MADISON, WI – From Prairie du Chien to Wauwatosa, Senate Democrats are spreading their message of supporting Wisconsin families and putting Republicans on notice that their days in the majority are numbered. In the last few weeks, we have seen two incredibly strong candidates, Rep. Jenna Jacobson in the 17th District and Rep. Robyn Vining in the 5th District, launch their campaigns for State Senate in districts that were won by Vice President Harris, Senator Baldwin, and Justice Crawford in the last few months.
As a result of Wisconsin’s Fair Maps, Senate Dems made massive gains in the chamber in 2024, and now only need to flip two seats to win a majority. Wisconsinites are taking note as it becomes clearer every day that we have the maps, the candidates, the message, and the support to win a Senate majority for the first time in over 10 years.
Read more of Senate Democrats’ plans to win a majority in the State Senate:
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Democrats launch push to take the majority in the Senate after years in the shadows
- For the first time in more than a decade, Wisconsin Democrats have a fighting chance at winning a majority in the state Senate, with four close seats on the ballot in 2026.
- “Everyone agrees that the Wisconsin Senate is the most flippable chamber in the country,” Senate Minority Leader Dianne Hesselbein, D-Middleton, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
- Days after the budget was signed, Rep. Jenna Jacobson, D-Oregon, announced plans to challenge Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, a co-chair of the Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee, for the 17th District seat. And Rep. Robyn Vining, D-Wauwatosa, will run in the 5th District, currently held by Sen. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, and thought to be the most “flippable” in the state.
- “After 15 years of fighting, we finally have a chance to win,” Vining told supporters as she announced her campaign at a park in Wauwatosa. “The path to the Democratic majority, the path to fully funding our public schools, the path to fighting back against gun violence with meaningful reforms, the path to quality, affordable health care and mental health care and child care runs straight through the 5th Senate District.”
- “Schools have been underfunded. Health care costs too much. Rent costs too much. Groceries cost too much. And a Democratic majority means that those issues are going to be addressed, and we’re going to start delivering for folks where Republicans have been dropping the ball,” Karcz said.
- “We just passed yet another state budget on a Republican playing field, and I don’t want to do that again. No matter how hard we negotiate, we’re still on a Republican playing field, and the Republican playing field has been bad for Wisconsin families,” Vining said. “There is so much good that we can do if Democrats win the majority in the Wisconsin State Legislature, our job for the next 16 months is to tell people what that is like. It’s our job to cast that vision.”
Wisconsin Public Radio: Fight for control of Wisconsin Senate is shaping up ahead of 2026 election
- The November election was the first test for the new maps, which helped Democrats whittle a Republican supermajority of 22-10 down to an 18-15 split. Those pickups came despite President Donald Trump defeating former Vice President Kamala Harris in the state.
- Democrats now only need to pick up a net gain of two Senate seats to win a majority in that chamber.
- “The good news for Democrats is that I would say all four of these seats lean Democratic, even though three of them have Republican incumbents,” Johnson told WPR. “I say that because not only did (Democratic U.S. Sen.) Tammy Baldwin win a majority of the vote in each of these districts in her 2024 senatorial reelection campaign, so did Kamala Harris, even though she lost the state.”
- Of the four Senate seats seen as most competitive next year, Democrats consider the 5th Senate District, currently held by Hutton, as the most “flippable” in the state.
- In a separate announcement earlier this month, Wisconsin Rep. Jenna Jacobson, D-Oregon, announced her campaign to unseat Marklein, who co-chairs the Legislature’s powerful Joint Finance Committee. Just as with Vining’s campaign launch, Jacobson was flanked by Senate Democrats, including Hesselbein.
