Collin McNamara

Collin McNamara

Democratic Party

Candidate, Wisconsin Secretary of State

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 3, 2026

Education

Bachelor's

University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, 2022

Personal

Religion

Catholic

Contact

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Collin McNamara (Democratic Party) is running for election for Wisconsin Secretary of State. He declared candidacy for the 2026 election.^[source]

Biography

Collin McNamara earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point in 2022.

Elections

2026

See also: Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2026

Note: At this time, Ballotpedia is combining all declared candidates for this election into one list under a general election heading. As primary election dates are published, this information will be updated to separate general election candidates from primary candidates as appropriate.

General election

The general election will occur on November 3, 2026.

General election for Wisconsin Secretary of State

Incumbent Sarah Godlewski, Collin McNamara, JoCasta Zamarripa, and Pete Karas are running in the general election for Wisconsin Secretary of State on November 3, 2026.

		Candidate
		Sarah Godlewski (D)
		Collin McNamara (D)
		JoCasta Zamarripa (D)
	Submit photo	Pete Karas (G)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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2024

See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2024

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Senate District 24

Incumbent Patrick Testin defeated Collin McNamara in the general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 24 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Testin (R)	58.7	57,695
		Collin McNamara (D)	41.3	40,599
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	47

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 98,341
= 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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 24

Collin McNamara advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 24 on August 13, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Collin McNamara	99.9	17,494
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	24

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 17,518
= 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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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 24

Incumbent Patrick Testin advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 24 on August 13, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Patrick Testin	99.6	14,796
		Other/Write-in votes	0.4	53

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,849
= 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.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for McNamara in this election.

Campaign themes

2026

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Collin McNamara has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey. If you are Collin McNamara, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2026 Candidate Connection survey.

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2024

Collin McNamara completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by McNamara's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Growing up in Iola, Wisconsin, I was raised with values of respect and hard work. My parents instilled in me the importance of service. My father was a volunteer firefighter, and my mother was involved in various groups, all aimed at improving our community.

In high school, I discovered my passion for service. After the 2016 election, I recognized the deep resentments within our politics and committed myself to rebuilding trust in government. When faced with adversity, my family taught me to "take it on the chin and keep going." This mantra taught me resilience and perseverance. In 2018, I graduated from Iola-Scandinavia High School. I chose to go to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. After my acceptance, a plan was announced to eliminate some programs, including my intended major. Recognizing the challenges ahead, I resolved to show up and enroll. I joined Student Government and I served on a committee that developed a policy ensuring that our policies made sense. During the height of the pandemic, I served as the Student Body President. I earned a reputation for asking tough questions, challenging the status quo, and collaborating with diverse individuals. I graduated with a B.A. in Political Science.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am running because I had several people come up to me and state that they have lost faith in their government, that all politicians are just the same, and that nothing will ever get done so what difference does it make. I am running because I want to change that. I want you to believe in government again. I want you to believe in Wisconsin again. I want you to believe in your leaders again. I want you to believe in Democracy again. This may sound naive or like a distant memory, but I believe as strongly as I ever have that our best days are still ahead of us, as long as we are willing to set aside the old petty politics of the past and move forward with good intentions.
• I am also running to restore Wisconsin values back to Madison, values that I was raised to believe in. Values like honesty, integrity, empathy, respect and hard work. Honesty, is about saying that you are going to do something and then doing it. It means that you tell the truth, and call it as you see it. And that you are true to yourself, you don’t try to be someone who you aren’t depending on the situation you are in. Integrity, is holding yourself to the highest standard even when no one is looking. In life there are moments where you say that you will do something, and you have to follow through even, and especially, when it is difficult. Integrity means that your word is your bond. I will never be afraid to stand up for my constituents
• I am running to make sure our policies make sense, and to make sure that we are meeting people where they are at and not just expecting them to reach out to their leaders.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about creating quality, affordable, well-funded public schools. We must reform our health care system, to build on the protections for those who have pre-existing conditions. We must accept the Medicaid expansion money, because it is our money, and it will expand access to more hard-working families. I am not interested in playing games with people’s lives. We must use it to improve the quality of life here in Wisconsin, this includes convenient access to affordable preventive care. Because health care isn’t about only going to a doctor when you are sick, or when your mouth is too sore to chew, or when you can’t walk anymore. Wisconsin’s hard-working families should not have to be forced to choose between, rent, food, or even your kids after school activities or health care. Health care should not send you into bankruptcy. We can keep fixing the damn roads, improve public transportation, and build a high-speed rail system. We don’t have to settle for failing infrastructure. We can keep working to achieve clean water in this State. It is 2023, everyone should have access to safe drinking water whether you have your own well or a public utility well. One way we can start to solve workforce retention in this state, is by making everyone feel welcome in Wisconsin. Not only is this the right thing to do, but it is also the smart thing to do.

Do you believe that compromise is necessary or desirable for policymaking?

I believe that doing the right thing is the most important thing to do, even if that means it is not the most politically convenient thing to do. Therefore, compromise is needed to achieve results in a state and country that is diverse in ideas and backgrounds. Sticking to the party line at every minute does not achieve representative democracy.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Campaign finance summary

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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.

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Collin McNamara campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Wisconsin State Senate District 24	Lost general	$108,611	$100,344
Grand total			$108,611	$100,344
Sources: OpenSecrets,  Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete

See also

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Footnotes

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