Dane County

Union Leader Joni Anderson is the progressive candidate for the 14th Senate District. Anderson is a strong advocate for labor and favors Medicare for All and the Green New Deal. She has also made non-partisan redistricting and voting rights central to her campaign. Her opponent is current Assembly Rep. Joan Ballweg, who has been endorsed by Pro-Life Wisconsin, Wisconsin Right to Life, and the NRA. Anderson is the progressive choice.

Melissa Sargent has served as the 48th District Assembly Member for 7 years and is seeking election to the Senate. Sargent's priorities include building more affordable housing, raising the minimum wage, investing in infrastructure and public transit, and protecting natural resources. She is the author of universal background check legislation, minimum wage increase legislation, and more. Her opponent is Scott Barker, a Republican that opposes common sense gun reform laws. Sargent is the progressive choice in this race.

Democrat Kelda Roys is unopposed. A former Assembly member, she has extensive proposals on a number of issues from Education, Housing, and Healthcare to Disability Rights, Ending Police Brutality, and supporting dairy farms. Roys believes in Badgercare for All, a Green New Deal for Wisconsin, and the legalization of Marijuana, among many other policies. Roys is a progressive choice.

Abigail Lowery has spent her life in education and healthcare as a special ed. teacher, autism line therapist, respite care provider, group home coordinator, and special education assistant. She is advocating for Medicaid expansion, a minimum wage increase, more rural broadband investment, nonpartisan redistricting, campaign finance reform, a transition to clean energy, and fully funding public schools. She also supports the Black Lives Matter movement and increasing voting accessibility. She is challenging incumbent Republican Representative John Jagler. Lowery is the progressive choice in this race.

Democrat Melissa Winker is running to unseat incumbent Republican Barbara Dittrich. Her top issues are affordable healthcare and expanded coverage, education, creating good jobs, gun violence prevention, and clean water. On these issues, her proposed policies are Medicaid expansion, mental health funding, preventing unfair billing practices, lowering the costs of prescription drugs, reducing student loan debt, investing in worker training, and universal background checks. Dittrich favors keeping police officers in schools and opposes reproductive freedom and fair maps. Winker is the progressive choice in this race.

Nurse and Army veteran Melisa Arndt is running to unseat incumbent Republican Jon Plumer. Arndt is the Wisconsin chapter leader of Free Mom Hugs, an organization that affirms and supports LGBTQ+ children. She supports affordable healthcare, clean water, and nonpartisan redistricting. Jon Plumer's stated policy positions are ambiguous--indeed, when he first announced his run for the Assembly he forgot to mention that he was a Republican. Although Plumer fails to publicize it, he has served as a consistent conservative vote as a member of the Legisature. Arndt is the progressive choice.

Longtime educator Don Vruwink is running for re-election to his third term in the Assembly. Vruwink has been a leader in the fight for nonpartisan redistricting and an advocate for fair compensation for teachers. Vruwink supports a worker's right to join a union and collectively bargain and sees the creation of family sustaining jobs as a top priority. He is being challenged by Republican Beth Drew, whose principles include limited government and family. Drew has not released more specific policy positions. Vruwink is the more progressive choice in this race.

Gary Hebl is running for a sixth term in the Assembly. The lawyer and small business owner has advocated for nonpartisan redistricting, Medicaid expansion, common-sense gun violence prevention laws, protecting the environment, and publicly financed elections. His opponent, Terry Lyon, is anti-choice, opposes welfare, and is against gun violence prevention laws. He also called upon the state legislature to overturn Governor Evers' mask mandate. Hebl is the more progressive choice in this race.

Representative Jimmy Anderson began his career as a lawyer. He was an advocate for safe driving and the victims of drunk driving accidents. In the Legislature, he has been a progressive voice on a variety of issues. Anderson believes in transparent government, a clean environment, and a well-funded educational system. He has introduced legislation to address gun violence, cap insulin prices, and strengthen environmental regulations. Anderson has also been a vocal advocate for Medicaid expansion. Anderson is the progressive choice in this race.

Madison Alderman Samba Baldeh has a progressive message. He is committed to 100% carbon-free energy by 2050. Baldeh is pro-choice and in favor of Medicaid expansion and criminal justice reform. His other priorities include increasing affordable housing to eliminate homelessness, and changing education funding from property taxes to state funding, while maintaining local control of schools. His opponent is Republican candidate Samuel Anderson. Baldeh is the progressive choice in this race.

Small business owner Mark Waldon is pledging that he would represent his constituents, rather than big donors. He supports BadgerCare expansion, marijuana legalization, prioritizing clean water resources over corporate farms, and making trade schools free to enable people to get family-supporting jobs without attending a four year college. He is challenging incumbent Republican Tony Kurtz, who was endorsed by the NRA. Waldon is the more progressive choice in this race.

Farmer and small business owner Kriss Marion is running to unseat Assembly Representative Todd Novak in the 51st District. Marion would be an advocate for rural issues. She believes we must expand BadgerCare in Wisconsin so that our rural hospitals, which are struggling desperately as a result of the pandemic, can be reimbursed adequately for services provided to the poor and the elderly. Marion will fight to prevent insurance companies from denying coverage for pre-existing conditions and to bring down skyrocketing prescription prices.She is committed to environmental protection and was named whistleblower of the year for her efforts on the Lafayette County Board of Supervisors to ensure the release of studies on groundwater pollution that other politicians were trying to hide from the press and the public. Her opponent, incumbent Todd Novak, has branded himself as an independent legislator. However, he rarely bucks his party when it counts and holds a number of extremely conservative positions. He has voted for Republican budgets, favors private school vouchers, and voted for making Wisconsin a right-to-work state. Novak has taken big contributions from out-of-state pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies, and voted against capping the price of insulin. Novak has also abused his position as mayor of Dodgeville. Three sources claim that Novak was drunk at a local event and after being warned he shouldn't drive home said, "It doesn't matter because I have a Mayoral Pass. I won't get into trouble." Kriss Marion is the progressive choice.

Small business owner Francesca Hong is running on a progressive platform that is built around an intersectional understanding of Madison's challenges and a commitment to addressing systemic economic inequalities. Hong believes addressing racial inequity is an issue not just of police reform but also education and healthcare policy. Hong believes in reversing Act 10, supports universal child care benefits, and increased funding to public schools, especially for special needs programs. She is also proposing a carbon tax to address climate change, nonpartisan redistricting, Medicaid expansion, making BadgerCare accessible to more people, and a $15 minimum wage. Her opponent is Republican candidate Patrick Hull. Hong has a comprehensive progressive platform and is the most progressive choice for District 76

An advocate, neighborhood organizer and Dane County Board member, Shelia Stubbs was elected as the first Black State Assembly Representative from Dane County in 2018. Stubbs is running unopposed for re-election. She is a strong advocate for restorative justice and racial equity, and in her first term authored legislation on women's health, marijuana decriminalization, and gun safety. She also supports policies to protect our clean air and water, increase access to health care and strengthen the safety net for seniors, children and people with disabilities. Stubbs is the progressive choice.

Assemblywoman Lisa Subeck is running unopposed. Prior to becoming an elected official, Subeck worked as an early childhood educator, housing program coordinator, and NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Executive Director. On the Madison Common Council and in the Assembly, Subeck has been a progressive leader on such issues as affordable healthcare, reproductive health services, campaign finance reform, and strengthening schools. Subeck is a progressive choice.

Assemblywoman Dianne Hesselbein is the Assistant Democratic Leader. Her values include reproductive rights, protecting Wisconsin's natural resources, and supporting working peoples' rights to unionize and bargain collectively. Hesselbein supports Medicaid Expansion and a science-based response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Her opponent, Republican Victoria Fueger has opposed mask-wearing. Hesselbein is the more progressive choice in this race.

Assemblywoman Sondy Pope has been serving in the legislature for 18 years and is up for re-election to her 10th term. As a legislator, Pope has contributed to legislation or advocated for directing more funding to public schools, creating a paid family leave program, expanding Medicaid, improving water quality, and strengthening our democracy through voting and gerrymandering reforms. Her opponent, Republican Chase Binnie, was endorsed by Wisconsin Right to Life, a radical organization that wants to ban abortion. Pope is the progressive choice in this race.

Former dairy goat farmer and special education teacher Dave Considine has been serving in the Assembly since 2014. Considine has a reputation as a pragmatic and bipartisan legislator who favors common-sense, simple legislation. Considine believes in investing public money into public schools and has authored numerous bills on education, conservation, and marijuana decriminalization. Considine is the most progressive choice in this race.