The Fall elections for the state’s District 8 senate seat between Republican incumbent Sen. Duey Stroebel and Democratic challenger Jodi Habush Sinykin looks to be a pivotal nail-biter.
Seats in Washington and Ozaukee counties were once solidly in the Republican camp, but have been swinging toward the Democrats for the last decade. Sinykin almost pulled off an upset over incumbent Republican Dan Knodl in a special election 2023. He defeated Sinykin by only about 2 points.
Following a 2022 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision to strike down gerrymandered districts favorable to Republicans, the redistricting of legislative seats in 2024 made the district more competitive for Democrats.
The major change for Stroebel, who was shifted to District 20 from District 8, was the loss of the City of West Bend and a pickup of the City of Port Washington. That is not a positive exchange for Stroebel, who fought to overturn a grant by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for about $2.3 million to create and preserve 1300 feet of Lake Michigan shoreline south of Port Washington.
His opposition to that project, which was led by the Ozaukee Washington Land Trust, upset many residents. The Trust picked up more than 500 new donors. The project eventually went forward on the strength of federal funding through Democratic Gov. Evers and several major and many smaller donors.
The Stroebel/Sinykin contest will be healthy politically. They are at odds on many major issues. Sinykin is a Harvard lawyer who worked for a decade in environmental law at her father’s law firm. She helped establish the Great Lakes Compact to protect that awesome natural resource, and she has taught at the School of Fresh Water Science at UW-Milwaukee.
Stroebel is a stiff conservative on fiscal matters who holds a master’s degree in real estate from UW-Madison. He has questioned and stalled grants under the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Fund, which at one point had accumulated more than $1 billion in state debt. At a last count the Stewardship debt was about $700 million. Stroebel pointed out that the Joint Finance Committee, where he is vice chairman, has approved more than 85% of the DNR stewardship grants, and he said some grant requests were inflated beyond their value.
Women’s reproductive rights will be a disagreement between the two. Sinykin favors overturning an 1849 Wisconsin law that essentially bans abortions. Stroebel voted against attempts to take the 1849 law off the books.
She is pro-choice for women and supports full access to contraceptives, and in vitro fertilization (IVF). Stroebel co-sponsored a bill calling for an abortion ban after 14 weeks . His spokesman said Stroebel has taken no position that would impair access to IVF or contraceptives, nor does he support such efforts.
It is interesting to note that Stroebel and his wife Laura have eight grown children, and Sinykin and her husband Dan have four grown children. Both are very proud of their kids.
One area of common ground is small business. Stroebel runs a very successful real estate development and consulting business in Cedarburg. Sinykin and her husband own a manufacturing business that produces textiles in Janesville.
The huge state surplus is an issue to be addressed in coming legislative sessions. The last tally is more than $3 billion in surplus, even after several tax cuts. The Republican-controlled legislature and Gov. Evers have been unable to agree on an additional tax cut, arguing over which segments of taxpayers should get the majority of the tax breaks.
Many other but significant issues separate these two highly intelligent candidates. Their differing stances will serve to help citizens sift and winnow the merits of these issues.
The outcome of the District 8 election on Nov. 5 will have a big impact. Republicans currently own a 22-11 majority in the state senate, not quite enough to override vetoes by Gov. Evers. With the redrawing of the districts across the state, political observers see a narrowing of the GOP legislature stronghold in the coming decade.
Democrats would love to knock off Stroebel, a dominant GOP senator. They see a possible victory in District 8 because of Sinykin’s strong showing in 2023.
This election will be watched closely across the state. How much it will be affected by the top of the ticket in the battle for the White House between Donald Trump and a yet -to-be-nominated Kamala Harris following President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race is anyone’s guess.
No one knows how the Nov. 5 voting will affect down-ballot races like that of District 8. Anyone who says he or she knows is blowing smoke.
