Rep. Rodriguez Hangs Onto Assembly Seat

State Rep. Jessie Rodriguez.

State Rep. Jessie Rodriguez narrowly defeated her Democratic challenger, David Marstellar, in Assembly District 21 on the south side of Milwaukee County by fewer than 1,000 votes Tuesday.

The City of Oak Creek was the last municipality in Wisconsin to report absentee votes, and before they came in Rodriguez was only leading by 18 votes. But once absentee votes were added to the county, the six-term incumbent pulled away with approximately 51.3% of he vote to Marstellar’s 48.5.%

Many formerly safe districts became competitive following redistricting in 2023, and District 21 on the southern end of the county is one of them.

Rodriguez found herself in a newly drawn District 21 following redistricting in 2023. The district, which she has represented since 2013, became closely watched as one that Democrats could potentially flip after redistricting swapped out historically conservative suburban communities in the district for neighborhoods on the south side of Milwaukee surrounding Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport

Rodriguez faced off against Marstellar, a city of Milwaukee resident and longtime Democratic campaign volunteer and member of the local Democratic Party. Marstellar’s longtime partner is Milwaukee County Register of Deeds Israel Ramón.