MADISON, Wis. — In less than a month, Wisconsinites will have a much better idea of how legislative redistricting from earlier this year will impact the balance of political power in Madison.

There are 115 seats in the state legislature that will be up for election in November—16 even-numbered districts in the Senate, along with all 99 seats in the Assembly.

While many districts technically have no incumbent running in them, plenty of current lawmakers are still seeking reelection.

What You Need To Know

  • As many as 21 candidates are running for a seat in the Wisconsin Legislature without facing a challenger this fall

  • There are also 25 races where no current member of the legislature is seeking office

  • A total of 42 lawmakers up for reelection aren’t running in their previous district, the majority of which are Republicans

A total of 21 candidates, the vast majority being Democrats, are running unopposed for a seat in the legislature. 10 of them are incumbents in their own district, while another seven are current lawmakers but are either running in a new district or for a seat in the other chamber.

There are four newcomers who don’t face an opponent on the November ballot too: Sequanna Taylor, Randy Udell, Angelina Cruz, and Renuka Mayadev.

Only two Republicans, both currently elected to the Assembly, face no challenger: State Rep. Barabara Dittrich and State Rep. Robert Wittke.

New legislative maps, new candidates

Across Wisconsin, there are 25 races with no current member of the legislature running. 14 of those seats were held by Republican incumbents, while 11 had a Democrat representing them.

Based on Notification of Noncandidacy forms filed with the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC), and who’s listed on ballots, 42 lawmakers aren’t running in their previous district, the majority of which are Republicans.

Which chamber of the legislature could change the most?

The state Assembly is likely to change the most for a couple of reasons. First, all 99 members face reelection next month. Secondly, almost a quarter of the seats have no current member of the legislature running for them, so there’s a lot of opportunity for change.

As far as which way those seats lean, it’s almost an even split with 12 having been held by Republicans and 11 by Democrats.

However, that’s where redistricting comes in. With new boundaries, the make-up of voters could change enough that the district might be represented by a candidate from the opposite party after November.

Why isn’t a shakeup expected in the Senate?

Democrats, who only held 11 seats this session, are excited about the opportunity to pick up more, including the five that have no incumbents.

However, even those seats aren’t exactly a free for all. Two of them are uncontested with Democrats as the sole candidates and both currently serve in the Assembly. Another has a current senator running, who technically is not an incumbent because it’s in a different district, so that leaves just two seats where there are candidates who aren’t already serving in the legislature.

As a result, the meaning of “incumbency” has kind of changed, at least for this election, in the sense that there might not technically be an incumbent running in a particular district but many of them are on the ballot elsewhere.

How do staggered terms play a role in the balance of power?

It means change comes slower in the Senate.

While Democrats have a path to gain control, it likely won’t happen this year. That’s because of the staggered four-year terms.

16 senators from even-numbered districts will be elected this year and the remaining 17 from odd-numbered districts will face election two years later, despite a bit of geographical overlap for some under the new maps.

With that being the case, at least in the Senate, Wisconsinites won’t fully see the impact of new legislative boundaries until after the November 2026 election.

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