All of Wisconsin's 99 Assembly seats and half of its 33 Senate seats are up for election this fall.
Many of the Assembly and Senate races have multiple candidates from the same party running. On Aug. 13, voters will choose which candidate they want to advance to the Nov. 5 general election.
Here are some of the most interesting Assembly and Senate primaries in the Milwaukee area.
Assembly District 19 (Milwaukee's East Side and Bay View)
Democratic socialist and Assembly member Ryan Clancy is facing a challenge from Democrat Jarrod Anderson.
Clancy has the backing of progressives including Sen. Chris Larson, Rep. Francesca Hong, and Black Leaders Organizing for Communities (BLOC) executive director Angela Lang.
Anderson has been endorsed by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson and Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley.
Marquette University research fellow John Johnson told Lake Effect, the District 19 race reveals some of the internal differences within the Democratic Party.
"That's going to be such an interesting primary to watch because it's a really Democratic-leaning district," Johnson says."In general elections, you don't learn much about the district because they're mostly Democrats, and they vote in a similar way from one race to another."
Read more about the candidates for District 19 here.
Assembly District 24 (Menomonee Falls, Germantown)
Marquette's Johnson says Assembly District 24 is almost a "mirror image" of District 19. It's another contest between different factions within a political party, but in this case, it's the GOP.
Rep. Janel Brandtjen and Sen. Dan Knodl, both Republicans, are vying for the seat. Whoever wins Aug. 13 will face a Democrat, William Walter, in the general election.
"[Brandtjen] is one of the furthest right members of the state Assembly, [and] has been closely connected to a lot of the election denier activity following the 2020 presidential election," Johnson says.
Knodl is seen as a more mainstream Republican.
"This will give us an opportunity to see the relative strength of more mainstream and less mainstream Republicans in the Milwaukee suburbs," Johnson says.
Ready more about the candidates for District 24 here.
Assembly Districts 11 and 12 (Northwest Milwaukee)
There are open contests for these two Milwaukee Assembly seats. The current representatives for each seat, Dora Drake and LaKeshia Myers, are running for Wisconsin Senate.
Milwaukee County Supervisor and former MPS board member Sequanna Taylor and UWM graduate student Amillia Heredia are facing each other in a Democratic primary for District 11.
District 11 represents north-central Milwaukee. It includes the neighborhoods of Thurston Woods, Brynwood, Graceland, and Old North Milwaukee.
Read more about the candidates for District 11 here.
The open Assembly seat in District 12 has drawn even more candidates. Four Democrats and one Independent are running. The Democrat who wins the Aug. 13 primary will face the Independent, Deanna Alexander, on Nov. 5.
The Democrats are political organizer Brandon Williford, former Milwaukee County Supervisor Russell Antonio Goodwin Sr., former Legislative staffer Katrina Blossom Morrison and local IBEW Board Member Decorah Gordon.
Morrison received the endorsement of District 12's current representative, LaKeshia Myers.
District 12 covers the far north of the city of Milwaukee, as well as part of northern Wauwatosa and western Brown Deer.
Read more about the candidates for District 12 here.
Assembly District 14 (West Allis)
There is a wide open-race, with a crowded field of candidates, in Assembly District 14, which covers West Allis and parts of Milwaukee and Wauwatosa.
Three Democrats, one Independent, and one Republican are running for the seat. The Democrat who receives the most votes in the Aug. 13 primary will advance to the general election Nov. 5, along with the Republican candidate and Independent candidate.
The districts leans approximately 57% Democratic.
The three Democrats competing in the primary are former West Allis Alderman Angelito Tenorio, political consultant and organizer Brady Coulthard, and social worker Nathan Kieso.
Read more about the candidates for District 14 here.
Two area Senate races with partisan contests
Two southeast Wisconsin Senate races have partisan head-to-heads.
In Milwaukee, Democrats Dora Drake and LaKeshia Myers are facing off again for Senate District 4 — a seat previously held by Lena Taylor.
District 4 represents northwest Milwaukee, Shorewood, Glendale, and parts of Wauwatosa and Brown Deer.
Drake defeated Myers in a July special primary election to serve the remainder of Taylor's term, after Taylor was appointed to a judicial post by Gov. Tony Evers.
Whoever wins the partisan primary Aug. 13 will win a full 4-year term in the Senate.
Read more about the candidates for District 4 here.
Two Republicans are competing to represent Senate District 20, which includes most of Washington County, northern Ozaukee County, parts of southern Sheboygan County, eastern Fond du Lac County and eastern Dodge County.
Former State Rep. Timothy Ramthun and Sate Sen. Daniel Feyen are facing each other in the newly-redrawn district.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has called Ramthun "one of Wisconsin's most prominent purveyors of election conspiracy theories."
The Republican who receives the most votes in the Aug. 13 primary will face Democrat Michael Rapp in the general election.
