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 more competitive district maps.
Two Republicans and two Democrats are running for Assembly District 33. The Republican and the Democrat who receive the most votes on Aug. 11 will advance to the November election.
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 state Senate, 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 33
Wisconsin Assembly District 33 includes eastern Walworth County and southwest Racine County, including Burlington, most of Lake Geneva, East Troy and Union Grove.
Current Rep. Robin Vos, a Republican, is not seeking reelection. Vos was one of the most powerful legislators in Wisconsin and served a record-long stint as state Assembly speaker
WUWM sent a questionnaire to the candidates. Their responses below may be edited for length and clarity.
Meet the candidates
Rick Stacey (Republican)
Current occupation: Logistics and Walworth County Board Chair
Why are you running for this office?
I believe in protecting constitutional rights and protecting the great people of Wisconsin. We need responsible accountable government. Wisconsin is facing a financial crisis, and I will bring the voice of fiscal responsibility to Madison.
In WUWM's election survey, affordability is the top concern listed by voters. How would you work to address cost of living issues in Wisconsin?
Keep taxes low and government spending down. There are plenty of opportunities to cut taxes and spending.
A Marquette poll earlier this year found 70% of WI voters think the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide. How do you plan to address concerns about data centers?
Residents deserve transparency. When a development is going to majorly impact a community, it should not be decided behind closed doors. It should be on the ballot in the form of a referendum. NO back door deals!
What are your top state budget priorities?
Affordability! Low Taxes! Streamline the Department of Transportation (DOT) by making our infrastructure efficient and safe. Cut out the waste.
How do you plan to remain accountable to the people of Wisconsin?
The people of Wisconsin deserve transparency when it comes to spending their hard-earned money. I plan to take my proven principals and common-sense approach to spending to Madison.
Please list any notable endorsements you've received.
I've received several endorsements from local citizen, local business, town officials and the Walworth County Sheriff's Department.
Steve Wicklund (Republican)
Current occupation: Owner, BSW Electric, and Village President of Union Grove
Why are you running for this office?
I'm running because I've spent my career in the trades, building a small business and serving my community, while watching government grow as families and small businesses pay the price. As Village President of Union Grove and Chairman of the Racine County Intergovernmental Cooperation Council, I've balanced budgets and seen local leaders take the heat for problems Madison created and won't fix: unfunded mandates, broken shared revenue formulas, and property taxes crushing homeowners. I'm not here to start a political career. I'm coming to solve problems and go home. I've signed the front of a paycheck, and I'll bring that common sense to Madison: limited government, lower taxes, and a state that works for people.
In WUWM's election survey, affordability is the top concern listed by voters. How would you work to address cost of living issues in Wisconsin?
Affordability starts with property taxes, and for too long Madison has pushed its costs onto local taxpayers. I will fight to restore the state's share of school funding, reform shared revenue, and end the unfunded mandates that drive local taxes up. I support responsible income tax cuts, eliminating taxes on tips, and keeping energy affordable and reliable. As a business owner and Village President, I have balanced budgets the hard way, and I will do the same in Madison.
A Marquette poll earlier this year found 70% of WI voters think the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide. How do you plan to address concerns about data centers?
In Racine County we are living this firsthand, with one of the nation's largest data center projects in our backyard. These developments can bring investment, but too often the benefits go to the corporation while ratepayers and taxpayers absorb the costs. I will insist that data centers pay the true cost of the energy and water they use, that household affordability and reliability come first, that our water is protected, and that local officials and taxpayers get full transparency.
What are your top state budget priorities?
Property tax relief comes first, and that means fixing the structural problems behind the bills. I would use the surplus for lasting fixes and a responsible reserve, not new programs we cannot sustain: restore the state's share of school funding with dollars reaching the classroom, reform shared revenue, and end unfunded mandates. Fully fund public safety, invest in the skilled trades and technical colleges, and keep cutting income taxes responsibly. Government should live within its means and tie spending to results.
How do you plan to remain accountable to the people of Wisconsin?
Accountability is the reason I am running, and it starts with being accessible. I am not a career politician. I am a business owner and local leader who answers to the people I serve. I will hold regular town halls and office hours across Racine and Walworth Counties, return calls, show up at local meetings, and be straight with people even when we disagree. As Village President I have governed in public, vote by vote, and I will bring that same openness to Madison. I also believe government should be accountable to taxpayers, so I support performance based budgeting that ties spending to results and regular review of agencies. I came to solve problems and go home, and I will measure my work by results for the people who sent me there.
Please list any notable endorsements you've received.
- Van Wanggaard, State Senator
- Amanda Nedweski, State Representative
- Bob Wittke, State Representative
- Ralph Malicki, Racine County Executive
- Christopher Schmaling, Racine County Sheriff
- Patricia Hanson, Racine County District Attorney
- Tom Kramer, Racine County Board Chairman
- Scott Maier, Racine County Board Vice Chairman
- Ernie Rossi, Racine County Board Supervisor
- Troy McReynolds, Racine County Board Supervisor
- Jon Schultz, Mayor, City of Burlington,
- Sara Gloeckler, Village Trustee, Union Grove
- Will Martin, Candidate for Lt. Governor
- David DeGroot, Village President, Mt. Pleasant
Maria Elena Bisabarros (Democrat)
Bisabarros did not respond to WUWM's candidate questions. The information below is from her campaign website.
Maria Elena Bisabarros was born in Spain and became a U.S. citizen in 1997. For 35 years, she taught at universites, Elkhorn High School and homeschool groups. Now, she and her husband co-own a meat processing company in East Troy.
Her priorities include ending voucher programs that transfer public payer dollars to private schools, lowering healthcare costs, investing in solar energy and introducing a statewide moratorium on data centers.
Rick Bailey (Democrat)
Current occupation: I am a retired high school social sciences teacher, at-risk counselor, and head tennis, assistant basketball coach.
Why are you running for this office?
I decided after being asked by our Walworth County chairperson to run for this office in early April that I could no longer sit on the sidelines and watch the madness in Washington D./C. nor the constant gridlock in Madison. Secondly, I have six grandchildren and four grown children. What kind of a world do I want to leave to them? Finally, I am running to do what I can to bring the type of governing back to our state that more closely resembles the way our founding fathers meant it to be: conversation, debate, the seeking of consensus, rather than spreading fear, divisiveness, stonewalling, name calling, accusations, and lies.
In WUWM's election survey, affordability is the top concern listed by voters. How would you work to address cost of living issues in Wisconsin?
We must enact policies that lower gas and food prices, provide affordable healthcare including providing Badger Care to all who need it, lower the cost of buying and staying in a home. We must expand state level tax credits, and support development of in-state energy generation/ grid improvements to help cut utility costs. I will propose and support legislation that provides the proposed bipartisan tax relief package that will provide direct rebates, including state income taxation on tips and overtime pay, and that directs millions toward property tax relief. We must build more affordable housing, and programs that provide tax cuts to working families.
A Marquette poll earlier this year found 70% of WI voters think the costs of large data centers are greater than the benefits they provide. How do you plan to address concerns about data centers?
Before any proposed data centers are built there must be absolute transparency provided by the owners as well the energy companies that stand to benefit. No data center should be approved without first holding open forums where the citizens of a local community can be honestly informed about the potential dangers: i.e. ground pollution and/or water contamination. The public must be made fully aware of what these centers will actually be engaging in, such as increased surveillance of our lives. There must be clear, complete state mandated regulatory rules put in place to ensure peoples' health and safety. Finally, the cost of pollution clean up must be paid by the data centers themselves, not passed onto consumers.
What are your top state budget priorities?
I will work to help build a state budget that addresses the issues listed issues listed above: affordability, affordable healthcare for all, fully-funded K-12 public education, a fairer taxation system providing relief, help for our veterans, real financial relief for family farms and small businesses. The question that always is asked is how will we pay for all of these initiatives. We need to "unfreeze" the millions currently being held in state government, using the funding to help pay for my proposals. We also need, as stated above, to rework the tax system in our state. Instead of providing enormous tax breaks that benefit only the wealthiest and largest corporations we need a system that demands that they pay their fair share.
How do you plan to remain accountable to the people of Wisconsin?
I will continue to be, as I have always been, open, honest, and transparent in every action I take, every legislative proposal I submit or support. I will hold regular public forums, attend local events, essentially be available to any who live in my district in a daily basis.
Please list any notable endorsements you've received.
Endorsements pending.
