State Rep. Samba Baldeh, D-Madison, announced Monday he will run for the Senate seat in District 16, a new district created out of Wisconsin’s newly drawn legislative maps.
Baldeh has been a member of the state Assembly for four years. He initially won election in November 2020 and was re-elected in 2022. Before his two terms in the Assembly, Baldeh served as an alder on the Madison Common Council for six years, one of those terms as council president.
Baldeh is a native of The Gambia, located on the west coast of Africa. He emigrated to the United States 30 years ago before moving to Madison. He worked as a software engineer at American Family Insurance for the majority of his career before turning to politics.
Baldeh now lives with his wife, Fatou, on the east side of Madison.
District 16 comprises urban, suburban and rural communities, according to a press release. This creates a diverse district of voters and voter interests.
“Each [community] with their own needs and prospects for positive change,” Baldeh said in a statement Monday.
Additionally, Baldeh said he is excited for the race and chance to meet the residents of Dane, Jefferson and Dodge counties, the respective counties District 16 now covers.
Gov. Tony Evers passed a proposal to redraw Wisconsin’s legislative maps last month. The new District 16 is an open race following incumbent Sen. Melissa Agard’s decision to run for Dane County Executive.
“I will continue to listen and work hard to represent the constituents of the Senate district as I did in the Assembly and Common Council,” Baldeh said.
This proposal followed a 4-3 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision last December. The court ruled the state’s old maps to be unconstitutional because some districts were not contiguous, meaning all parts of a voting district do not physically touch.
The redrawn maps moved some districts around and created new ones, thus opening up new state Senate and Assembly opportunities.
Clara Strecker is a copy chief for The Daily Cardinal. She also covers state news.
