Mike Bare

Mike Bare

Democratic Party

Wisconsin State Assembly District 80

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

2

Predecessor

Sondy Pope

Prior offices

Dane County Board of Supervisors District 32

Predecessor: Jason Knoll

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Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$57,408/year

Per diem

$155.70/day (with overnight) or $77.85/day (no overnight)

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 5, 2024

Education

High school

Manitowoc Lincoln High School

Bachelor's

American University, 2005

Graduate

American University, 2010

Personal

Birthplace

Manitowoc, Wis.

Religion

None

Profession

Legislator

Contact

Official website

Official Facebook

Official Twitter

Official Instagram

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Campaign Twitter

Campaign Instagram

Personal Facebook

Personal LinkedIn

Mike Bare (Democratic Party) is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 80. He assumed office on January 3, 2023. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.

Bare (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to the Wisconsin State Assembly to represent District 80. He won in the general election on November 5, 2024.

Bare completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Mike Bare was born in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Bare graduated from Manitowoc Lincoln High School in 2001. He earned a B.A. in political science in 2005 and an M.A. in political science in 2010, both from American University. His career experience includes working as a researcher and advocate at the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute, co-owner of the Biergarten at Olbrich Park, and managing director of the Virginia Sims Bare Family Foundation. He was elected to the Verona City Council in 2013.

Bare has been affiliated with the following organizations:

• New Leaders Council-Wisconsin
• Down Syndrome Association of Wisconsin
• Dane County Housing Authority
• Special Olympics of Wisconsin
• Verona Parks Commission
• Verona Plan Commission
• Wisconsin Public Health Association

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.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2023-2024

Bare was assigned to the following committees:

• Forestry, Parks, and Outdoor Recreation Committee
• Housing and Real Estate Committee
• Insurance Committee
• Rules Committee

Elections

2024

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2024

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80

Incumbent Mike Bare defeated Robert Relph in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Bare (D)	73.4	30,593
		Robert Relph (R)	26.5	11,038
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	36

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 41,667
= 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 Assembly District 80

Incumbent Mike Bare defeated Nasra Wehelie in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80 on August 13, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Bare	78.3	12,169
		Nasra Wehelie	21.6	3,357
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	14

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 15,540
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80

Robert Relph advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80 on August 13, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Robert Relph	99.3	2,509
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	18

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,527
= 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

To view Bare's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Bare in this election.

2022

State Assembly

See also: Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2022

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80

Mike Bare defeated Jacob Luginbuhl in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80 on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Bare (D)	69.7	23,380
		Jacob Luginbuhl (R)	30.3	10,156
		Other/Write-in votes	0.1	27

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 33,563
= 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.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80

Mike Bare defeated Anna Halverson, Chad Kemp, Dale Yurs, and Doug Steinberg in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80 on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Bare	47.7	4,921
		Anna Halverson	27.1	2,802
	Submit photo	Chad Kemp	19.4	2,003
		Dale Yurs	4.5	460
	Submit photo	Doug Steinberg	1.3	132
		Other/Write-in votes	0.0	3

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 10,321
= 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.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80

Jacob Luginbuhl defeated Nathan Graewin in the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 80 on August 9, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Jacob Luginbuhl	55.5	1,935
	Submit photo	Nathan Graewin	43.8	1,526
		Other/Write-in votes	0.7	23

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,484
= 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.

Dane County Supervisors

See also: Municipal elections in Dane County, Wisconsin (2022)

General election

General election for Dane County Board of Supervisors District 32

Incumbent Mike Bare won election in the general election for Dane County Board of Supervisors District 32 on April 5, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Bare (Nonpartisan)	98.9	1,914
		Other/Write-in votes	1.1	21

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,935 (100.00% precincts reporting)
= 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.

Nonpartisan primary election

The primary election was canceled. Incumbent Mike Bare advanced from the primary for Dane County Board of Supervisors District 32.

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Dane County, Wisconsin (2020)

General election

General election for Dane County Board of Supervisors District 32

Mike Bare won election in the general election for Dane County Board of Supervisors District 32 on April 7, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Mike Bare (Nonpartisan)	99.4	3,907
		Other/Write-in votes	0.6	25

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,932
= 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.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Mike Bare completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bare's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

Mike bare is a public servant, community advocate, and small business owner. He was elected to the State Assembly, District 80, in 2022. In the Assembly, Mike is a recognized progressive champion on issues affecting workers, economic security, people with disabilities, democracy, and the environment. Mike is a former longtime aide to progressive champion U.S. Senator Russ Feingold. Mike previously served on the Dane County Board, was an Alder on Verona City Council, served on Verona’s Plan Commission and chaired Verona’s Parks and Recreation Commission.

From 2010 to 2022, Mike was an advocate for Wisconsin’s low-income population at the Community Advocates Public Policy Institute. Mike worked to solve Wisconsin’s housing crisis, expand health coverage and improve healthcare, advance economic security solutions, improve our criminal justice and corrections systems, and get Wisconsinites out of poverty through work-based solutions. ​In 2017, Mike started a community-focused and family-friendly business: The Biergarten at Olbrich Park. The Biergarten is enjoyed by tens of thousands of families every year, and it has raised a significant amount of money for Madison City parks and community causes.

Mike and his wife met while interning together for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, and now have two young sons and happily reside in the City of Verona. Mike enjoys tending his moderately successful vegetable garden, loves to coach the boys’ baseball teams, and to cook.

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?

• We must protect our democracy, restore our rights, and invest in our communities. Republicans have been far too successful in degrading voters’ confidence in our democracy. I advocate for pro-democracy policies like ballot drop boxes, automatic voter registration, voting by mail, and public financing of campaigns.
• Too many of our rights—voting, collective bargaining, reproductive health choice, LGBTQ+ rights, and our freedom to assemble free from fear of gun violence—have been taken away or eroded in recent years.
• We must make investments in our communities, including strong public schools and higher education, housing for everyone, transit options, childcare, Medicaid expansion, and environmental protections. I am a leader in the State Assembly on legislation to help working people. I introduced bills to expand the Earned Income Tax Credit (AB471) that puts more money in workers’ pockets, expand the Homestead Credit (AB458) that helps people pay rent or the mortgage, and create WISEARNS, a state-facilitated retirement savings program for workers whose employers don’t provide it. We have a state budget surplus that could fund these priorities and more.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Disability, health, housing, transit

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I worked the first six years of my career for U.S. Senator Russ Feingold. I appreciated his deep devotion to progressive values, which I share. And I model my work ethic after his. He was a prolific legislator, and relentless campaigner. He visited each of Wisconsin's 72 counties every year. Feingold had a backbone and served with full integrity. He was fully committed to having excellent constituent services. And he hired an amazingly talented team, who I also learned from and I am still close with many of them.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

I remember the Challenger explosion happening in 1986. I was around three years old. It was shocking and sad for everyone, and was impactful in my household because my mom had been a public school teacher and one of the astronauts who passed away was a teacher.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

I worked two first jobs--I was a clerk at Osco Drug Store (now CVS) and a little league umpire. I did both jobs from age 16 through most of college summers. Being a little league umpire teaches one the patience of a rock and how to handle conflict with poise. I wouldn't trade that experience for any other!

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

Gov. Tony Evers, former Gov. Jim Doyle, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez, former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, State Senators Dianne Hesselbein, Kelda Roys, Mark Spreitzer, and Melissa Agard. State Reps. Lisa Subeck, Alex Subeck, Minority Leader Greta Neubauer, and more than 20 others. More than 100 elected officials in all. Organizations: Planned parenthood, WEAC, Moms Demand Action, AFSCME, AFT-Wisconsin, IBEW, UAW, WI Pipe Trades, SEIU, WI Conservation Voters, Clean Wisconsin

What committees interest you?

I've served the past two years on the Housing Committee, which is an issue area I have much policy experience with. On that Committee, I worked with the Republican Chair to invest more than half a billion dollars in workforce housing development. I also led efforts to oppose a Republican attempt to defund the state's homeless services and criminalize homelessness. I'd like to continue on that Committee.

For the past year I served on the State Affairs Committee where Republicans send some of the bills most important to them.
I also enjoyed serving on the Parks, Forestry, and Outdoor Recreation Committee. It is one of the committees with an environmental protection mission, which is of interest to me.
I also served on the Insurance Committee, which was relatively inactive.

I'd like to serve on the Health Committee, and the Joint Committee on Finance, which writes the state budget.

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.

State Assembly

Mike Bare completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Bare's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I'm a Progressive Democrat running for State Assembly in Wisconsin's 80th District. I'm a former longtime aide to Russ Feingold, and I am on the Dane County Board. I have the experience to fight for our democracy, our basic rights, including a good and free public education, access to affordable and quality healthcare and housing, and women's rights. I'll also work to protect our environment.

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?

• Mike strives for progress on our challenges guided by progressive values: Empathy for Others, Fairness in Processes, Equity in Outcomes, Service to Community, and Devotion to Family
• The Wisconsin we have today is a result of purposeful choices, and I will be part of making better choices happen. We don’t have to make it difficult to vote, or cause people to be uninsured or homeless.
• Republicans in the Legislature have been attacking and undermining our democracy and the fabric of what holds us together as a state. I’m ready to fight for the right to vote, to end partisan gerrymandering, and to stop the purposeful spread of disinformation.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Defend Our Democracy

Republicans in the Legislature have been attacking and undermining our democracy and the fabric of what holds us together as a state.

Protect Our Basic Rights:

Public Education
A strong public education in good schools with well-paid educators is the bedrock of our state. Mike's Mom was a public school teacher. Mike will be a champion for educators and students in the State Assembly and actively work to protect and improve our schools.

Healthcare
Everyone has the right to affordable and high-quality healthcare, but not every Wisconsinite has access to it. This is especially true in the rural areas of the 80th District.

Women
Women’s rights, especially the right to choose, get Mike's full and unconditional support.

Housing
Far too many of our neighbors and school children struggle with housing insecurity and bouts of homelessness. Mike is an expert on housing policy and wants Wisconsin to transform how we guarantee everyone has access to affordable, quality, and stable shelter.

Broadband
Every Wisconsinite has a right to access information and virtual tools that are vital to wellbeing, school, business, and social and family connection.

Environment

We must work to ensure our planet will be safe for the next generation and their kids too.

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.

Dane County Supervisors

Mike Bare did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Mike Bare did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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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Mike Bare campaign contribution history

Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Wisconsin State Assembly District 80	Won general	$102,168	$82,175
2022	Wisconsin State Assembly District 80	Won general	$78,650	$69,215
Grand total			$180,817	$151,391
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

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Wisconsin

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.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

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.

2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].

In 2024, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 16 to March 12. Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against MMAC's position. National Federation of Independent Business Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues. Wisconsin Conservation Voters Legislators are scored on their stances on conservation issues. Wisconsin Family Action Legislators are scored by the Wisconsin Family Action on their votes on legislation related to "marriage, family, the sanctity of human life, or religious freedom." Wisconsin Professional Police Association Legislators are scored on their votes by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association on legislation related to Wisconsin's law enforcement community. Wisconsin Sierra Club Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].
In 2023, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 31. The American Conservative Union Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

See also

2024 Elections

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Candidate

Wisconsin State Assembly District 80

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Wisconsin State Assembly District 80

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Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Sondy Pope (D)	Wisconsin State Assembly District 80 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Jason Knoll	Dane County Board of Supervisors District 32 2020-2023	Succeeded by -

[show]

Current members of the Wisconsin State Assembly

Leadership

Minority Leader:Greta Neubauer

Representatives

District 1

Joel Kitchens (R)

District 2

Shae Sortwell (R)

District 3

Ron Tusler (R)

District 4

David Steffen (R)

District 5

Joy Goeben (R)

District 6

Elijah Behnke (R)

District 7

Karen Kirsch (D)

District 8

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D)

District 9

Priscilla Prado (D)

District 10

Darrin Madison (D)

District 11

Sequanna Taylor (D)

District 12

Russell Goodwin (D)

District 13

Robyn Vining (D)

District 14

Angelito Tenorio (D)

District 15

Adam Neylon (R)

District 16

Kalan Haywood (D)

District 17

Supreme Omokunde (D)

District 18

Margaret Arney (D)

District 19

Ryan Clancy (D)

District 20

Christine Sinicki (D)

District 21

Jessie Rodriguez (R)

District 22

Paul Melotik (R)

District 23

Deb Andraca (D)

District 24

Daniel Knodl (R)

District 25

Paul Tittl (R)

District 26

Joe Sheehan (D)

District 27

Lindee Brill (R)

District 28

Rob Kreibich (R)

District 29

Treig Pronschinske (R)

District 30

Shannon Zimmerman (R)

District 31

Tyler August (R)

District 32

Amanda Nedweski (R)

District 33

Robin Vos (R)

District 34

Rob Swearingen (R)

District 35

Calvin Callahan (R)

District 36

Jeffrey Mursau (R)

District 37

Mark Born (R)

District 38

William Penterman (R)

District 39

Alex Dallman (R)

District 40

Karen DeSanto (D)

District 41

Tony Kurtz (R)

District 42

Maureen McCarville (D)

District 43

Brienne Brown (D)

District 44

Ann Roe (D)

District 45

Clinton Anderson (D)

District 46

Joan Fitzgerald (D)

District 47

Randy Udell (D)

District 48

Andrew Hysell (D)

District 49

Travis Tranel (R)

District 50

Jenna Jacobson (D)

District 51

Todd Novak (R)

District 52

Lee Snodgrass (D)

District 53

Dean Kaufert (R)

District 54

Lori Palmeri (D)

District 55

Nate Gustafson (R)

District 56

Dave Murphy (R)

District 57

Kevin Petersen (R)

District 58

Rick Gundrum (R)

District 59

Robert Brooks (R)

District 60

Jerry O'Connor (R)

District 61

Robert Donovan (R)

District 62

Angelina Cruz (D)

District 63

Robert Wittke (R)

District 64

Tip McGuire (D)

District 65

Ben DeSmidt (D)

District 66

Greta Neubauer (D)

District 67

David Armstrong (R)

District 68

Rob Summerfield (R)

District 69

Karen Hurd (R)

District 70

Nancy VanderMeer (R)

District 71

Vinnie Miresse (D)

District 72

Scott Krug (R)

District 73

Angela Stroud (D)

District 74

Chanz Green (R)

District 75

Duke Tucker (R)

District 76

Francesca Hong (D)

District 77

Renuka Mayadev (D)

District 78

Shelia Stubbs (D)

District 79

Lisa Subeck (D)

District 80

Mike Bare (D)

District 81

Alex Joers (D)

District 82

Scott Allen (R)

District 83

Dave Maxey (R)

District 84

Chuck Wichgers (R)

District 85

Patrick Snyder (R)

District 86

John Spiros (R)

District 87

Brent Jacobson (R)

District 88

Benjamin Franklin (R)

District 89

Ryan Spaude (D)

District 90

Amaad Rivera-Wagner (D)

District 91

Jodi Emerson (D)

District 92

Clint Moses (R)

District 93

Christian Phelps (D)

District 94

Steve Doyle (D)

District 95

Jill Billings (D)

District 96

Tara Johnson (D)

District 97

Cindi Duchow (R)

District 98

Jim Piwowarczyk (R)

District 99

Barbara Dittrich (R)

Republican Party (54)

Democratic Party (45)