Sunday, June 14, 2026

Wisconsin 2026 elections: Democrat Alicia Saunders is challenging 4-term GOP incumbent Shea Sortwell

 
Redistricting eliminated the gerrymandered dip into Manitowoc County, which served to crack the Manitowoc/Two Rivers community of interest. It also returns the liberal City of DePere to a district that contains all of Green Bay and its suburbs.

The boundary of Wisconsin's 2nd Assembly District currently includes portions of southern Brown County, northern Manitowoc County, and southeastern Outagamie County.

Maps and election results:  Ballotpedia 


Shae Sortwell has won his four elections to the Assembly by double-digit margins in what can be considered a safe GOP district, even after redistricting.   His 2026 challenger, Alicia Saunders, also ran against Sortwell in 2024 and lost by 26.5 points.


Shae Sortwell is one of the least serious members of the Assembly.

Shae what?!
Related posts:
2025

2024

2022

2020
Meet the Manitowoc Chubbies, still obsessed with the "War on Christmas" and dismissive of the virus.  (12/17)

2019
The Shae Sortwell compensation chronicles:  "Can I show you  my....?"  (6/24)


Related reading:

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)

12th Assembly District.  (4/17/2026)
16th Assembly District.  (4/17/2026)

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)


50th Assembly District.  (4/24/2026)
53rd Assembly District.  (4/29/2026)
58th Assembly District.  (4/12/2026)
59th Assembly District.  (4/10/2026)

60th Assembly District.  (4/10/2026)
69th Assembly District.  (4/29/2026)



93rd Assembly District.  (4/11/2026) 
97th Assembly District.  (4/23/2026)
99th Assembly District.  (4/18/2026)

17th Senate District.  (4/14/2026)
23rd Senate District.  (4/15/2026)
31st Senate District.  (4/15/2026)

Hatching eggs from Germany denied access into U.S. at Cincinnati Port of Entry due to bird flu concerns

 
Headline:  Watt Poultry, 6/10/2026

Meredith Dawson reports:
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agriculture specialists seized 337 hatching eggs from a shipment arriving from Germany on May 27 at the Cincinnati Port of Entry. 
The inspectors discovered the eggs were misdeclared on shipping documents as winter jackets and lacked required import documentation. 
The eggs, which were bound for Alaska and packed in foam layers, were detained after intelligence gathering methods and specialist reviews were completed. Because Germany is among the countries positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits the importation of hatching eggs from that country. The agency defines hatching eggs as eggs from all avian species, including poultry, game birds, racing pigeons and other birds[emphasis added]

Other bird flu posts:
June 11-20:

June 1-10:

May 16-31

May 11-15

May 6-10

May 1-5:

April 26-30:

April 21-25:
California bird flu news:  It's everywhere, it's everywhere!  (4/23)

April 16-20
 
April 11-15:

April 6-10:  
Even the 1% have to deal with bird flu  (The Hamptons Long Island edition).  (4/9)

April 1-5
Lancaster County Pennsylvania reports yet another case of bird flu. (4/1

March 26-31:

March 21-25:

March 16-20:

March 11-15, 2025

March 6-10, 2026.  

March 1-5, 2026

February 20-28,2026
SHOCKER!!  Dead birds found in Ohio gated community.  Bird flu suspected.  (2/21)

February 10-19, 2026
February 1-9, 2026

January 21-31, 2026

January 11-20, 2026
New York tells resident don't touch those dead birds.  (1/17)

January 1-10, 2026
Bird flu strain of avian influenza:  "The picture has grown darker and stranger than most would have imagined".  (1/8)
Bird flu reported on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. (1/8)Dozens of vultures die of bird flu in North Carolina.  (1/8)

December 16-31, 2025

December 1-15, 2025

November 15-30, 2025

November 1-15, 2025

October 2025

September 2025

April-August 2025

Bird flu hits Rhode Island poultry market

 
Headline:  ABC News 4, 6/13/2026

Gino De Angelie reports:
The Rhode Island Department of Health and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management said that 445 birds at a bird market in Providence were euthanized after the detection of avian flu during routine quarterly testing. 
The department said that the asymptomatic birds were located at Antonelli Poultry. 
The business must also remain closed until five days after the birds were disposed of and the entire business was cleaned and sanitized.

Other bird flu posts:
June 11-20:

June 1-10:

May 16-31

May 11-15

May 6-10

May 1-5:

April 26-30:

April 21-25:
California bird flu news:  It's everywhere, it's everywhere!  (4/23)

April 16-20
 
April 11-15:

April 6-10:  
Even the 1% have to deal with bird flu  (The Hamptons Long Island edition).  (4/9)

April 1-5
Lancaster County Pennsylvania reports yet another case of bird flu. (4/1

March 26-31:

March 21-25:

March 16-20:

March 11-15, 2025

March 6-10, 2026.  

March 1-5, 2026

February 20-28,2026
SHOCKER!!  Dead birds found in Ohio gated community.  Bird flu suspected.  (2/21)

February 10-19, 2026
February 1-9, 2026

January 21-31, 2026

January 11-20, 2026
New York tells resident don't touch those dead birds.  (1/17)

January 1-10, 2026
Bird flu strain of avian influenza:  "The picture has grown darker and stranger than most would have imagined".  (1/8)
Bird flu reported on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts. (1/8)Dozens of vultures die of bird flu in North Carolina.  (1/8)

December 16-31, 2025

December 1-15, 2025

November 15-30, 2025

November 1-15, 2025

October 2025

September 2025

April-August 2025