The November elections resulted in a decisive win by Donald Trump and J.D. Vance and the U.S. Senate flipping to Republican control. Meanwhile, control of the U.S. House of Representatives hung in the balance for nearly a week before Republicans reached the magic number of 218 seats needed to control the House.
The red wave that swept the federal elections, did not translate down the ballot for Wisconsin Republicans running for state office. At the state level, the newly redrawn legislative districts resulted in Democrats picking up a significant number of seats, but not enough to gain control of either house. Assembly Republicans lost 9 seats, dropping their majority to 54-45 and the Senate Republican majority was reduced to 18-15. Among the notable races in the Senate, two veteran Republican lawmakers were defeated–Duey Stroebel and Joan Ballweg. While control remains the same, the smaller majorities will inevitably change the political dynamics of the Wisconsin Legislature. The redrawn maps also resulted in many new faces elected, with a 30 percent turnover in the Assembly and four new Senators.
