Retiring Guy's Digest: Wisconsin 2026 elections: Democrat Ben Brist challenges 2-term incumbent Robert Donovan in 61st Assembly District

Sunday, August 16, 2026

Wisconsin 2026 elections: Democrat Ben Brist challenges 2-term incumbent Robert Donovan in 61st Assembly District

Before redistricting, the GOP gerrymandered 61st Assembly District most of Kenosha County, packing the City of Kenosha in the process.

The newly redrawn district has been moved to the northro Milwaukee County and includes the villages of Greendale and Hales corners and small portions of the cities of Greenfield and Milwaukee.

Maps and election results: Ballotpedia

In 2024, Republican and former Milwaukee Common Council member Robert Donovan beat his Democratic opponent by just 3 percentage point in what is now a very competitive district. Ben Brist is well positioned to flip the 61st in November.

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]

Other Wisconsin 2026 election posts:

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

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

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

4th Assembly District. (6/17/2026)

5th Assembly District. (6/18/2026)

6th Assembly District. (6/20/2026)

7th Assembly District. (6/21/2026)

8th Assembly District. (6/21/2026)

9th Assembly District. (6/22/2026)

10th Assembly District. (6/23/2026)

11th Assembly District. (6/23/2026)