U.S. Senate | U.S. House | State Senate | Assembly | Constitutional amendments | President
Wisconsin is divided into eight U.S. House districts, each of which is home to about 760,000 people. U.S. House members are elected to two-year terms.
Find your district
What to know
WHAT DOES A U.S. HOUSE MEMBER DO?
- Write, review and vote on legislation. Bills often move more quickly through the U.S. House than the U.S. Senate.
- Representatives often serve on one or more committees where they hold information hearings, review legislation and sometimes conduct investigations.
- Congresspeople also oversee a staff, often maintaining both a Washington office and a district office in their home state.
BACKGROUND READING
While all eight of Wisconsin’s U.S. House districts will feature an election on Nov. 5, two contests in particular are worth watching.
3rd Congressional District
In the state’s 3rd Congressional District, control of the U.S. House could be on the line in a notoriously swingy region of western Wisconsin, where U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden faces a challenge from Rebecca Cooke.
Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District covers much of the Driftless Area in southwestern and western Wisconsin bordering Iowa and Minnesota. The district includes small towns and rural areas, as well as the cities of Eau Claire, La Crosse and Stevens Point, each with University of Wisconsin System campuses.
The district is being targeted nationally as one of Democrats’ top flip opportunities, and Cooke’s campaign has been added to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s competitive “Red to Blue” program after the DCCC abandoned the district in 2022.
Democrats see Van Orden as a prime target, who is a close ally of former President Donald Trump, who endorsed the freshman congressman in May.
A ‘referendum’ on Derrick Van Orden: House race highlights intense politicization of western Wisconsin
Control of the U.S. House of Representatives runs through a notoriously swingy region of western Wisconsin, where U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden faces a challenge from Rebecca Cooke.
1st Congressional District
In the state’s 1st Congressional District, which encompasses large portions of southeastern Wisconsin outside of Milwaukee, including Janesville, Kenosha and Racine, Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil faces a challenge from Peter Barca, a former member of Congress, state lawmaker and state secretary of revenue.
Steil is a well-funded and well-connected incumbent. He was first elected in 2018 following the retirement of former House Speaker Paul Ryan and currently chairs the House Administration Committee.
Steil has maintained a significant fundraising advantage over Barca. While the race is rated “Likely Republican” by the Cook Political Report, a strong performance in Wisconsin by Vice President Kamala Harris could help Barca make the race competitive.
More information on Wisconsin election races
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
