Quickly find and compare Wisconsin’s state and federal candidates with WPR’s interactive Candidate Guide

In a closely divided state, voters need every resource they can find to make up their minds and cast their votes. That’s why Wisconsin Public Radio created the online Candidate Guide at wpr.org/election2024. The interactive guide lets anyone quickly find and compare candidates’ positions on the issues Wisconsinites told WPR they care about. All ballot-certified candidates running for state and federal office in Wisconsin were invited to participate.

Seasoned voters may know what legislative district they live in, who their current representatives are and who is running for office this fall, but for new voters or new residents in Wisconsin it can be hard to wade through the information. And even experienced voters may not know where the candidates stand on the issues that matter most to them. That’s where the Candidate Guide can help.

“Last winter WPR committed to empowering people to participate in this year’s elections,” Special Projects Reporter Bridgit Bowden said. “It can sometimes be difficult to find information about where the candidates stand on the issues, especially for down-ballot races. We wanted to create a resource where Wisconsinites could find out about all the races on their ballot — from the President of the United States to the state Legislature.”

The Candidate Guide is just one example of WPR’s commitment this year. In addition to rigorous election coverage, WPR journalists also produced a bilingual voter registration guide and an engagement effort that invited anyone to submit questions for the candidates. They also held a series of public “Reporter Office Hours” at locations around the state to meet with Wisconsinites and to learn more about their top issues and concerns this year. All of WPR’s 2024 election coverage is at wpr.org/election2024.

“WPR invited candidates for Wisconsin’s federal and state legislative offices to submit their positions on the issues and we’ve heard from more than half of them,” Bowden said. The survey was sent via email, with reminders and follow-up phone calls to each candidate’s campaign. The guide was published on wpr.org/election2024 on Oct. 2 and it will be updated if any additional candidates on the ballot want to participate. Bowden added that with absentee and early voting already underway, “we didn’t want to wait to put this resource online for Wisconsin voters. It’s up and ready for use now.”

WPR’s Candidate Guide was created as part of a year-long collaboration with America Amplified, a national project involving public radio stations around the nation funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The online guide was created in partnership with ElectUp. Follow all of WPR’s election coverage at wpr.org/election2024

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.