Wisconsin State Senate District 7

Wisconsin State Senate District 7 is represented by Chris Larson (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]
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

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]

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

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.^[7] 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.^[8]^[9] 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.^[10] 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.^[11]

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.^[12]

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.^[12]

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 7
before 2020 redistricting cycle

Click a district to compare boundaries.

Wisconsin State Senate District 7
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 7

Incumbent Chris Larson defeated Peter Gilbert in the general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 7 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Chris Larson (D)	67.3	54,252
	Peter Gilbert (R)	32.6	26,333
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	85

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 80,670
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 7

Incumbent Chris Larson advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 7 on August 9, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Chris Larson	99.7	19,784
	Other/Write-in votes	0.3	52

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 19,836
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 7

Peter Gilbert defeated Red Arnold in the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 7 on August 9, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Peter Gilbert	54.3	5,080
	Red Arnold	45.0	4,209
	Other/Write-in votes	0.6	58

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 9,347
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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