Of the eight congressional races on the ballot across the state on Nov. 5, only western Wisconsin’s 3rd District is expected to be competitive as Democrats look to flip control of the House.
Here’s what you need to know about who is running in each Wisconsin House district in 2024:
(An asterisk next to a candidate’s name signifies an incumbent.)
Wisconsin U.S. Congress 1st District candidates
The district stretches from Rock County to Kenosha County and southern Milwaukee County.
Bryan Steil, Republican*
Steil, 43, is a Janesville Republican who has represented southeastern Wisconsin’s House district since former Speaker Paul Ryan left Congress in 2018. Steil currently serves as chairman of the House Committee on Administration, a panel that oversees the day-to-day operations of Congress’ lower chamber.
Before arriving on Capitol Hill, Steil worked as counsel for a Beloit manufacturing company and represented other businesses as an attorney. Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker nominated Steil to the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents in 2016 — two years before he was elected.
Steil has said the top issues he hears when speaking to voters are the cost of living and the situation at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Peter Barca, Democrat
Barca, 69, is running again for a seat he held 30 years prior. The Kenosha Democrat represented the 1st Congressional District from 1993-1995 before losing his first reelection bid. He was the last Democrat to hold the seat.
Barca was first elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1985. He was appointed Midwest regional administrator to the U.S. Small Business Administration by then-President Bill Clinton after he lost his congressional reelection bid and eventually returned to the state Assembly in 2009. He served as the Democratic leader from 2011 to 2017 but left in 2019 to join Gov. Tony Evers’ cabinet as the secretary of Department of Revenue.
Barca has campaigned on protecting access to abortion and preserving Medicare.
Third-party candidate
Chester Todd Jr. of the Wisconsin Green Party is also on the ballot. The party focuses on environmentalism and progressive policies.
Wisconsin U.S. Congress 2nd District candidates
The district covers areas of southern Wisconsin including Dane, Iowa, Lafayette, Sauk and Green counties, as well as portions of Richland County and Rock County.
Mark Pocan, Democrat*
Pocan, 60, has represented the Democratic stronghold anchored in Madison since he was elected in 2012. He is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and chairs the Congressional Equality Caucus, which was co-founded by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin.
He served in the state Assembly from 1999 until his election to Congress.
Pocan has emphasized his background as a small-business owner and says he fights for Progressive causes strengthening social safety net programs.
Erik Olsen, Republican
Olsen is a Madison Republican challenging Pocan in the safely Democratic district for the second consecutive cycle. He lost to Pocan in 2022 by about 44 points.
Olsen has been a constitutional law attorney for nearly 20 years, according to his campaign website. Olsen on his website describes himself as a pro-Donald Trump Republican focusing on border security and gun rights.
Wisconsin U.S. Congress34 3rd District candidates
The district covers a wide area of western Wisconsin and includes the communities of Eau Claire, La Crosse, Stevens Point, Wisconsin Rapids and Prairie du Chien.
Derrick Van Orden, Republican*
Van Orden, 54, is a former Navy SEAL who was elected to the western Wisconsin swing district in 2022. His victory flipped the seat to Republican control for the first time in 26 years, and Democrats have vowed to put a focus on it this cycle.
Van Orden sits on the House Veterans’ Affairs, Agriculture and Transportation and Infrastructure committees. He has drawn criticism for being outside the U.S. Capitol during the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, but has said he left after the riot began. His reelection bid is expected to be the tightest Wisconsin House race, and national Democrats have given the race more attention after they were accused of abandoning the district last cycle.
According to his campaign website, Van Orden backs the repeal of the Affordable Care Act while pledging to protect coverage for preexisting conditions. He calls for eliminating red tape at the VA health system to improve access to care for veterans. He’s also made immigration a focus.
Rebecca Cooke, Democrat
Cooke, 36, is an Eau Claire Democrat and nonprofit owner. She previously ran for the seat in 2022 but came in second in the Democratic primary that year. She defeated two Democratic challengers in the August primary this year.
Cooke ran an Eau Claire boutique, Red’s Mercantile, that closed in 2022. She runs a nonprofit, the Red Letter Grant, that supports female entrepreneurs in western Wisconsin. She also waitresses. Before running for Congress, Cooke worked as a professional fundraiser for Democratic candidates across the country.
According to her website, Cooke supports expanding Medicare to include dental, vision and hearing coverage. She also pledges to protect abortion access and advocates for expanded broadband in rural areas.
Wisconsin U.S. Congress 4th District candidates
The district covers most of Milwaukee County.
Gwen Moore, Democrat*
Moore, 73, has represented the safely Democratic Milwaukee district since her election in 2004. She is the first Black member of Congress from Wisconsin and the state’s second woman to be elected to Congress. She serves on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
She campaigns as a champion for low-income individuals and families, including through expanding the earned income tax credit to include low-income students and unpaid caregivers.
Tim Rogers, Republican
Rogers is a Milwaukee Republican who lost his 2022 bid against Moore by about 52 points. He defeated Milwaukee County GOP secretary Purnima Nath in this year’s primary.
Rogers’ campaign website says he has “worked for almost 30 years delivering gift baskets and newspapers for two local businesses.”
On his campaign website Rogers calls for universal school choice and lower taxes.
Also on the ballot
Independent candidate Robert Raymond also appears on the ballot. Raymond says on his social media that he would seek to protect taxpayers from government over-ready.
Wisconsin U.S. Congress 5th District candidates
The district includes Waukesha, Washington and Jefferson counties and parts of Dodge and Walworth counties.
Scott Fitzgerald, Republican*
Fitzgerald, 60, was elected to represent the 5th Congressional District following the retirement of former GOP Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner in 2020. The Juneau Republican was first elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1994 and served as GOP leader in the chamber from 2012 until his election to Congress.
Fitzgerald campaigns on cracking down on illegal immigration, pushing back against “radical liberals” and supporting law enforcement.
Ben Steinhoff, Democrat
Steinhoff is a Democrat running for a suburban Milwaukee seat that has long been a stronghold for Republicans in Wisconsin. Steinhoff did not face a Democratic challenger in the Aug. 13 primary.
He is a paramedic and has worked in the field for at least 12 years, according to his campaign website. Steinhoff campaigns on increased support for public schools, protecting abortion access and legalizing marijuana.
Wisconsin U.S. Congress 6th District candidates
The district includes areas north of Milwaukee and Madison in eastern Wisconsin including the communities of Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Portage and Manitowoc.
Glenn Grothman, Republican*
Grothman, 69, has represented the district north of Milwaukee since his election in 2014. He previously served in the state Assembly from 2002 to 2005 and joined the state Senate from 2005 to 2015.
Grothman campaigns on increased border security and in speeches in Congress has opposed diversity inclusion programs and what he’s called “an obsession with race in our military.”
John Zarbano, Democrat
Zarbano is a Democrat and retired attorney living in Oshkosh. He worked as a bank attorney with “experience in secured lending, real estate development, mergers and bankruptcy litigation,” according to his campaign biography.
After retiring, Zarbano said he was the box office manager at UW-Oshkosh Theatre Department and has “enjoyed teaching Entertainment Law at UWO and Hospitality Law at Fox Valley Technical College.”
Zarbano campaigns on protecting democracy, labor union issues and protecting access to abortion, according to his website.
Wisconsin U.S. Congress 7th District Candidates
The districts covers a large area of north central and northwestern Wisconsin, including the cities of Superior, Hudson, Wausau and Eagle River.
Tom Tiffany, Republican*
Tiffany, 66, succeeded former Republican Rep. Sean Duffy following Duffy’s retirement in 2020. Before joining Congress, he served in the state Assembly from 2011 to 2013 and the state Senate from 2013 to 2020.
Tiffany campaigns as a hawk on border security and stricter immigration laws. On his website he calls for curtailing federal spending, support for gun rights and opposing taxpayer money for abortions.
Kyle Kilbourn, Democrat
Kilbourn won the two-way Democratic primary for the northwestern Wisconsin seat on Aug. 13 by about 16 points.
He was born in North Dakota and attended the University of Minnesota before moving to the Northwoods with his husband. He has worked as a web designer, a researcher at a medical device manufacturer and most recently worked as a design strategist for Target, according to his LinkedIn.
On his website Kilbourn highlights combatting climate change, supporting abortion access and safeguarding Social Security.
Wisconsin U.S. Congress 8th District candidates
The Green Bay area districts covers the northeastern part of Wisconsin, including Appleton, Marinette and Sturgeon Bay.
Tony Wied, Republican
Wied, 48, is a former gas station owner who won the Republican primary to replace former Rep. Mike Gallagher this year with the help of an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.
Wied was recruited to run for the post by the Trump-aligned GOP consultant Alex Bruesewitz after Gallagher drew criticism from Trump’s base for his vote against impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in February. Wied had been largely uninvolved in local politics before his run. He sold the Green Bay-based Dino Stop gas and convenience store chain in 2022 and has remained in line with Trump on nearly every national issue.
Kristin Lyerly, Democrat
Lyerly, 54, is an OB-GYN from De Pere running in the northeastern Wisconsin House district that has strongly favored Republicans.
She has centered her campaign around healthcare access — particularly on abortion rights following the 2022 overturning of the landmark abortion case Roe v. Wade. She was at the center of Wisconsin Democrats’ pushback to a 19th-century state law that made it a felony for doctors to perform abortions. She makes monthly commutes to Minnesota, working in hospitals in Hibbing and Montevideo.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin’s eight congressional districts on the ballot
