There are many races around the state coming up that are important, and I highlighted the U.S. Senate and Wisconsin Governor races as must-wins. Today I want to talk about a race that is very important to me as I want to see this remain in Democratic hands.
The 25th Senate District was represented by State Senator and Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley. Before I talk about who is running, I want to talk about what the 25th Senate District is because, in some cases, some might not know how far their District reaches.
25th District
County 1 Douglas ( Entire County) Population 43,397
2018 Governor Election: Tony Evers 58% Scott Walker 38%
Douglas County is the home of the city of Superior. Towns include the neighboring Solon Springs and rural towns such as Oakland, Gordon, Wascott, and Brule.
County 2 Bayfield ( Entire County) Population 15,080 (2020)
2018 Governor Election Tony Evers 58% Scott Walker 39%
Bayfield County is home to the small towns of Washburn and Bayfield. It is also home to Iron River, Cable, Clover, Port Wing, and Mason.
County 3 Ashland ( Entire County) 15,524 (2020)
2018 Governor Election Tony Evers 60% Scott Walker 37%
The city of Ashland is part of both Ashland and Bayfield Counties. It also includes the small town of Mellen, Sandborn, and White River.
County 4 Iron ( Entire County) 6,127 (2020)
2018 Governor Election Scott Walker 57% Tony Evers 40%
Iron County’s most populous town is a competition between Mercer and Hurley. While Iron County is not the most populous, it consists of the towns of Sherman, Carey, and Knight.
County 5 Price ( Entire County) 14,159 (2020)
2018 Governor Election Scott Walker 59% Tony Evers 38%
Price county contains the city of Park Falls and Phillips. Small Towns include Worcester, Prentice, Knox, and Emery.
County 6 Burnett ( Entire County) 16,526 (2020)
2018 Governor Election Scott Walker 61% Tony Evers 38%
While there are no major population points, it does include the village of Siren, Grantsburg, and Webster. Smaller Towns include Danbury, Webb Lake, and Scott.
County 6 Washburn ( Entire County) 15,712
2018 Gubanatorial Election Scott Walker 56% Tony Evers 41%
Spooner and Shell Lake are the more populated areas in this county. Smaller Towns include Stone Lake, Birchwood, Sarona, Barronett, and Minong.
County 7 Barron ( Entire County ) 45, 182
2018 Governor Election Scott Walker 57% Tony Evers 41%
Barron County has four major populous areas Barron, Chetek, Rice Lake, and Cumberland. It also includes the Village of Turtle Lake, Cameron, ½ of New Auburn, Prairie Farm, and Haugen.
County 8 Sawyer ( Two Towns) 1,728
2018 Governor Election Scott Walker 58% Tony Evers 42%
Lenroot and Spider Lake are the two towns in Sawyer County that include the 25th Senate District.
Who is the Democrat looking to replace Senator Bewley?
We may know the name Kelly Westlund when she was one of the better performers against Congressman Duffy in 2014. Before that, she served on the Ashland City Council from 2011-to 2013. After her loss in 2014. she got to work as Tammy Baldwin’s Northwest Regional Representative up until she stepped down to run for State Senate.
Why I think she has a chance
This is a senate district is always a toss-up. I have been 50-49 since the 2010 cycles. You have three counties that are deep blue and will vote Democrat almost 80% of the time. You have one Lean R county that could be a tossup with enough ground effort and door knocking as Tony Evers did very well in places like Spooner and Shell Lake. In some cases, it was a case of a 15-40 vote difference. She is visiting places like Siren, Rice Lake, and Spooner as well as her hometown in Ashland.
Her Challenge.
I plan to cover candidate recruitment in a separate piece, but it is essential to know her opponent is former State Representative Romaine Quinn. For years the Republican Party of Wisconsin has been grooming this kid to run for Congress, Senate, or even Governor. At a very young age, he was elected to the Rice Lake City Council and Mayor of Rice Lake. In 2014 He was elected and re-elected to the 75th Assembly District. This includes all of Barron County as well as most of Washburn County, including the cities of Shell Lake, Spooner, and Stone Lake.
kellywestlundforsenate.com