Assembly Races Decided by less than 420 votes
Republicans keep control of the Assembly with 54 to 45 majority, but they did loose 10 seats to the Democrats. There were even a few seats that were decided by less than 420 votes!
88th Assembly Welch (D) vs Franklin (R): 221 Votes
Ben Franklin was silent on cannabis reform during his campaign. The 88th Assembly District of Wisconsin is located in Northeastern Wisconsin, the district comprises parts of central Brown County. It includes the city of De Pere, the villages of Allouez and Bellevue, and a small part of the city of Green Bay. His campaign facebook page Franklin for Wisconsin is active and I urge area Republicans to contact this candidate with their support of cannabis reform.
53rd Assembly Shukoski (D) vs Kaufert (R) 365 Votes
Dean Kaufert had previously been opposed to cannabis reform, but I think “times are a changing” and so does Dean. I do not think he is going to be the guy who authors a legalization bill, but he does have some political capitol. The 53rd Assembly district of Wisconsin is located in eastern Wisconsin, the district comprises pars of northeast Winnebago County and southern Outagamie County. It includes the city of Neenah, the portion of the city of Menasha in Winnebago County, and the portion of the village of Fox Crossing east of the Fox River, along with part of southern Appleton.
I sent him the Marijuana Policy Projects Top 10 Reasons to End Marijuana Prohibition for starters and he acknowledge receipt of the link/information and responded “Thanks for the informative information. I appreciate it.“ His Campaign Facebook Page was very active during the campaign.
94th Assembly Doyle (D) vs Huebsch (R) 217 Votes
Steve Doyle does it again, but the margins are one of the closest he has ever had. Only 756 votes separated them last election cycle and this campaign season yielded only a 217 vote difference. The 94th Assembly District of Wisconsin is located in western Wisconsin, the district comprises parts of northern La Crosse County and southeast Trempealeau County. It includes the cities of Galesville and Onalaska, and the villages of Ettrick, Holmen, and West Salem, along with part of the north side of the city of La Crosse.
A few other races in the top 10 most competitive races did not go as predicted. Democrats only took 3 of the top 10 most competitive districts.
Another 5 races were also very close!
The 51st Assembly went to Republican Todd Novak who defeated Democrat Elizabeth Grabe by 1160 votes. Novak is not the worse Republican on the issue and his elections have always been close. The 51st Assembly District is located in southern Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Iowa and Lafayette counties, and parts of western Dane County and eastern Grant County.
The 61st Assembly went to Republican Bob Donovan who defeated Democrat LuAnn Bird by 1108 votes. The 2022 election had only 526 votes decide who got the job between these two. Donovan is definitely not a fan of cannabis reform. The 61st Assembly district is located in southeastern Wisconsin, the district comprises part of southwest Milwaukee County, including the villages of Greendale and Hales Corners, most of the city of Greenfield, and parts of southwest Milwaukee and northeast Franklin.
The 21st Assembly went to Republican Jessie Rodriguez who defeated Democrat David Marstellar by 932 votes. Rodriguez recently says she can support medical “if” so long it was not used to legalize recreational marijuana. She remains opposed to recreational marijuana and uses the gateway theory and cites law enforcement concerns of medical diversion to the the recreational market. Extremely late in the 2024 legislative session the Republicans finally unveiled their vision of medical marijuana for Wisconsin. The controversial bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Rodriguez. This is the first time since Rep. Rodriguez was elected in 2012 that she co-sponsored anything cannabis related.
The 26th Assembly went to Democrat Joe Sheehan who defeated Republican Amy Binsfeld by 843 votes. Joe holds a Ph.D. from Marquette in Educational Administration, a master’s in the same field from University of Houston, and two bachelor degrees from Michigan State. Sheehan is reported to be supportive of legalization of cannabis. The redrawn 26th Assembly District map now includes the entire city of Sheboygan, the Town of Wilson, and the Town of Sheboygan, reuniting city and town residents in one legislative district.
Sheboygan Side note: There will be a regularly scheduled mayoral election in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, concurrent with the Spring general election, April 1, 2025. The incumbent mayor Ryan Sorenson, first elected in 2021, has not yet indicated if he will run for re-election.
The 89th Assembly District went to Democrat Ryan Spaude who defeated Republican Patrick Buckley by 827 votes. If we had to put Spaude on a list, he would fall under the “Legalize it, regulate it, and tax it” heading. The 89th Assembly district is located in Northeastern Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within central Brown County. It includes the village of Ashwaubenon and much of the west side of the city of Green Bay.
Close Seats Predicted Democrat
The three following seats were not on the top 10 most competitive seats and seemed to be very likely Democrat.
The 96th Assembly District barely went to Democrat Tara Johnson as she defeated Republican Loren Oldenberg by 667 votes. This district was predicted to very likely be Democrat and the closeness of this race just goes to show, you never know what will happen at the poles. Tara Johnson is a La Crosse County Board Member for 20 years, Executive Director of the United Way of La Crosse and does support legalization of adult use cannabis. The 96th Assembly district is located in western Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Vernon County and part of southwest La Crosse County.
The 43rd Assembly District barely went to Democrat Brienne Brown who defeated Republican Scott Johnson by 841 votes. Both candidates indicated support for cannabis legalization on the campaign trail. Johnson though was absent from reform efforts as an Incumbent and it may have cost him his seat. The 43rd Assembly District of Wisconsin is located in southern Wisconsin, the district comprises northeast Rock County and parts of northwest Walworth County and southern Jefferson County. It includes the cities of Whitewater, Edgerton, and Milton, and part of the city of Janesville. The district also contains the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater campus.
The 91st Assembly District also barely went to Democrat Jodi Emerson who defeated Michele Skinner by 1101 votes. Emerson is the Incumbent and has been a solid supporter of cannabis reform measures. Assembly District 91 starts on the East Side of the City of Eau Claire and includes Altoona, Fall Creek, Ludington, Wilson, Augusta and Fairchild areas of Chippewa and Eau Claire Counties. This district was predicted to lean Democrat and that is probably why the new maps chased the Republican Incumbent Hurd away.
This post election coverage analysis is sponsored by Original Shirtface and Green Crown Extracts. Please follow their HQ and retail space Place of Bear in Mukwonago on facebook and watch for a Dec 7th event.
