Ben Brist has heard it time and again.
“People are mad right now and they’re frustrated. … Republican leaders in both Washington and in our state legislature in Madison, have made life more expensive, made it harder to afford everyday things like rent, electricity, groceries, and prescription drugs,” said Brist.
In one of the state’s most closely watched legislative contests this midterm election, the Democrat is hoping to unseat Republican State Assemblyman Bob Donovan in Wisconsin’s Assembly District 61, which encompasses parts of southwest Milwaukee and nearby suburbs.
Brist’s military background
Born and raised in Madison, Brist served as a paratrooper in Iraq and Kuwait in the Army 82nd Airborne Division, then as a Company Commander in the 4th Infantry Division.
After leaving the Army, Brist worked for Senator Tammy Baldwin and Dane County Executive Melissa Agard. He was inspired to run for Assembly after seeing how they “show up to work every day to move the ball forward for their constituents,” he told UpNorthNews.
Brist and his wife, Hannie, a former military intelligence officer, have settled in Greendale and hope to start a family soon, he said.
Brist said he had personally knocked on about 2,500 doors in the district, and had around 500 conversations with residents. Voters’ top concerns? Increased cost of living, rising healthcare costs, and high property taxes.
“I talked to a retired woman in the Milwaukee part of my district who had to come out of retirement to go back to work part time because she couldn’t keep up with costs and didn’t know how she would make her rent payments,” Brist said. “She had recently started selling her plasma to make ends meet.”
“Another district constituent, a retired Army vet, told me he was trying to decide between paying his property taxes so he could keep his house, paying his We Energy bill so he could keep his electricity on and paying to get his car fixed so he can still get around,” Brist said.
His campaign priorities
Brist noted that Republicans have controlled both Wisconsin’s state Assembly and Senate since 2011, and have refused to accept the federal government’s offer to help expand Medicaid/Badgercare, a move he said would help lower healthcare costs.
“That should be a day one priority,” Brist said. He also supports creating a statewide public-option healthcare plan.
Brist argues his opponent is as much to blame for rising costs as anyone else. “Bob Donovan is part of the Republican majority in the state legislature that has voted against [Medicaid] expansion multiple times. He has voted to defund public education, which has led to higher property taxes, and he has voted against capping the price of insulin and other lifesaving prescription drugs,” Brist said.
Brist said that another Republican priority, school vouchers, were a major factor in driving up costs in the state. He wants to get rid of them.
“We cannot afford to continue to fund two education systems: a private school system paid for by taxpayer-funded vouchers of up to $13,371 per pupil, and a public school system,” Brist said.
“This has led to struggling school districts and sky-high property taxes. Undoing vouchers won’t be a quick or simple process, but we have to do it over time.”
Drawing a contrast
Brist differs starkly from Bob Donovan on reproductive rights. Donovan has called abortion “manifest wickedness,” and voted to keep Wisconsin’s 1849 abortion ban in place. In 2024, he also voted to impose an abortion ban after 14 weeks of pregnancy, a proposal Democratic Gov. Tony Evers ultimately vetoed.
Brist wants to repeal the 1849 law entirely and codify the right of Wisconsin women to access abortion into law. “We should all be able to agree that decisions about abortion should not belong to a legislator in Madison,” Brist said.
Brist also paints a contrast between his opponent and himself by comparing his military service, which saw him serving alongside “every kind of American … from rural Louisiana [to] the Bronx New York,” to Donovan’s 20-year stint on the Milwaukee Common Council. He said he’s looking to drive a meaningful impact for everyone in the district, regardless of their political affiliation.
“It’s living a life where you’re actually pursuing public service and one where you’re just seeking public office,” Brist said. “It’s that ability to find that common purpose and work with anybody to get stuff done to make Wisconsin a better place.”
