The Nov. 5 election in Wisconsin is the first under new legislative maps. For more than a decade, the maps were heavily gerrymandered in favor of Republicans. Now, Democrats have a chance to gain a majority in the state Assembly.
The balance of the power in the Legislature will come down to handful of swing districts across the state. One of them is the 61st Assembly District, which contains parts of the city of Milwaukee, Greenfield, Greendale and Hales Corners.
Democrat LuAnn Bird is running to replace Republican Rep. Bob Donovan in the district.
Bird ran unsuccessfully against Donovan under the old district maps in 2022. She has local school board experience, stemming from her advocacy for wheelchair accessible schools after her husband was paralyzed in the 1990s.
This experience with the education system is part of what draws voters like Sara to support her, along with Bird’s support for Democratic priorities like abortion rights.
"I like that she is really into women's healthcare and women making their own decisions about their bodies. Education is important to her and also the work that she's done in disability rights with her husband is really important," Sara said.
Bird said she’d advocate for more funding for public schools if elected, and she would lean on her school board experience, which gave her insight into statehouse politics.
"I would go to legislative sessions when needed, and I participated, for example, on a legislative study committee that was looking at creating a teacher council on certification for teachers," Bird said, describing work she did with the state Legislature as a school board member.
Republican Bob Donovan is also no stranger to politics. He was an alderman in Milwaukee for 20 years and ran twice, unsuccessfully, for Milwaukee mayor.
Donovan now lives in Greenfield and is a representative for 84th District in the state Assembly. The new maps drew him out of the district he currently represents.
Donovan did not respond to WUWM’s requests for an interview. In a candidate survey this summer, he emphasized his constituents’ concerns about the cost of living as a reason he’s running again. He said he would support tax relief if re-elected.
A voter named Dennis says he supports Donovan, in part because of his personal connection to the candidate.
"I've known Bob for several years. I used to be a city inspector and Bob and I used to walk streets together in Milwaukee and we used to walk with area police officers, sheriff's department K9 units and we would go from house to house," he said.
Like Dennis with Donovan, Sara also has a personal connection to Bird — she worked with Bird’s daughter at a school she previously taught at. And given these personal connections to the candidates, you might think this is a district where the old adage "all politics is local” still lives.
But that is not entirely the case. Sara knew she was voting Democrat even before Bird was the candidate.
"I knew because I'm a Democrat at heart," she said.
Dennis also knew he was voting Republican before he knew Donovan was the candidate. His priorities match up to the Republican presidential platform.
"We have to make sure the borders are closed and the right people are coming in the right way legally, because there's too much crime. Rampant crime in all the cities, and it's got to be stopped. It's got to be stopped, otherwise we're not going to have a future," he said.
In the August primary, Donovan defeated his Republican challenger easily, winning over 90% of the vote. But the total votes cast for Republicans were still about 700 less than Bird received running unopposed in the primary — about the same number she lost to Donovan by two years ago under the old maps.
With Election Day looming, and the state’s balance of power up for grabs, the 61st district might show what matters more to voters: personal connections or national political priorities.
