The Wisconsin Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee has noted that there are only 8 seats (out of 99) without a Democratic incumbent or challenger. Republicans control the house 52-47 right now. However, this point could use some more analysis. Some of these seats are very strongly Republican statewide, but some are quite even between the parties or even slightly Democratic, and there is no excuse for not having a candidate.
The eight districts, and the biggest city located in them, are the 6th (Shawano), 23rd (Mequon), 27th (Sheboygan Falls), 33rd (Hartland), 58th (West Bend), 59th (Cedar Grove), 67th (Chippewa Falls), and 99th (Hartford). In particular, Russ Feingold and Jim Doyle did well in the 23rd and 67th.
Below, a couple lines of analysis for each district (mostly statewide election results broken down by district.) I will be using the 2004 Senate and Presidential races and the 2006 Governor race to provide more information on the partisan breakdown.
67th: Incumbent Jeff Wood. Easily the most important seat to fill, which is why I moved it out of numerical order. This district is centered in Chippewa Falls in western Wisconsin. The Chippewa Falls/Eau Claire area accounted for two of the four Senate pickups in 2006 and is probably the most important "swing" area of the state. In 2004, Kerry just barely lost the district with 48%. Feingold won the district with 54%, and Doyle won it with 53%. Wood has been challenged each year since he was first elected in 2002. In 2006, he beat challenger Roberta Rasmus by 8 percentage points.
6th: Republican incumbent Gary Tauchen. This district is located in NE Wisconsin and is mostly rural. In 2004, Kerry took 40% of the vote and Feingold took 45%. In 2006, Doyle took 44%. Tauchen is a freshman representative and easily dispatched his challenger for the open seat in 2006.
23rd: Incumbent Jim Ott. This is a suburban district in SE Wisconsin. In 2004, Kerry got 47% and Feingold got 53%. In 2006, Doyle got 49%. Ott is also a freshman and beat his challenger for the open seat by a wider than expected margin (56-43). Three Democrats ran in the primary for the open seat, but apparently none want to try again.
27th: Incumbent Steve Kestell. A rural district in east-central Wisconsin. In 2004, Kerry got 42% here, Feingold 47%. In 2006, Doyle got 45%. Kestell has been in the Assembly since 1998 and has been unopposed since his district was drawn, in 2002, 2004, 2006.
33rd: Incumbent Scott Newcomer. A suburban district in SE Wisconsin. In 2004, Kerry got 29% of the vote, Feingold 36%. In 2006, Doyle got only 32% of the vote. Newcomer, a relative newcomer to the Assembly, got "only" 63% of the vote in a January 2006 special election before trouncing a different challenger with 71%.
58th: Incumbent Pat Strachota. A suburban district in SE Wisconsin. In 2004, Kerry took 31%, Feingold 36%, and in 2006, Doyle took 34%. Strachota easily won the open seat in 2004 and was unopposed in 2006.
59th: Incumbent Dan LeMahieu. A rural district in SE Wisconsin. In 2004, Kerry took 28% of the vote and Feingold got 33%. In 2006, Doyle got 32%. This district is tied for being the most Republican in the state. But LeMahieu's never faced a Democratic challenger, not even when the seat was open in 2002. That year, he faced only a Libertarian and another independent.
99th: Incumbent Don Pridemore. A suburban district in SE Wisconsin. Tied with the 59th for the most Republican in the state. Kerry and Doyle each took 28%, Feingold got 34%. In 2004, Pridemore challenged a GOP incumbent in the primary, saying he was too moderate. He went on to be unopposed in the general in both 2004 and 2006. This would be my last priority, but the tag says "challenge every seat, not challenge all but the two most Republican seats.
So, there you have it. And if you're in Chippewa Falls right now and are reading this, you know what to do.