The 61st Assembly district of

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

is one of 99 districts 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. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

. Located in southeastern

, the district comprises part of southwest

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

, including the villages of Greendale and Hales Corners, most of the city of Greenfield, and parts of southwest

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

and northeast

Franklin Franklin may refer to: People and characters * Franklin (given name), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (surname), including list of people and characters with the name * Franklin (class), a member of a historic ...

. The district is represented by Republican

Bob Donovan Robert G. "Bob" Donovan (born May 4, 1956) is an American Republican politician from Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 61st Assembly district since 2025; he previously represent ...

, since January 2025; Donovan previously represented the 84th district from 2023 to 2025. The 61st Assembly district is located within

Wisconsin's 21st Senate district The 21st Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate. Located in southeastern Wisconsin, the district comprises northeast Racine County and southwest Milwaukee County. It includes the city of Franklin, the nort ...

, along with the 62nd and

63rd 63rd may refer to: ;Metro stations *Ashland/63rd (CTA station), on the Green Line *East 63rd-Cottage Grove (CTA), on the Green Line *63rd (CTA Red Line), on the Red Line *63rd Street station (SEPTA Market–Frankford Line) on the Market-Frankford L ...

Assembly Districts. File:Boerner_Botanical_Gardens_and_Arboretum.jpeg, Boerner Botanical Gardens in Hales Corners File:Greendale,_WI_village_hall.jpg, Greendale village hall

History

The district was created in the 1972 redistricting act
1971 Wisc. Act 304
which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties. The 61st district was drawn roughly in line with the boundaries of the previous Racine County 2nd district (the northern part of the city of

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ; ; 22 December 1639 – 21 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille, as well as an important literary figure in the Western tra ...

). The 61st district boundaries were relatively consistent in redistricting from 1972 to 2011, with the exception of the 1982 redistricting, which scrambled all State Assembly districts and moved the 61st district to north-central Wisconsin for the 1983–1984 legislative session. That changed with the controversial 2011 redistricting plan
2011 Wisc. Act 43
which moved the district to Kenosha County—the territory which had been covered by the 61st district was then split between the 62nd and 66th Assembly districts. This was part of a larger

gerrymandering Gerrymandering, ( , originally ) defined in the contexts of Representative democracy, representative electoral systems, is the political manipulation of Boundary delimitation, electoral district boundaries to advantage a Political party, pa ...

plan for the Racine and Kenosha County districts to convert one Assembly seat and one Senate seat from tossups to safely Republican. The 2024 redistricting again dramatically reshaped the 21st Senate district, moving the 61st district from Kenosha County to southwest Milwaukee County. Most of the area previously covered by the 61st district became the bulk of the new 32nd Assembly district. Under the new map configuration, the 61st Assembly district is projected to be one of the most competitive districts in the state legislature.

List of past representatives

Electoral history

References

{{Wisconsin state legislature districts Wisconsin State Assembly districts Milwaukee County, Wisconsin