Center and a member of the Marathon County Board, in the race for the 85th Assembly District. The district represents Wausau and other parts of Marathon County. Snyder has served in the Assembly since 2016.
Republican Rep. Clint Moses, who has served in the Assembly since 2020, defeated Democratic challenger Joe Plouff, in the race for Assembly District 92, which covers Menomonie and Chippewa Falls.
Democratic candidate Joe Sheehan, former superintendent of the Sheboygan Area School District and executive director of the Sheboygan County Economic Development Corporation, defeated Republican Rep. Amy Binsfield, a first-term representative from Sheboygan, in the race for Assembly District 26.
Democrat Tara Johnson, a former La Crosse County Board member, defeated Rep. Loren Oldenburg (R-Viroqua), who was first elected to the Assembly in 2018, in the race for the 96th Assembly District.
Democrat Ryan Spaude, a criminal prosecutor, defeated Republican Patrick Buckley, who serves as the Brown County Board chairman, in the race for the 89th Assembly District, which covers parts of Brown County including Ashwaubenon and Green Bay.
Democratic Rep. Jodi Emerson of Eau Claire defeated Republican challenger Michele Magadance Skinner in the race for the 91st Assembly District.
Democrat Christian Phelps defeated Republican James Rolbiecki in the race for the 93rd Assembly District, which represents part of Eau Claire. The seat represents a gain for Democrats in the area.
Democratic Rep. Deb Andraca, who flipped a district when she was first elected in 2020, said Tuesday night at the Election party in Thiensville that Democrats adding seats in the Assembly was a “different day” and Democrats in the Assembly would no longer be trying to just save the governor’s veto. She declared victory in her reelection bid on Tuesday night.
“The gerrymander is dead,” Andraca said. “We’re no longer saving the veto. We are going to go back in the Wisconsin State Assembly with more seats than we have had in over a decade. We are going to be looking at the ability to negotiate, bring our bills forward and it’s going to be a completely different day.”
“We are going to be able to make much more of a difference in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and that’s because of all of the hard work that people in this room have done election after election and year after year.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, the national organization that works to elect Democrats to state legislatures, celebrated the Wisconsin results in a statement.
“Thanks to fair maps and a smart strategy, the GOP’s stranglehold on Wisconsin’s Legislature is coming to an end,” DLCC President Heather Williams said. “Our 2024 wins mark just the beginning. Seat by seat, the DLCC is committed to continuing to build and defend Democratic power in the Wisconsin Legislature. Republicans have been put on notice: the DLCC is poised to make Wisconsin a future Democratic trifecta.”
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