Wisconsinites will vote for state Assembly and Senate candidates in the general election Nov. 5, 2024.
This is the first election under newly-competitive district maps.
What do the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly do?
The Wisconsin Legislature is made up of 99 Assembly representatives and 33 Senators from across Wisconsin. Together, they have the power to create, amend and repeal laws.
The Legislature plays a major role in deciding how to use taxpayer-funded state revenue every two years in the biennial budget. Whether more or less money is spent on education, economic development, tax relief — that is decided by the majority in the Legislature, along with Wisconsin's governor, who has to sign the budget, and other bills, into law.
What's at stake?
The Wisconsin Legislature has been firmly controlled by Republicans for more than a decade, under gerrymandered legislative maps.
Those maps were thrown out by the liberal-majority Wisconsin Supreme Court last year, which prompted the Legislature to approve new maps proposed by Gov. Tony Evers.
Democrats now have a chance of winning the majority in the Assembly, if they win a handful competitive districts.
In the Senate, only half of the seats are up for election, which means Republicans are likely to hold a majority in that chamber for the next two years at least. But Democrats are still working to flip some of the seats.
Assembly District 16
Assembly District 16 is entirely contained within the boundaries of the city of Milwaukee in central Milwaukee.
The district is currently represented by Democrat Kalan Haywood, who is running for re-election unchallenged.
According to WisPolitics, the district leans 91% Democratic.
Meet the candidates
Kalan Haywood (Democrat)
Kalan Haywood did not respond to WUWM's candidate questions. The information below is from his website.
Kalan Haywood has served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly since 2019. His platform emphasizes investment in education, economic development, and public safety.
"At the refreshing age of 24, Rep. Haywood has shared his vision for Greater Milwaukee on both local and national media outlets," Haywood says on his website. "He works tirelessly to change the narrative of the possible achievements of young people with the hopes to inspire them, and his peers, and letting them know that the time is now; you don't have to wait to be great."
During his time in the Assembly, he has served on the Housing and Real Estate Committee, the Committee on Energy and Utilities, the Committee on Transportation, and others. He serves on the Board of Directors for the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority and the Wisconsin Center District.
Haywood is the youngest African American candidate ever elected to state office in Wisconsin. Before his election to the Assembly, he served two terms as the president of the City of Milwaukee Youth Council.
Kalan Haywood's campaign website
Have questions about other candidates on your ballot? Read about the candidates in your Wisconsin Senate district here:
