Become part of the movement for unbiased, accessible election information. Donate today.
Wisconsin State Senate District 23
Wisconsin State Senate District 23 is represented by Jesse James (R).
As of the 2020 Census, Wisconsin state senators represented an average of 178,711 residents. After the 2010 Census, each member represented 172,674 residents.
About the office
Members of the Wisconsin State Senate serve four-year terms and are not subject to term limits. Half of the senate is up for election every two years. Wisconsin legislators assume office the first Monday in January following the election, unless the first Monday of January falls on January 1 or 2. In those cases, legislators assume office on January 3.[1]
Qualifications
Section 6 of Article 4 of the Wisconsin Constitution states, "No person shall be eligible to the legislature who shall not have resided one year within the state, and be a qualified elector in the district which he may be chosen to represent."[2]
Salaries
- See also: Comparison of state legislative salaries
| State legislative salaries, 2024[3] | |
|---|---|
| Salary | Per diem |
| $57,408/year | $140/day for senators. Dane County senators are allowed half that amount. $155.70/day (with overnight) or $77.85/day (no overnight) for representatives. Dane County representatives receive only $77.85/day. |
Vacancies
If there is a vacancy in the Wisconsin State Legislature, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat.[4] The governor can call for an election when allowed by law. The election cannot be held after February 1 before a spring general election, unless it is held on the same day of the election, which is the first Tuesday in April. The same requirement applies to any election preceding the fall general election (after August 1), with the exception of elections held on the first Tuesday in November.[5] Also, all vacancies must be filled quickly as long the vacancy happened before the second Tuesday in May during an election year.[6]
See sources: Wisconsin Cons. Art. IV, § 14
2016 pivot county
This district was one of 710 state legislative districts that, based on boundaries adopted after the 2010 census, intersected with one or more Pivot Counties. These 206 Pivot Counties voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012.
The 206 Pivot Counties were located in 34 states. Iowa, with 31, had the most such counties. At that time, the partisan makeup of state legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties was slightly more Republican than the overall partisan makeup of state legislatures throughout the country.[7]
District map
Redistricting
2020 redistricting cycle
On February 19, 2024, Gov. Tony Evers (D) signed Senate Bill 488 into law, adopting new Wisconsin legislative maps.[8] The maps were approved by majority votes in both chambers of Wisconsin's state legislature on February 13. The state Senate voted 18-14 in favor of adopting the new legislative maps, while the state Assembly vote total was 63-33.
In the 2023 Wisconsin Supreme Court election, Janet Protasiewicz had defeated Daniel Kelly, changing the balance of the court from a conservative to a liberal majority for the first time in 15 years.[9][10] Later that year on December 22, 2023, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled in a 4-3 vote that the state's legislative maps were unconstitutional and ordered new maps to be drawn before the 2024 election.[11] The court rejected the least change approach the conservative majority had adopted for the 2022 maps and ruled that the new maps must satisfy the state constitution's contiguity requirements.[12]
How does redistricting in Wisconsin work? In Wisconsin, both congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn by the Wisconsin State Legislature. These lines are subject to veto by the governor.[13]
The Wisconsin Constitution requires that state legislative districts be compact and "that they be bounded by county, precinct, town, or ward lines where possible." The state constitution further stipulates that state legislative districts should be contiguous.[13]
Below are the maps in effect before and after the 2020 redistricting cycle. The map on the right was in effect for Wisconsin's 2024 state legislative elections.
Wisconsin State Senate District 23
before 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Wisconsin State Senate District 23
after 2020 redistricting cycle
Click a district to compare boundaries.
Elections
2022
- See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2022
General election
General election for Wisconsin State Senate District 23
Jesse James won election in the general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 23 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jesse James (R) | 94.7 | 56,391 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 5.3 | 3,136 | ||
| Total votes: 59,527 | |||
 = 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. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Dan Hardy (D)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 23
Dan Hardy advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 23 on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Dan Hardy (Write-in) | 72.3 | 905 |
| Other/Write-in votes | 27.7 | 346 | ||
| Total votes: 1,251 | |||
| = 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 Senate District 23
Jesse James defeated Brian Westrate and Sandra Scholz in the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 23 on August 9, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jesse James | 50.0 | 10,411 |
| Brian Westrate | 37.5 | 7,809 | ||
| Sandra Scholz | 12.4 | 2,588 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 18 | ||
| Total votes: 20,826 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2018
General election
General election for Wisconsin State Senate District 23
Kathy Bernier defeated Chris Kapsner in the general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 23 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Kathy Bernier (R) | 59.2 | 42,958 |
| Chris Kapsner (D) | 40.8 | 29,637 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.0 | 11 | ||
| Total votes: 72,606 | |||
| = 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 Senate District 23
Chris Kapsner advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 23 on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Chris Kapsner | 100.0 | 10,008 | |
| Total votes: 10,008 | |||
| = 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 Senate District 23
Kathy Bernier advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 23 on August 14, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Kathy Bernier | 100.0 | 10,945 |
| Total votes: 10,945 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
2014
- See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2014
Elections for 17 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 12, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014. Phil Swanhorst ran unopposed in the Democratic primary, while incumbent Terry Moulton ran unopposed in the Republican primary. Moulton defeated Swanhorst in the general election.[14][15][16]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Terry Moulton Incumbent |
61.2% | 39,577 | |
| Democratic | Phil Swanhorst | 38.8% | 25,135 | |
| Total Votes | 64,712 | |||
2010
- See also: Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2010
Elections for the office of Wisconsin State Senate consisted of a primary election on September 14, 2010, and a general election on November 2, 2010. Republican Terry Moulton defeated Democratic incumbent Pat Kreitlow in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the primary elections.[17][18]
| Wisconsin State Senate, District 23, General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Terry Moulton |
54.2% | 32,448 | |
| Democratic | Pat Kreitlow Incumbent | 45.8% | 27,375 | |
| Total Votes | 59,823 | |||
Campaign contributions
From 2000 to 2022, candidates for Wisconsin State Senate District 23 raised a total of $2,642,560. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $132,128 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money
| Campaign contributions, Wisconsin State Senate District 23 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Amount | Candidates | Average |
| 2022 | $348,791 | 3 | $116,264 |
| 2018 | $623,156 | 2 | $311,578 |
| 2014 | $151,725 | 2 | $75,863 |
| 2012 | $352,299 | 3 | $117,433 |
| 2010 | $409,464 | 2 | $204,732 |
| 2008 | $49,376 | 1 | $49,376 |
| 2006 | $542,029 | 3 | $180,676 |
| 2004 | $36,870 | 1 | $36,870 |
| 2002 | $126,750 | 2 | $63,375 |
| 2000 | $2,100 | 1 | $2,100 |
| Total | $2,642,560 | 20 | $132,128 |
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Wisconsin Statutes, "Chapter 13: Legislative Branch: 13.02 Regular sessions," accessed October 5, 2021
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "Annotated Wisconsin Constitution- Article IV, Section 6," accessed May 23, 2025
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 17.19 (1), Wisconsin Statutes)
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 8.50, Wisconsin Statutes)
- ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 8.50(4)-(d), Wisconsin Statutes)
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
- ↑ Office of the Governor, "Gov. Evers Signs Fair Maps for Wisconsin," February 19, 2024
- ↑ NBC, "In heated Wisconsin Supreme Court debate, candidates tangle over 'fake elector' scheme," March 21, 2023
- ↑ NBC News, "Wisconsin governor signs new state legislative maps into law, ending a GOP gerrymander," February 19, 2024
- ↑ The New York Times, "Justices in Wisconsin Order New Legislative Maps," December 22, 2023
- ↑ Wisconsin Examiner, "Wisconsin Supreme Court rules state voting maps unconstitutional," December 22, 2023
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 All About Redistricting, "Wisconsin," accessed May 7, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2014 Partisan Primary Candidates," accessed June 19, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," June 11, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Canvass Results for 2014 General Election," December 1, 2014
- ↑ State of Wisconsin, G.A.B. Canvass Reporting System, accessed November 23, 2013
- ↑ JSOnline, "Fall 2010 primary election results," September 14, 2010
