Women Lead Democratic Gains in Legislature

Jodi Habush Sinykin. Photo courtesy of her campaign.

Kamala Harris failed in her bid to become the first woman president. But U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin kept winning and the number of women on general-election ballots for seats in the Wisconsin Legislature increased by 10% on Nov. 5.

Just how well did women candidates in Wisconsin fare last week?

Democrat Baldwin got a statewide total of 1.67 million votes to win her third six-year term in the U.S. Senate. That was only 25,000 fewer votes than Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who won Wisconsin for the second time in three campaigns.

Not only did thousands of voters cast presidential ballots for the Republican candidate, only to then vote for the Democratic incumbent for the U.S. Senate, but Baldwin got about 4,500 votes more than Harris.

Baldwin defeated business executive Eric Hovde, who accused her of being a “career politician.”

Baldwin is the most winning woman politician in Wisconsin history.

The 62-year-old was first elected to local office in 1986 and served three terms in Assembly before her 1998 election to the 2nd District seat in the U.S. House, becoming Wisconsin’s first female member of Congress. She beat four-term Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson to win her first Senate term in 2012, and was the first openly gay senator in U.S. history. In 2018, she defeated Republican legislator Leah Vukmir to win a second term.

“Tammy Baldwin has her own brand,” observed Republican Rep. Todd Novak, of Dodgeville, who knocked on hundreds of southwest Wisconsin doors campaigning to win a sixth term in the Assembly last week. He beat first-time Democratic candidate Elizabeth Grabe, of Mt. Horeb.

Two women U.S. House candidates — Democrats Rebecca Cooke, a small business owner and consultant, in the 3rd District and physician Kristin Lyerly in the 8th District — lost.

Cooke barely lost, getting 49% of the vote in her defeat to first-term Republican Derrick Van Orden; Lyerly got 43% of the vote, losing to first-time Republican candidate Tony Wied. The 8th District seat was open because of the resignation of Republican Mike Gallagher.

But wins by three Democratic women – Jodi Habush Sinykin, Kris Alfheim and Sarah Keyeski – helped cut Republican control of the Senate to 18-15 next session. And the election of 14 new women Democrats in the Assembly helped reduce Republican control of that chamber by 10 seats.

The number of women on general-election ballots last week for seats in the Legislature was 75, or 10% more than in 2022.

Those 75 women candidates included 49 Democratic and 14 Republican candidates for Assembly seats, and nine Democratic and three Republican candidates for state Senate seats.

“Why more women ran this last election is likely a combination of things,” said Debra Cronmiller, executive director of the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin. “First, women may be frustrated enough with the status quo that they are more motivated to roll up their sleeves to change things from the inside.”

New, more fair legislative district maps that resulted from a compromise between Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republicans may have also prompted more women to run, Cronmiller added. “The maps helped in that districts became more competitive and it was not a foregone conclusion which party would prevail.”

Cronmiller doubted that the national debate over reproductive rights and abortion was a reason more women ran for the Legislature, although Democratic candidates used that issue in their campaigns against Republicans.

Women led Senate and Assembly Democrats last session, women will again outnumber men in the Assembly Democratic caucus and Republican senators just elected Sen. Mary Felzkowski as Senate president. But the Legislature has traditionally been run by men.

“Perhaps women do not run as frequently as men because this is a perceived ‘male job’,” Cronmiller said. “We have been trying to dispel that myth! The League has promoted women in office all along. We offer ‘how to run for office’ information and training.”

But, she added, “We do know that though women run less than men in general, when they run they tend to win at a greater rate than men.”

In the last two election cycles, more than twice as many women ran for the Legislature as Democrats than Republicans. Of the 49 women Democratic candidates for the Assembly, 26 of them won, including 12 incumbents. Seven of the 14 women Republican candidates for the Assembly won, including six incumbents.

“Why more Democrats than Republicans could be related to party leadership,” Cronmiller observed, “or more likely, a desire for civil discourse and cross-aisle compromise, which I see more women being willing to promote than entrenched conservative partisans.”

Steven Walters started covering the Capitol in 1988. Contact him at stevenscotwalters@gmail.com