City of Waukesha Elects Democratic Mayor
'I think we’re rejecting that MAGA agenda,' says the new mayor.
Pedestrians cross a street Friday, Jul 31, 2020, in Waukesha. Angela Major/WPR
The biggest city in conservative Waukesha County has elected a Democratic mayor.
Alicia Halvensleben beat state Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, in the race to become the city of Waukesha’s next mayor. Halvensleben, the president of the city’s common council, won on Tuesday night with 51.2 percent of the vote.
Her victory comes in a county that has long been viewed as a Republican stronghold.
“I was just as surprised as anybody else,” Halvensleben said. “We put in so much work, we talked to so many people, knocked (on) so many doors, made so many phone calls. So to see that hard work pay off was really incredible.”
Alicia Halvensleben. Submitted photo
Halvensleben received the endorsement of retiring Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly, who was elected as a Republican but switched his affiliation to independent following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
In a social media post, the Democratic National Committee called the win “HUGE.”
“Democrats are building momentum across the country as we head toward the midterms and beyond,” the post says.
Halvensleben also said she believes her victory could have “some major implications” for the midterms.
“I think what it says is that we’re rejecting that MAGA agenda,” she said.
Waukesha Mayor Shawn Reilly, center, answers questions from reporters alongside Fire Chief Steve Howard, left, and Police Chief Dan Thompson, right, on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, at Waukesha City Hall in Waukesha, Wis. Angela Major/WPR
Waukesha County, known as one of the three WOW Counties, is the third-biggest in the state. Republican President Donald Trump won 59 percent of the vote in the county in 2024.
Former Republican Gov. Scott Walker received around 72 percent of the vote in the county in 2010 and around 73 percent in the 2014 election. But in 2018, that number dropped to 66 percent when he lost the election to Democrat Tony Evers.
Matt Mareno, the chair of the Waukesha County Democratic Party, said the county has been “reliably moving to the left” over the past decade.
“It’s a change. It’s a clear rejection of the MAGA agenda that the Republican Party has taken since 2016,” Mareno said.
Lily Gorin, a political science professor at Carroll University in Waukesha, said there is more diversity in the city compared to the county.
“There is more of a diversity of voters — not just in terms of partisanship, but also in terms of who the voters are,” Gorin said.
Halvensleben is not the first Democratic mayor of Waukesha. Democrat Larry Nelson served as mayor from 2006 to 2010.
Gorin said she doesn’t believe the city of Waukesha is like the city of Omaha, Nebraska, which she called a “blue center in the middle of a big red space.”
“I think that the city of Waukesha kind of goes in a lot of different directions,” Gorin said.
Current Mayor Shawn Reilly said the city is more “purple” compared to the county.
“Definitely the city of Waukesha has become pretty much a toss up, is what it appears to be in regards to whether it’s Democrat or Republican. But we’ll really find out come November,” Reilly said.
City of Waukesha elects Democratic mayor was originally published by Wisconsin Public Radio.
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