With polls closing all across Wisconsin, a series of uncontested Madison-area state Legislature races have been called. Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, in Assembly District 76 and Rep. Lisa Subeck, D-Madison, in Assembly District 79 have won reelection to the state Assembly in uncontested races, having also won uncontested primaries.
Rep. Sheila Stubbs, D-Madison, in Assembly District 78 was challenged during her primary election, but after winning by a 32% margin earlier this fall, Stubbs also went unchallenged in the general election.
Newcomer Democrat Renuka Mayadev was elected to the Assembly in the newly-drawn Assembly District 77, becoming the first South Asian to serve in Wisconsin’s Assembly. The new district was created when Gov. Tony Evers’ passed a proposal to redraw Wisconsin’s legislative maps on Feb. 19. This came after the previous maps had been declared in a 4-3 decision as unconstitutional by the Wisconsin Supreme Court in late 2023. Mayadev’s district represents most of Madison’s West Side, including many areas where students live.
“It's terrific to be the assembly woman who gets to represent our future,” Mayadev told The Daily Cardinal Tuesday. “The young people on the campus that are studying for their futures are going to be our leaders, our future leaders, and so to be the representative of them is a real honor, and I'm privileged.”
Mayadev ran her campaign on a platform of protecting the right to reproductive freedom, as well as enacting climate justice and strengthening public education.
Once sworn in, Mayadev told the Cardinal she will work to restore abortion access across Wisconsin by repealing the 1849 law banning abortions with no exception for rape or incest that went into effect in Wisconsin after the overturning of Roe v. Wade, putting a prescriptive law into place protecting abortion rights for Wisconsinites and working to enshrine those freedoms into the state Constitution.
Mayadev also expressed excitement and gratitude to represent so many University of Wisconsin-Madison students in the Assembly.
“I have been so heartened by the terrific participation of our young people and our students, especially on the UW campus,” she said. “I'm thrilled that as their assembly person that I have a constituency that's active and ready to participate.”
Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, who represents Senate District 26, also ran uncontested in the general election. Roys, who has served in the state Senate since 2021, also ran uncontested in the 2020 state Senate election but defeated six other candidates in that election’s Democratic primary.
The Assembly member and State Senator-elects will be sworn in on Jan. 6, 2025.
Annika Bereny is a Senior Staff Writer and the former Special Pages Editor for The Daily Cardinal. She is a History and Journalism major and has written in-depth campus news, specializing in protest policy, free speech and historical analysis. She has also written for state and city news. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
Gabriella Hartlaub is the former arts editor for The Daily Cardinal. She has also written state politics and campus news. She currently is a summer reporting intern with Raleigh News and Observer. Follow her on Twitter at @gabihartlaub.
