Is politics in Wisconsin local or national? Assembly District 61 can tell us | WUWM 89.7 FM

The election will be held on November 5 in Wisconsin and will be the first to be held under the new legislative maps. For more than a decade, maps have been heavily modified to favor Republicans. Now Democrats have a chance to win a majority in the State Assembly.

The balance of power in the Legislature will come down to a few swing districts across the state. One of them is 61st Assembly Districtwhich includes parts of the city of Milwaukee, Greenfield, Greendale and Hales Corners.

Democrat LuAnn Bird is seeking to replace Republican Bob Donovan in the district.

In 2022, Bird unsuccessfully ran against Donovan under the old district plans. She has local school board experience from supporting wheelchair-accessible schools after her husband became paralyzed in the 1990s.

That experience with the education system is part of what draws voters like Sara to support her, as does Bird’s support for Democratic priorities like abortion rights.

“I like that she’s really interested in women’s health care and women making their own decisions about their bodies. Education is important to her, and the work she and her husband have done for disability rights is really important,” Sara said.

Bird has stated that if elected, she will advocate for greater funding for public schools and will draw on her school board experiences, which have given her insight into state government policy.

“I went to legislative sessions as needed and participated, for example, on a legislative study committee that was considering creating a teacher certification board,” Bird said, describing the work she did for the state legislature as a school board member.

Republican Bob Donovan is also no stranger to politics. He was a councilor in Milwaukee for 20 years and ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Milwaukee twice.

Donovan currently lives in Greenfield and serves as the 84th District representative in the state Assembly. The new maps took him out of the district he currently represents.

Donovan did not respond to WUWM’s requests for an interview. In candidate survey this summer, he highlighted his voters’ cost-of-living concerns as his reason for running again. He said he would support the tax break if re-elected.

A voter named Dennis says he supports Donovan in part because of his personal connection to the candidate.

“I have known Bob for several years. I was a city inspector and Bob and I walked the streets of Milwaukee together and went with local police officers, the sheriff’s department K9 units and went door to door,” he said.

Like Dennis and Donovan, Sara also has a personal connection to Bird – she worked with Bird’s daughter at the school where she previously taught. Given these personal connections to the candidates, you might think this is a district where the old adage “all politics is local” still holds true.

But that’s not quite true. Sara knew she was voting for a Democrat even before Bird became a candidate.

“I knew because I’m a Democrat at heart,” she said.

Dennis also knew he was voting Republican before he knew Donovan was the candidate. His priorities coincide with the Republican presidential program.

“We need to make sure the borders are closed and the right people come in the right way, legally, because there is too much crime. Crime is rampant in all cities and must be stopped. This must be stopped, otherwise it will have no future,” he said.

In the August primary, Donovan easily defeated his Republican rival, winning over 90% of the vote. But the Republican vote total was still about 700 fewer than Bird received unopposed in the primary — about the same number she lost to Donovan two years ago in the old maps.

As Election Day approaches and the state loses its balance of power, the 61st District may show what’s more important to voters: personal connections or national political priorities.