Wisconsinites will vote for state Assembly and Senate candidates in a primary on Aug. 11 and in the general election Nov. 3, 2026.
This is the second election under newly-competitive district maps.
One Republican and one Democrat are running for Assembly District 16.
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 in 2023, 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 of competitive districts.
Republicans are likely to maintain their majority in the Assembly. According to JR Ross with WisPolitics.com, Democrats would have to sweep almost all of the "swing" seats and hold on to a few they won by the skin of their teeth in 2024, to have a chance of gaining a majority in the Assembly.
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 Rep. Kalan Haywood, who is running for reelection.
WUWM sent a questionnaire to each of the candidates, but neither responded. The information below is from public sources.
Kalan Haywood (Democrat, incumbent)
Kalan Haywood has served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly since 2019. His platform emphasizes investing in affordable housing, reforming the criminal justice system, protecting voting rights and supporting working families.
"Rep. Haywood is fighting to put money back in the pockets of working Milwaukeeans — expanding the homestead tax credit, capping prescription drug costs, and co-authoring a family and medical leave insurance program so no one has to choose between a paycheck and caring for a loved one. He also supported substantial investments to expand access to affordable child care," his website says.
Alciro Deacon (Republican)
Alciro Deacon did not respond to WUWM's candidate questions and does not have a campaign website or social media page readily available. However, you can find a Facebook page for his 2020 Senate campaign here.
