Peter Burgelis, a Democratic alderman in Milwaukee, launched his bid for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District Sunday in an attempt to unseat GOP Rep. Bryan Steil.

“The first congressional district, frankly on paper, is more flippable than the third district,” Burgelis said while announcing his candidacy on WISN-TV’s “UpFront,” which is produced in partnership with WisPolitics-State Affairs.

“I’m getting into this race because I’ve been watching it from the sidelines, and I see that there’s no clear Democrat running who can beat Bryan Steil.”

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee lists the district as one of 44 it is targeting nationwide in an attempt to regain control of the U.S. House.

“Listen, I am announcing my campaign today,” Burgelis said when asked about fundraising. “The first financial disclosure comes in a couple months, but we need a Democrat who can raise money to beat Bryan Steil. He has millions in his war chest. Democrats need to step up and get that national attention.”

“Commitments are ongoing,” Burgelis added when asked about specific financial commitments.

Burgelis joins four Dems who have already announced their campaigns for the 1st CD, though none have been competitive financially with Steil so far. Emergency room nurse Mitchell Berman, of Franklin, raised $209,414 during the first three months of 2026, best among the previously announced Dem candidates. He finished March with $140,601 in the bank, while Steil had $5.6 million cash on hand.

The other Dem candidates are: UW-Whitewater administrator Miguel Aranda; ironworker and union official Randy Brice, of Racine; and Lorenzo Santos, of Racine. 

Burgelis currently doesn’t live within the district. He said his current home is roughly a mile outside it.

“Voters don’t care where you live or what the driver’s license address is in my wallet,” he said. “Voters care where you stand. Voters care what your principles are and how you can deliver your message of hard work and affordability to the voters. They want someone who represents their values. I have a proven track record of delivering for my constituents, and I’ll do the same thing for all of southeastern Wisconsin.”

A Steil spokesperson immediately made Burgelis’ residency an issue, saying in a statement the Milwaukee alderman “has no business running in a seat he doesn’t live in.”

Also on the program, state Rep. Francesca Hong says her gubernatorial campaign is “encouraged” by recent polls but adds there’s “no complacency” when asked if she’s the current Democratic front-runner.

“We have a robust primary,” Hong told “UpFront.” “A spirited primary is good for democracy. Our campaign is focused on reaching as many voters as we can and making sure that our campaign is accessible. That means we have to be at the dive bars. That means we’re campaigning sometimes at bowling alleys, making sure folks see the working-class champion wanting to champion for working-class people.”

Hong received 14% in the most recent Marquette University Law School poll, the highest amount of support for any candidate, while 65% of Democratic voters said they were undecided. The primary is in August.

“We’re hustling,” Hong said.

Hong said she believes in a “transparent process” when asked about Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s recent comments to supporters at a campaign event in Janesville she would craft the next state budget “behind a curtain.”

“We firmly believe in an inclusive democracy and transparent process,” Hong said. “I think a budget is a moral document and it should reflect the priorities of Wisconsinites all across the state, and our administration plans to bring in as many voices as we can to that process.”

Hong said it’s important while building a budget to tour the state and to bring in stakeholders, including “some whose voices may not have always been reflected in the budget process.

“I think it’s important as well to make sure that there are liaisons and ambassadors to the governor’s office to make sure that we’re making this as inclusive as a process as we can,” she said.

When asked whether it was still her position to “defund police,” as she’s noted in previous social media posts, Hong said, “Well, we have to make investments in what would help prevent crime, investments in communities, our public schools, community centers, public libraries. And I think that when there are limited resources, we have to look at where we can make cuts as well as where we can make investments.”

Hong added, “My position is to ensure that our local municipalities have the resources that they need to craft the budgets that they know meet their community’s needs. Our shared revenue formula is deeply inequitable, and I’m committed to ensuring all our local municipalities have the state resources they need to help their communities.”

In another segment, GOP gubernatorial candidate Tom Tiffany says he doesn’t have a problem with Brian Schimming remaining chair of the Republican Party of Wisconsin through the November election amid continued fallout from the spring election results.

“I think the executive committee made that decision in the last week that they’re going to keep having Brian Schimming as the chair,” the 7th CD congressman told “UpFront.” “I’ve always worked well with Brian, so I don’t have a problem with that. We’re building our own campaign, and I’m not concerned about others, whether it’s the state party or other campaigns. We are at the top of the ballot in this election. We are going to bring the leadership necessary to win this election for Republicans.”

Conservative Supreme Court candidate Maria Lazar lost by 20 points to liberal Chris Taylor earlier this month. Tiffany said that doesn’t impact the November election.

“So every election is unique, and the big thing that happened there was a very low turnout,’ Tiffany said. “There’s going to be high turnout in this election, and high turnout now benefits us as Republicans.”

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson has been talking about a run for governor, and Tiffany said he was unconcerned about the chatter.

“You know, Tommy going all the way back to 1986, he was a great governor here in the state of Wisconsin and did a fine job as governor,” Tiffany said. “I’ve never been focused on who’s running, whether it’s Republican or Democrat. Whoever wants to get in, get in. We’re focused on what we can control and you look at the things that we’ve been doing, building a really good campaign, money, messaging, manpower. We’re going to cover this state with volunteers knocking on doors. Our message is sharp, making sure we deliver that clear contrast.”

In criticizing Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez’s recent comments that she would craft the next state budget “behind a curtain,” Tiffany vowed not to pursue dramatic changes to the state’s open records laws. 

While on the Joint Finance Committee in 2015, Tiffany voted to gut the open records law by exempting any legislative documents or correspondence as well as “deliberative materials,” including opinions, bill drafts and any other material created in the process of reaching a decision on policy. GOP lawmakers reversed course days later after blowback over the move.

“You allude to that one vote in regards to some stifling of the open records,” Tiffany said. “And we corrected the mistake, and I admit it, that was a mistake to vote that way. But we corrected that mistake and made sure it didn’t happen again.”

He added, “People can count on transparency from Tom Tiffany and accountability to the voters.”

Tiffany also called for going to base budgeting, which would require state agencies to justify existing spending at the start of each budget.

“I think we should do a budget that goes back to the basics, and let’s make sure we’re funding things that are important,” Tiffany said. “But one of the things that I will certainly do is we’re going to audit all state agencies. We saw what happened over in Minnesota. We’ve got to make sure that isn’t happening here in Wisconsin because we know that is happening to a certain extent. We need to root it out, protect taxpayers.”

See more from the show.