The 16th Senate District of

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

is one of 33 districts in the

Wisconsin State Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

. Located in south-central Wisconsin, the district comprises much of eastern

Dane County Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

. It contains the east side of Wisconsin's

capital city A capital city or capital is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state, province, Department (country subdivision), department, or other subnational entity, usually as its seat of the government. A capital is typically a city ...

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, as well as the cities of Monona and Sun Prairie, and the northern half of the city of Fitchburg.

Current elected officials

Melissa Agard is the senator representing the 16th district. She was first elected in the 2020 general election. Before serving as senator, she served in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

from 2013 to 2021, representing Madison's north side. Each Wisconsin State Senate district is composed of three

districts. The 16th Senate district comprises the 46th, 47th, and 48th Assembly districts. The current representatives of those districts are: * Assembly District 46:

Melissa Ratcliff Melissa Amy Ratcliff (' Larsen; born November 1976) is an American paralegal and Democratic politician from Cottage Grove, Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 46th Assembly district since January ...

(D– Cottage Grove) * Assembly District 47: Jimmy P. Anderson (D– Fitchburg) * Assembly District 48:

Samba Baldeh Samba Baldeh (born September 10, 1971) is a Gambian-American immigrant, information technology professional, and Democratic politician. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing the 48th Assembly district since 2021. He is t ...

(D–

) The district is located entirely within

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southern Wisconsin, covering Dane County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Sauk County and Green County, as well as portions of ...

, which is represented by U.S. Representative

Mark Pocan Mark William Pocan ( ; born August 14, 1964) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district since 2013. The district is based in the state capital, Madison. A member of th ...

Past senators

Notable past senators include: *

Christopher Latham Sholes Christopher Latham Sholes (February 14, 1819February 17, 1890) was an American inventor who invented the QWERTY keyboard, and, along with Samuel W. Soule, Carlos Glidden and John Pratt, has been contended to be one of the inventors of the first ...

, 1848-1850, "father of the typewriter" *

John Sharpstein John Randolph Sharpstein (May 3, 1823 – December 28, 1892) was an American lawyer and judge. He was an associate justice of the Supreme Court of California for twelve years, and previously served as a member of the Wisconsin State Senate a ...

, 1852, Justice of the

Supreme Court of California The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

Nelson Dewey Nelson Webster Dewey (December 19, 1813July 21, 1889) was an American pioneer, lawyer, and politician. He was the first Governor of Wisconsin. Early life Dewey was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, on December 19, 1813, to Ebenezer and Lucy (né ...

, 1854-1856, 1st

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's army and air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the power to either approve or veto bills passed by the Wiscons ...

J. Allen Barber Joel Allen Barber (January 17, 1809 – June 28, 1881) was an American lawyer and politician. He served two terms in the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district, he was the 15th Speaker of the Wisco ...

, 1856-1858, U.S. Congressman (1871-1875), 15th

Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly The Speaker of the Wisconsin State Assembly is the presiding officer of the Wisconsin State Assembly, the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Article IV of the Constitution of Wisconsin, ratified in 1848, establishes the legislature and ...

* George Cochrane Hazelton, 1868-1872, U.S. Congressman (1877-1883), 1st

Attorney General for the District of Columbia The Attorney General for the District of Columbia is the chief legal officer of the District of Columbia. While attorneys general previously were appointed by the mayor, District of Columbia voters approved a charter amendment in 2010 that ...

* John J. Blaine, 1909-1913, 24th

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

(1927-1933) *

Gaylord Nelson Gaylord Anton Nelson (June 4, 1916July 3, 2005) was an American politician and environmentalist from Wisconsin who served as a United States senator and governor. He was a member of the Democratic Party and the founder of Earth Day, which launche ...

, 1949-1958,

35th Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

(1963-1981) *

Charles Chvala Charles Joseph "Chuck" Chvala (born December 5, 1954) is an American real estate dealer, lawyer, and former politician. He served 20 years in the Wisconsin State Senate, representing Dane County, and was the Democratic leader from 1995 through ...

, 1985-2005, Majority Leader (1999-2002) * Mark F. Miller, 2005-2021, Majority Leader (2012-2013) The boundaries of districts have changed repeatedly over history. Previous politicians of a specific numbered district have represented a completely different geographic area, due to

redistricting Redistribution (re-districting in the United States and in the Philippines) is the process by which electoral districts are added, removed, or otherwise changed. Redistribution is a form of boundary delimitation that changes electoral dist ...

. In the original constitution of the State of Wisconsin, it is stated that "The towns of

Southport Southport is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, England. At the 2001 census, it had a population of 90,336, making it the eleventh most populous settlement in North West England. Southport lies on the Irish ...

Pike Pike, Pikes or The Pike may refer to: Fish * Blue pike or blue walleye, an extinct color morph of the yellow walleye ''Sander vitreus'' * Ctenoluciidae, the "pike characins", some species of which are commonly known as pikes * ''Esox'', genus of ...

, Pleasant Prairie,

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, Salem and Wheatland, in the county of Racine, shall constitute the sixteenth senate district."''Manual for the Use of the Assembly, of the State of Wisconsin, for the year 1853.'' Prepared Pursuant to a Resolution of the Assembly. Madison: Brown & Carpenter, Printers; 1853
/ref> (At that time, Racine County included what in 1850 would become

Kenosha County Kenosha County is located in the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 169,151 as of the 2020 census, making it the eighth most populous county in Wisconsin. The county shares the same name as the city of Kenosh ...

; and the city later known as

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Kenosha County. Per the 2020 census, the population was 99,986 which made it the fourth-largest city in Wisconsin. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Kenosh ...

was still called "Southport".)

References

External links

District WebsiteSenator Miller's website
{{United States legislatures Wisconsin Senate districts Columbia County, Wisconsin Dane County, Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 1848 establishments in Wisconsin