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Wisconsin State Senate District 31

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Wisconsin State Senate District 31
Incumbent
Assumed office: 2019

Wisconsin State Senate District 31 is represented by Jeff Smith (D).

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

See also: State legislature candidate requirements by state

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]
SalaryPer 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

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures

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]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Wisconsin Cons. Art. IV, § 14


2016 pivot county

206 Pivot Counties Logo.png
See also: Pivot Counties and Legislative districts intersecting with Pivot Counties

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

See also: Redistricting in Wisconsin after the 2020 census

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.

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 31
before 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Wisconsin State Senate District 31
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 31

Incumbent Jeff Smith defeated David Estenson in the general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 31 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith (D)
 
50.4
 
38,936
Image of David Estenson
David Estenson (R) Candidate Connection
 
49.5
 
38,239
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
48

Total votes: 77,223
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31

Incumbent Jeff Smith advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith
 
99.9
 
13,896
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
20

Total votes: 13,916
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 Wisconsin State Senate District 31

David Estenson advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31 on August 9, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of David Estenson
David Estenson Candidate Connection
 
99.4
 
13,834
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.6
 
89

Total votes: 13,923
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2018

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Senate District 31

Jeff Smith defeated Mel Pittman and Aaron Camacho in the general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 31 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith (D)
 
51.7
 
40,073
Image of Mel Pittman
Mel Pittman (R)
 
46.0
 
35,684
Image of Aaron Camacho
Aaron Camacho (G)
 
2.3
 
1,776
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
28

Total votes: 77,561
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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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31

Jeff Smith defeated Steve Boe and Jon Schultz in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Jeff Smith
Jeff Smith
 
50.0
 
8,643
Steve Boe
 
26.1
 
4,503
Jon Schultz
 
23.9
 
4,124

Total votes: 17,270
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31

Mel Pittman advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Mel Pittman
Mel Pittman
 
100.0
 
8,395

Total votes: 8,395
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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Green primary election

Green primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31

Aaron Camacho advanced from the Green primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 31 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Aaron Camacho
Aaron Camacho
 
100.0
 
28

Total votes: 28
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.

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. Incumbent Kathleen Vinehout ran unopposed in the Democratic primary. Mel Pittman defeated Bill Ingram in the Republican primary. Vinehout defeated Pittman in the general election.[14][15][16][17]

Wisconsin State Senate, District 31 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngKathleen Vinehout Incumbent 52.4% 35,508
     Republican Mel Pittman 47.6% 32,317
Total Votes 67,825
Wisconsin State Senate, District 31 Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate Vote % Votes
Green check mark transparent.pngMel Pittman 69.1% 3,573
Bill Ingram 30.9% 1,598
Total Votes 5,171

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. Democratic incumbent Kathleen Vinehout defeated Republican Ed Thompson in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the primary elections.[18][19]

Wisconsin State Senate, District 31, General Election, 2010
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Democratic Green check mark transparent.pngKathleen Vinehout Incumbent 50.3% 30,314
     Republican Ed Thompson 49.7% 29,911
Total Votes 60,225

Campaign contributions

From 2000 to 2022, candidates for Wisconsin State Senate District 31 raised a total of $3,248,772. Candidates who raised money in contributions earned $162,439 on average. All figures come from Follow the Money

Campaign contributions, Wisconsin State Senate District 31
Year Amount Candidates Average
2022 $1,418,454 2 $709,227
2018 $300,492 5 $60,098
2014 $214,031 3 $71,344
2010 $398,202 2 $199,101
2008 $22,085 1 $22,085
2006 $493,984 3 $164,661
2004 $38,333 1 $38,333
2002 $351,851 2 $175,926
2000 $11,340 1 $11,340
Total $3,248,772 20 $162,439


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. Wisconsin Statutes, "Chapter 13: Legislative Branch: 13.02 Regular sessions," accessed October 5, 2021
  2. Wisconsin State Legislature, "Annotated Wisconsin Constitution- Article IV, Section 6," accessed May 23, 2025
  3. National Conference of State Legislatures, "2024 Legislator Compensation," August 21, 2024
  4. Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 17.19 (1), Wisconsin Statutes)
  5. Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 8.50, Wisconsin Statutes)
  6. Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 8.50(4)-(d), Wisconsin Statutes)
  7. The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
  8. Office of the Governor, "Gov. Evers Signs Fair Maps for Wisconsin," February 19, 2024
  9. NBC, "In heated Wisconsin Supreme Court debate, candidates tangle over 'fake elector' scheme," March 21, 2023
  10. NBC News, "Wisconsin governor signs new state legislative maps into law, ending a GOP gerrymander," February 19, 2024
  11. The New York Times, "Justices in Wisconsin Order New Legislative Maps," December 22, 2023
  12. Wisconsin Examiner, "Wisconsin Supreme Court rules state voting maps unconstitutional," December 22, 2023
  13. 13.0 13.1 All About Redistricting, "Wisconsin," accessed May 7, 2015
  14. Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin 2014 fall primary election results," accessed August 12, 2014
  15. Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2014 Partisan Primary Candidates," accessed June 19, 2014
  16. Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," June 11, 2014
  17. Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Canvass Results for 2014 General Election," December 1, 2014
  18. State of Wisconsin, G.A.B. Canvass Reporting System, accessed November 23, 2013
  19. JSOnline, "Fall 2010 primary election results," September 14, 2010


Current members of the Wisconsin State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:Mary Felzkowski
Majority Leader:Devin LeMahieu
Minority Leader:Dianne Hesselbein
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
District 20
Dan Feyen (R)
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
Republican Party (18)
Democratic Party (15)