Retiring Guy's Digest: Wisconsin 2026 elections: Democrat Alexia Unertl challenges 6-term Republican David Steffan in the 4th Assembly District

Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Wisconsin 2026 elections: Democrat Alexia Unertl challenges 6-term Republican David Steffan in the 4th Assembly District

Redistricting made a big change in the outline of the 4th Assembly. What was once a compact Brown County suburban district, drawn to pack the City of Green Bay, is now a primarily rural district that contains the eastern portion of Oconto County. It also dips into Brown County to take in the communities of Suamico and Howard.

Maps and election results: Ballotpedia

Photo credits: Facebook, Wisconsin State Legislature

Based on the 2024 presidential election results, Oconto County is the 3rd Trumpiest county in Wisconsin. Trump received 70.95% of the vote. Alexia Unertl, who finished a distant 2nd in the 2024 Democratic primary, needs a miracle to win the 2026 general election against Steffan.

Related reading:

Wisconsin Applied Population Lab, 6/18/2018

Malia Jones explains:

Two core concepts of gerrymandering were central to the arguments presented to the high court: cracking and packing. A third process, known as stacking, also crops up in gerrymandered political maps, but was not the focus of Gill v. Whitford.

Cracking and packing both refer to specific ways of drawing legislative boundaries with the outcomes of elections in mind. These two processes operate in tension with one another, but both can be implemented by a party in power seeking to maximize its electoral chances through gerrymandering.

Packing refers to the practice of drawing particular districts in such a way as to ensure that another party's candidate wins that seat by a tremendous margin. Although the opposing party is all but guaranteed the seat, packing makes surrounding districts less competitive, and thus tips the balance of power in the legislative body overall toward the ruling party.

Cracking involves drawing districts in such a way as to divide a concentration of specific types of voters across several districts such that they are a minority in each one, with practically no hope of achieving representation in any of the districts. This practice also helps make districts less competitive. [emphasis added]

Related election posts:

1st Assembly District. (6/11/2026)

2nd Assembly District. (6/14/2026)

3rd Assembly District. (6/15/2026)

12th Assembly District. (4/17/2026)

16th Assembly District. (4/17/2026)

21st Assembly District. (5/8/2026)

24th Assembly District. (4/19/2026)

26th Assembly District. (4/17/2026)

34th Assembly District. (4/24/2026)

35th Assembly District. (4/15/2026)

37th Assembly District. (4/20/2026)