Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, announced he will run to represent the 31st SD he was drawn into instead of seeking reelection to the 23rd SD at the end of his current term.
James will take on Sen. Jeff Smith, D-Brunswick, who currently represents the 31st SD. James and Smith were paired in the 31st SD under the new maps, but James moved into an apartment in Thorp, which is part of the redrawn 23rd he was first elected to in 2022.
Meanwhile, Sen. Romaine Quinn, R-Birchwood, announced he will run for the 23rd SD James currently represents.
WisPolitics last week reported that James still owned the Altoona home that was his residence during his 2022 run, and that his wife voted from that address in the spring election.
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In a statement Thursday, James said he is “ready to come home.”
“When the maps changed, my home in Altoona was drawn out of my district,” James said. “I no longer represented Eau Claire County, my home, and my community. The district I was elected to included four new counties and new constituents who did not vote for me. Back home, I was no longer the State Senator for my wife and my family. However, in order to honor the voters who elected me to serve, I chose to uproot my home to finish my term.”
James said he is proud of his work in the 23rd SD, but he is “ready to represent the voters who elected me in 2022.”
Smith knocked James for “toeing the line” for Republican leaders, “botching” hospital closure funding, “dropping the ball” on PFAS funding and failing to deliver results.
“Voters in the 31st district know all too well how these failures have affected their lives,” Smith said. “Alternatively, they are demanding action that lowers the costs of housing and healthcare, and puts people over profits. That is why I am confident that come next November we will win a Democratic majority and will finally be able to get to work delivering for hardworking Wisconsinites.”
Quinn was elected to the 25th SD in 2022 but was drawn into the 23rd SD James currently represents.
“A liberal activist movement bent on gerrymandering the state divided the district in half midway through my term,” Quinn said in his announcement that he’d seek the seat. “The newly drawn 23rd Senate District is a place I have called home for most of my life. District lines may have changed, but what remains the same is my commitment to representing the values of northern Wisconsin.”
WisPolitics previously reported that Quinn had sold his home in Cameron, where he lived when the old maps were in place, and moved his family to Birchwood in the 25th. Quinn told WisPolitics Thursday he has been renting a property in the 25th, but also owns property in Barron County in the 23rd SD.
