By Lynn Binnie
Whitewater Banner volunteer staff
whitewaterbanner@gmail.com

New state district maps that were submitted to the state Supreme Court by Governor Evers, passed by the Republican majority Senate and Assembly on February 13, and signed by Governor Evers on February 19, are expected to result in new state representatives for the Whitewater area. Effective in January, 2025, our area, which is currently represented by one of two Republicans in the Assembly, will be located Assembly District 43, which is generally expected to lean Democratic. Our transition in the Senate will not occur until January, 2027. Our current senator is a Republican, but our new Senate District 15 is expected to lean Democratic.

The Walworth County portion of the City of Whitewater is currently represented by Ellen Schutt (R) in the Assembly. Schutt resides in Clinton, which is not located in the new Assembly District 43. The Jefferson County portion of the city is currently served by Rep. Scott Johnson (R), who lives outside of Jefferson, which is also not located in the new district. Neither Schutt or Johnson’s office indicated to the Banner that they intend to move. It appears that no current Assembly members reside in this new district. This seat will be up for election in November, 2024.

All of the city and most of the area towns are in Senator Steve Nass’s current district, number 11. Nass (R) resides in La Grange, which is just outside the new Senate District 15. He will continue to represent the Whitewater area until January, 2027, as he was most recently elected in 2022. LaGrange is the one nearby town that Nass will continue to serve if he is re-elected. Senator Mark Spreitzer (D) represents the current District 15, and since his residence in Beloit is also in the new District 15, he would represent our area if he runs successfully for re-election in 2026.

The state will soon be updating their website where a citizen may enter their street address in order to confirm their districts. According to the online maps, in addition to the city of Whitewater, Assembly District 43 will include the towns of Richmond, Cold Spring, Whitewater, Johnstown, Lima, Milton, and Fulton, as well as the city of Milton and a very small portion of Janesville. Based on the 2022 election, this district is estimated to be approximately 55% Democratic, 43% Republican, and 2% Independent. Most sources seem to expect the district to lean Democratic, though at least one source sees it as one of the relatively few “competitive” districts.

In addition to all of Assembly District 43, Senate District 15 will include most of the city of Janesville, all of Beloit, and various towns. Based on the 2022 election, this district is estimated to be approximately 57% Democratic, 41% Republican, and 2% Independent. Most sources anticipate that it will lean Democratic.

On December 22, 2023 the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the current state districting maps were unconstitutional and had to be redrawn in time to be used in the fall 2024 elections. The maps had been said to be among the most gerrymandered in the country, and had contributed to Republican control of the legislature for over a decade. Although Wisconsin is considered to be a “purple” state, Republicans currently hold a 64-35 majority in the Assembly and a 22-10 majority in the Senate, with one Democratic-leaning Senate seat vacant.  A number of new map proposals had been submitted to the Supreme Court, which had stated that if the legislature and governor could agree on a set of maps, the court would accept them.

According to an article on wpr.org, at least 32 counties and 21 municipalities have passed advisory referendums supporting the establishment of a nonpartisan commission to develop the map proposals for the redistricting that is required after each U.S. census. Iowa established such a commission in 2010.

The current redistricting will not affect the federal Congressional districts. A lawsuit filed in the state Supreme Court in January seeks to challenge those maps. The state is currently represented in the House by six Republicans and two Democrats.