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Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2026

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2024
Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 1, 2026
Primary: August 11, 2026
General: November 3, 2026
How to vote
Poll times:

7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Wisconsin

Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
DDHQ and The Hill: Pending
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2026
See also
Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District
1st2nd3rd4th5th6th7th8th
Wisconsin elections, 2026
U.S. Congress elections, 2026
U.S. Senate elections, 2026
U.S. House elections, 2026

All U.S. House districts, including the 5th Congressional District of Wisconsin, are holding elections in 2026. The general election is November 3, 2026. The primary is August 11, 2026. The filing deadline is June 1, 2026. The outcome of this race will affect the partisan balance of the U.S. House of Representatives in the 120th Congress. All 435 U.S. House districts are up for election.

Currently, Republicans have a 218-214 majority with three vacancies in the chamber.[1] To read more about the U.S. House elections taking place this year, click here. For more information about the primaries in this election, click on the links below:

Candidates and election results

Note: The following list includes official candidates only. Ballotpedia defines official candidates as people who:

  • Register with a federal or state campaign finance agency before the candidate filing deadline
  • Appear on candidate lists released by government election agencies

General election

The primary will occur on August 11, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Andrew Beck and Ben Steinhoff are running in the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 11, 2026.


Candidate Connection = 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 U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Incumbent Scott Fitzgerald is running in the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 11, 2026.


Candidate Connection = 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.

Candidate profiles

There are currently no candidate profiles created for this race. Candidate profiles will appear here as they are created. Encourage the candidates in this race to complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey so that their profile will appear here.

Voting information

See also: Voting in Wisconsin

Election information in Wisconsin: Aug. 11, 2026, election.

What is the voter registration deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 11, 2026
  • By mail: Postmarked by July 22, 2026
  • Online: July 22, 2026

Is absentee/mail-in voting available to all voters?

N/A

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot request deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 9, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Aug. 6, 2026
  • Online: Aug. 6, 2026

What is the absentee/mail-in ballot return deadline?

  • In-person: Aug. 11, 2026
  • By mail: Received by Aug. 11, 2026

Is early voting available to all voters?

Yes

What are the early voting start and end dates?

July 28, 2026 to Aug. 9, 2026

Are all voters required to present ID at the polls? If so, is a photo or non-photo ID required?

N/A

When are polls open on Election Day?

7:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. (CT)

Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey responses

Ballotpedia asks all federal, state, and local candidates to complete a survey and share what motivates them on political and personal levels. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

No candidate in this race has completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. Ballotpedia is seeking 100 percent participation so voters can learn more about all the candidates on their ballots.

Campaign finance

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Scott Fitzgerald Republican Party $735,175 $358,074 $1,214,706 As of December 31, 2025
Andrew Beck Democratic Party $4,429 $3,572 $993 As of December 31, 2025
Ben Steinhoff Democratic Party $1,757 $5,741 $-6,592 As of December 31, 2025

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee."
** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election.

General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[2]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[3][4][5]

Race ratings: Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2026
Race trackerRace ratings
3/17/20263/10/20263/3/20262/24/2026
The Cook Political Report with Amy WalterSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Decision Desk HQ and The HillPendingPendingPendingPending
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia reviews external race ratings every week throughout the election season and posts weekly updates even if the media outlets have not revised their ratings during that week.

Ballot access

The table below details filing requirements for U.S. House candidates in Wisconsin in the 2026 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Wisconsin, click here.

Filing requirements for U.S. House candidates, 2026
State Office Party Signatures required Filing fee Filing deadline Source
Wisconsin U.S. House All candidates 1,000 N/A 6/1/2026 Source


District history

The section below details election results for this office in elections dating back to 2020.

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Incumbent Scott Fitzgerald (R) defeated Ben Steinhoff (D) in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald (R)
 
64.4
 
300,521
Image of Ben Steinhoff
Ben Steinhoff (D)  Candidate Connection
 
35.5
 
165,653
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1%
 
508

Total votes: 466,682
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Ben Steinhoff (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Ben Steinhoff
Ben Steinhoff  Candidate Connection
 
99.8
 
57,039
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2%
 
94

Total votes: 57,133
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Incumbent Scott Fitzgerald (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 13, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald
 
99.3
 
100,916
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.7%
 
734

Total votes: 101,650
Candidate Connection = 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.

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Incumbent Scott Fitzgerald (R) defeated Mike Van Someren (D) in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald (R)
 
64.4
 
243,741
Image of Mike Van Someren
Mike Van Someren (D)  Candidate Connection
 
35.6
 
134,581
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1%
 
201

Total votes: 378,523
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Democratic primary

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Mike Van Someren (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mike Van Someren
Mike Van Someren  Candidate Connection
 
99.9
 
44,305
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1%
 
62

Total votes: 44,367
Candidate Connection = 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.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

Republican primary

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Incumbent Scott Fitzgerald (R) advanced from the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald
 
99.4
 
118,411
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.6%
 
769

Total votes: 119,180
Candidate Connection = 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.

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Scott Fitzgerald (R) defeated Tom Palzewicz (D) in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald (R)
 
60.1
 
265,434
Image of Tom Palzewicz
Tom Palzewicz (D)  Candidate Connection
 
39.8
 
175,902
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1%
 
263

Total votes: 441,599
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Tom Palzewicz (D) advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Tom Palzewicz
Tom Palzewicz  Candidate Connection
 
99.9
 
43,710
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1%
 
49

Total votes: 43,759
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Scott Fitzgerald (R) defeated Clifford DeTemple (R) in the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald
 
77.2
 
60,676
Image of Clifford DeTemple
Clifford DeTemple  Candidate Connection
 
22.7
 
17,829
  Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1%
 
63

Total votes: 78,568
Candidate Connection = 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.

District analysis

Click the tabs below to view information about voter composition, past elections, and demographics in both the district and the state.

  • District map - A map of the district in place for the election.
  • Competitiveness - Information about the competitiveness of 2026 U.S. House elections in the state.
  • Presidential elections - Information about presidential elections in the district and the state.
  • State party control - The partisan makeup of the state's congressional delegation and state government.


Below is the district map in place for this election. Click the map below to enlarge it.

2023_01_03_wi_congressional_district_05.jpg
See also: Primary election competitiveness in state and federal government, 2026
Information about competitiveness will be added here as it becomes available.

Partisan Voter Index

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

Heading into the 2026 elections, based on results from the 2024 and 2020 presidential elections, the Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district is R+11. This meant that in those two presidential elections, this district's results were 11 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Wisconsin's 5th the 108th most Republican district nationally.[6]

2020 presidential election results

The table below shows what the vote in the 2024 presidential election was in this district. The presidential election data was compiled by The Downballot.

2024 presidential results in Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District
Kamala Harris Democratic PartyDonald Trump Republican Party
38.0%60.0%

Presidential voting history

See also: Presidential election in Wisconsin, 2024

Wisconsin presidential election results (1900-2024)

  • 15 Democratic wins
  • 16 Republican wins
  • 1 other win
Year 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
Winning Party R R R D R R P[7] R D D D R D R R R D R R D R R D D D D D D D R D R
See also: Party control of Wisconsin state government

Congressional delegation

The table below displays the partisan composition of Wisconsin's congressional delegation as of October 2025.

Congressional Partisan Breakdown from Wisconsin
Party U.S. Senate U.S. House Total
Democratic 1 2 3
Republican 1 6 7
Independent 0 0 0
Vacancies 0 0 0
Total 2 8 10

State executive

The table below displays the officeholders in Wisconsin's top four state executive offices as of October 2025.

State executive officials in Wisconsin, October 2025
OfficeOfficeholder
GovernorDemocratic Party Tony Evers
Lieutenant GovernorDemocratic Party Sara Rodriguez
Secretary of StateDemocratic Party Sarah Godlewski
Attorney GeneralDemocratic Party Josh Kaul

State legislature

Wisconsin State Senate

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 15
     Republican Party 18
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 33

Wisconsin State Assembly

Party As of October 2025
     Democratic Party 45
     Republican Party 54
     Other 0
     Vacancies 0
Total 99

Trifecta control

Wisconsin Party Control: 1992-2025
Two years of Democratic trifectas  •  Ten years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
Governor R R R R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D D R R R R R R R R D D D D D D D
Senate D R R R D D R D D D D R R R R D D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R
House D D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R D D R R R R R R R R R R R R R R R

See also

Wisconsin 2026 primaries 2026 U.S. Congress elections
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Wisconsin congressional delegation
Voting in Wisconsin
Wisconsin elections:
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Democratic primary battlegrounds
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U.S. Senate Democratic primaries
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Ballot access

External links

Footnotes

  1. A majority in the U.S. House of Representatives, when there are no vacancies, is 218 seats.
  2. Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  3. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  4. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  5. Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  6. Cook Political Report, "2025 Cook PVI℠: District Map and List (119th Congress)," accessed July 1, 2025
  7. Progressive Party


Senators
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
Tony Wied (R)
Republican Party (7)
Democratic Party (3)