You Can Still Run for the State Legislature

I’m working on articles about the legislative primaries right now, and noticed a disappointing lack of primary candidates against certain Democratic incumbents. I’ve identified 13 Democrats who voted out of alignment with even the most basic Democratic Party values, but no one has publicly declared running against them.

Yet. 

You could change this! 

Nomination signatures are due to the Wisconsin Election Commission by 5pm on June 1st. The number of signatures required for State Assembly is a mere 200. For State Senate, it's 400. Opponents often challenge signatures, so it’s recommended to get as many as twice the requirement. Signers need to live and vote in the district you’re running for, and signatures need to be collected properly, but even 400-800 signatures in three weeks is absolutely achievable. I collected more than 300 signatures myself last weekend, at events I was planning to attend anyway.

If you and your friends are fed up with spineless corporate Democrats, running against them is very much an option. Even if you don’t win, filing for candidacy and getting media attention is a great way to put some fear in them and take back your own political participation power. Corporate Democrats are often cowards. Fear works on them. For many, fear seems to be the only thing they respond to. We just need them to be afraid of us instead of Zionists and Republicans. 

Picking Targets

For this article, I’m going to keep the litmus test simple and focus on two votes: SB45 (the budget) and AB446 (the IHRA bill). Anyone who voted with Republicans on these two pieces of legislation acted directly against the values of the Democratic Party, and against the interests of the people of Wisconsin. 

SB45
The last budget was the first one since Tony Evers’ election where anyone but he and Robin Vos had a say. Due to disarray in the Republican caucus, this bill needed Democratic Senators to sign on to it. Some of them–led by Kelda Roys–seized this opportunity to leverage for demands, to insert some popular sovereignty into the previously hopeless situation. Other Democrats–led by Dianne Hesselbein–settled for more money for her pet issue (higher education funding) and let everything else go to waste. Tony Evers leveraged a manufactured federal crisis to rush the process and excuse the act of signing this terrible budget. Assembly Representative didn’t have actual leverage here, but that only makes it more baffling that any signed on with Republicans. 

AB446
We’ve written about this law a lot. It restricts free speech to support Israeli war crimes and advance shitty Republican attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion by disingenuously weaponizing false claims of antisemitism against opponents of genocide. Signing on to it doesn’t just indicate a disturbing loyalty to the fascist Zionists, but a willingness to get absolutely played by bad faith Republican operatives. 

People who voted for either of these bills do not have the self-respect and strategic consciousness to be trusted to secure a Democratic trifecta. If we secure it despite them, they cannot be trusted to make the most of it. Please, if you live in any of the following districts, talk to your friends, review some considerations, get a clipboard, and start collecting signatures.

Wisconsin Donkey Watch has gotten the ball rolling with great images and research calling many of these Democrats out. In the list below, I try to provide a brief summary and context for potential races against them. They also are a great group to contact for support collecting signatures and campaigning.

Voted for Both IHRA and the Budget

Senator Dianne Hesselbein of Madison 
This district is deep blue (+52.7 Democrat).Not only did she vote for these bills, she actually led the call to do so. She probably also whipped votes, putting pressure on others behind closed doors. She’s the Minority Leader of the State Senate, which means she could be the majority leader if Democrats win the trifecta. That will give her a lot of power to limit the trifecta’s potential. Given her position of power, she’ll probably be hard to beat, but taking a swing at her in the primary might be the first step to preventing her from retaining a leadership role and fucking things up for us. 

Hesselbein’s been in the legislature since 2013, though in the Senate for one term. Constituents in her very blue district surely do not want her voting with Republicans and may deliver a political upset.

Representative Lori Palmeri of Oshkosh
Her district is not as blue as Hesselbein’s (+6.9 Democrat), which might make running to her left more difficult. On the other hand, she’s only held office since 2022 and has never faced a primary challenge. 

Representative Jodi Emerson of Eau Claire
This district leans slightly blue (+4.5 Democrat).  Emerson was first elected in 2018, and won with only 37% in that year's four way primary. She was never primaried again, and underperformed the district’s Democratic lean in the last cycle.

Representative Jill Billings of La Crosse
Her district is a rural square with a long appendage taking part of the City of LaCrosse. It leans only slightly blue (+2.2 Democrat). That’s no excuse for signing on to the Republican agenda in this way. She’s been in office since 2011, but has never faced a primary challenger. 

Representative Steve Doyle of Onalaska
His district neighbors Billings’ and is even more competitive (+2.2 Republican). The Democratic establishment has dumped a lot of money into propping him up because he’s managing to hold a slightly red district. Anyone running against him should probably prepare for a lot of hate from the anti-primary establishment. He’s a lawyer and La Crosse County Board member. He’s been in the assembly since 2010, and hasn’t faced a primary challenger. 

Voted for IHRA, Not Budget

Representative Lisa Subeck of Madison
This district is the deepest blue on our list (+71.8 Democrat). Subeck is a political organizer, a former Madison City Council member who was involved in the Scott Walker recall effort before election to the assembly in 2014. She co-sponsored the IHRA and, despite all her political organizing, she seems (or maybe pretends) to not understand the difference between antisemitism and antizionism. In one interview she reveals a bit more, appearing to reference unreliable antisemitic stats from the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, an organization actively funding the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. 

Representative Shelia Stubbs of Madison
This district is deep blue (+61.7 Democrat). This former probation officer was first elected in 2018. In addition to voting with Republicans to undermine DEI and green light genocide, in 2020, Stubbs helped Republicans pretend to care about Black people by chairing an egregious, obviously disingenuous task force.Madison School Board Vice President Maia Pearson ran against Stubbs last cycle. It’ll be disappointing if no one tries again this year.

Representative Deb Andraca of Whitefish Bay
This is a solidly blue district (+28.5 Democrat). This former teacher representing the north MKE suburbs is an almost pathologically committed centrist. Even after Wisconsin’s coven of conservative elites put her personal phone number on a mailer, leading to a wave of death threats from Republicans in 2020, she’s still doing feel-good bipartisan stunts. Andraca is a really extreme example of (unpopular) Democratic weakness in the face of Republican cruelty. She’s been in office since 2021, and has never faced a primary challenger. 

Representative Karen Kirsch of Greenfield
This district is safely blue (+14.5 Democrat). In 2024, Kirsh lucked out, because Bob Donovan moved out of his district to run in a more conservative area, leaving perennial loser Lee Whiting to run as a Republican. Kirsh is married to Robert Hansen, a well-connected Milwaukee Democrat, but hasn’t actually had a real electoral fight. It’s time to bring her one. 

Representative Ryan Spaude of Green Bay
This district is one of the more competitive on the list (+2 Democrat). Ryan Spaude, a young former prosecutor, was just elected in 2024 after redistricting moved Elijah Behnke and left the seat open. There was no Democratic primary.

Voted for Budget, Not IHRA

Representative Maureen McCarville of DeForest
This district is firmly blue, (+14.9 Democrat).McCarville has held some form of political office since 1999, when she was elected to the DeForest Village Board. She underperformed against the district lean in 2024. 

Representative Tara Johnson of Shelby
This district leans blue (+8.3 Democrat). Johnson is a retired non-profit executive, who earned the Wisconsin Citizen Action endorsement in 2024 when she was first elected. Citizen Action applauds her work on healthcare reform. She won a primary against a more conservative Democrat in 2024, and only narrowly won the general by 2 percentage points.

Senator Jeff Smith of Eau Claire
This district is tightly contested, but leans slightly blue (+2.2 Democrat). Redistricting put Smith in the same district as Republican incumbent Jesse James, who is one of six (so far) retiring Republican State Senators this year. Smith was first elected to the State Assembly in 2004, and in 2018 won a three way primary by exactly 50% to get into the State Senate. 

Exceptions to the List

There are a few people who fit my metrics, but either aren’t up for election, or already have good primary challengers. 

Representative Silvia Ortiz-Velez of Milwaukee
She voted for both, and is terrible in many other ways. Ismael Luna, who works at a shelter for people experiencing homelessness, is running against her on a very solid platform. He will be an excellent replacement. If you live in his district, you don’t need to consider throwing your hat in, you can just reach out and volunteer to help Luna win.

Representative Russel Goodwin of Milwaukee
He voted against the budget, but for IHRA. He’s also the only Democrat who voted with Republicans on some transphobic legislation. The good news is, community organizer Jordan Roman is running against him on a solid platform. I recommend supporting him if you live in that district. 

Representative Jenna Jacobson of Madison
She voted against the budget, but for IHRA. She’s not running for Assembly anymore, because she’s instead running for State Senate in District 17, the Southwest corner of Wisconsin. Fortunately, she already has a challenger, an intrepid organizer and childcare worker named Corrine Hendrickson. I interviewed Hendrickson in February. She told me she opposes the genocide, and would not vote for a law like the IHRA. She also organized rallies demanding a better budget, so she’s more than solid on that count. Please donate to help Hendrickson win!

Senators Brad Pfaff of Onalaska and Jamie Wall of Green Bay
These two both voted for both the budget and IHRA, but are in the half of the State Senate that isn’t up for election this year. If they don’t shape up, rest assured there will be calls to run against them in 2028. 

One Final Plea

If you’re in one of these districts, jump in. Your neighbors and all of Wisconsin will be better for you stepping up. 

Hopefully we’ll be able to update our readers in the very near future with who to support and how as we head towards the primary!