A lot has happened since January 2009: Barack Obama was sworn in as president, Bitcoin was mined for the first time, and Captain Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger’s emergency landing in the Hudson River saved 155 lives. It was also the last time a Democrat took the gavel as a new Speaker of the Wisconsin Assembly.
Rep. Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) hopes to have that gavel placed in her hands in January 2027 after the retirement of outgoing Republican Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester).
“We are in a new era,” Neubauer told attendees at an event sponsored by WisPolitics. “Robin obviously has wielded incredible power in the state of Wisconsin for a long time, and he is stepping down and stepping away from the work. And that provides an opportunity for us.”
Neubauer took over as Assembly Democratic Leader four years ago, when her caucus was at its smallest point in a long time. At 30, she was the youngest minority leader in state history.
“When I ran the first time, just for my seat to represent Racine, I understood that it was very difficult for us to get bills passed as Democrats,” Neubauer said. “We were, frankly, in a pretty deep hole with the Republican gerrymander that had been in place for several years at that point. That there was a long path to get out of that gerrymander.”
Now Democrats are on the verge of a trifecta, controlling the Assembly, the Senate, and holding the governor’s office, something not done since the 2008 election.
“It would require winning several elections and preventing super-majorities and winning a court case and getting the [new legislative] maps in place,” Neubauer said. “But I was pretty clear eyed about what the job was, and it was getting us to a place where we could compete for the majority and then govern for the people of Wisconsin, do what was right for our constituents. I’ve been thinking about that long game for a while, and of course, thrilled that we have finally arrived at this time in which the trifecta really is in our sights, and we are going to have the opportunity to take Wisconsin down a new path.”
That trifecta is far from certain. A still-unknown Democratic nominee — chosen in next month’s primary — will have to beat Republican Rep. Tom Tiffany. A handful of Senate districts will have to flip. And Neubauer needs a net gain of five of the Assembly’s 99 seats.
“We have been able to go out and spend over a year recruiting fantastic candidates to run in these seats. We know that the people who can, frankly, go up against a long-term incumbent are people who are deeply connected to their community, who have a lot of nonpartisan relationships, who understand the challenges that their neighbors are facing. And they are going to work incredibly hard to talk to as many people as possible between now and Election Day.”
Here are some of the key districts to watch, based on Neubauer’s assessment during the WisPolitics luncheon.
21st Assembly District
Rep. Jessie Rodriguez (R-Oak Creek) is among eight Republicans choosing not to defend their seats in November (as well as six GOP senators).
“Our candidate, Dan Bukiewicz, is the mayor of Oak Creek, in the conservative part of that district,” Neubauer said. “He is also a building trades leader and electrician. He has put in the sweat equity to create jobs in his community and support people to make a living wage. And frankly, I think that’s why we saw Jessie Rodriguez step down.”
30th Assembly District
Incumbent Rep. Shannon Zimmerman (R-River Falls), who has faced questions over the years about residency issues and a number of missed votes, will be facing a Hudson teacher and military veteran.
“Our guy there is Kevin Knoke,” Neubauer said. “He was an educator for several decades in the schools. When you’re in Hudson with him and you walk into a coffee shop, there’s always somebody who says hi to ‘Mr. K,’ and is a veteran who served for several years overseas. And then he’s a bear hunter and outdoorsman, so he’s not scared of what’s coming for him.”
51st Assembly District
Rep. Todd Novak (R-Dodgeville) is seeking a seventh term while being challenged by Democrat Ben Gruber in a district that Neubauer says went for President Donald Trump by a thin margin in 2024.
“Ben is a longtime law enforcement officer,” Neubauer said. “He has a very deep connection to this community. He often tells the story about how, when he was preparing to send his five-year-old daughter to school, they found out that the district school in their area was going to be closing and she was going to need to ride a bus for 92 minutes each way. And frankly, Todd Novak has been in office and doing very little to prevent that.”
53rd Assembly District
Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah) chose not to run again. Neubauer said he was “an over-performer in that district because he was the mayor there for a long time. So we are happy to see that retirement and really happy with a woman that we’ve got running there.”
Becky Nichols is a former member of the Menasha Common Council who Neubauer describes as “deeply connected to the community. A mom who understands the challenges that people are facing and is already out doing the work.” She will face Republican David Daniels and independent Rachael Dowling.
61st Assembly District
Democrats hope to unseat Rep. Bob Donovan (R-Greenfield and Milwaukee), a former Milwaukee Common Council member who used his Greenfield address to win an Assembly seat four years ago, even while his wife voted using their out-of-district address.
Three Democrats are competing in the Aug. 11 primary to see who will challenge Donovan: pharmacist Brian Bock, US Army veteran Ben Brist, and Lawanda Chambers, founder of a mental health and substance use clinic.
“We know that Bob Donovan is well known here,” Neubauer said. “We know that we cannot take this seat lightly. We’ve got several folks running, and they’re doing good work getting out and talking to their neighbors and building the case.”
85th Assembly District
Rep. Patrick Snyder (R-Schofield), former radio host and staffer to then-Rep. Sean Duffy, is being challenged by Marathon County Board member John Kroll, who studied energy efficiency at Western Technical College.
“He’s been working on energy efficiency for families, supporting them to lower their costs and save energy,” Neubauer said. “And so he’s got a great story to talk about affordability in this moment.”
88th Assembly District
Rep. Benjamin Franklin (R-DePere) is running for reelection for the first time and is being challenged by Brandy Tollefson.
“Brandy is really a fantastic candidate,” Neubauer said. “I like to share with folks that she ran the concession stand at the high school for several years. She’s a school board member and a working mom. She’s another one who I was out on the doors with last week and I think is just doing a great job because she understands the challenges that other families face in her region.”
