Ben DeSmidt
Ben DeSmidt (Democratic Party) is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 65. He assumed office on January 6, 2025. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
DeSmidt (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Wisconsin State Assembly to represent District 65. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.
Biography
Ben DeSmidt earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1995 and a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2006. His career experience includes working as the co-owner of Union Park Tavern and as an associate professor at Carthage College. DeSmidt has served as a member of the Gateway Technical College board of trustees.[1]
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2024
See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2024
General election
General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 65
Ben DeSmidt defeated Brian Gonzales in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 65 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Ben DeSmidt (D) | 53.3 | 15,065 |
| Brian Gonzales (R) | 46.6 | 13,166 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 52 | ||
| Total votes: 28,283 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 65
Ben DeSmidt defeated Kyle Flood in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 65 on August 13, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Ben DeSmidt | 69.5 | 3,738 |
 | Kyle Flood | 30.4 | 1,637 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 3 | ||
| Total votes: 5,378 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 65
Brian Gonzales advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 65 on August 13, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Brian Gonzales | 99.4 | 2,632 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.6 | 17 | ||
| Total votes: 2,649 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
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Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for DeSmidt in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Ben DeSmidt did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
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Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Wisconsin scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Wisconsin State Assembly District 65 |
Officeholder Wisconsin State Assembly District 65 |
Personal |
Footnotes
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Tod Ohnstad (D) |
Wisconsin State Assembly District 65 2025-Present |
Succeeded by - |
