Democrat Ben Brist is looking to flip Wisconsin’s 61st Assembly District in November, but he’ll have to unseat Republican incumbent Rep. Bob Donovan.
Army veteran and first-time candidate Brist won the Democratic primary in August and will face Donovan in the Nov. 3 general election in the district that includes parts of Milwaukee and its southwest suburbs.
Donovan, however, has a history of outperforming other Republicans in the district. In 2024, he earned 51.5% of the vote despite Democrat LuAnn Bird spending significantly more on the race.
Republicans controlled the Assembly this past session, 54-45. This is only the second election since the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned the Republican-drawn legislative maps in 2023. The fairer maps gave Democrats many new seats in 2024 and hopes of taking control of the Assembly this time.
Ben Brist
Brist is a sixth-generation Wisconsinite. He served on active duty for seven years, finished his graduate studies at the United States Military Academy at West Point, and then returned to Wisconsin.
He has been endorsed by former state Assembly member and former Milwaukee County Democratic Party Chair Peter Bock, Milwaukee County Board Supervisor and former Assembly Rep. Sheldon Wasserman, former Hales Corners Village Board Trustee Donald Schwartz, and former state Sen. Joe Czarnezki, another Milwaukee County Board member.
In the Aug. 11 primary, Brist faced off against counselor and yoga instructor Lawanda Chambers and pharmacist Brian Bock. During the primary campaign, a GOP-aligned group attempted to elevate Chambers by spending more than Brist. He did, however, go on to win with about 44.1% of the vote.
According to his campaign website, Brist lists his priorities as affordability, healthcare, education, moratorium on data centers, good jobs, lower property taxes, and conservation.
“I’m running because this district deserves a representative who works to make life easier, not harder,” Brist said in an interview with WUWM. “I spent seven years in the Army, where I learned that leadership means showing up, listening, and taking responsibility. Opportunity feels out of reach, and it’s getting harder for families in the 61st District.”
Nov. 3 general election
Brist will face off against Donovan, who served for 20 years on the Milwaukee Common Council, running twice unsuccessfully for mayor, before relocating to the suburbs.
Prior to new maps that put him in the 61st District, Donovan was the representative for the 84th District from 2022-2024. Last year, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Donovan had to get an apartment in the new Assembly district but also paid himself $850 per month from his campaign account for “staff lodging” at his house in his former district.
AD-61 has not had a Democratic representative since 2012, when district lines were redrawn by Republicans.
Marquette Law School considers this race to be a tossup with a possible and slight Democratic lean. However, Donovan should not be overlooked. Even with funding disadvantages, he’s had a record of overperforming Republicans in this district.
