Wisconsin legislators calling it quits at a pace that might top WWII’s modern-day high

MADISON, Wis. — The number of Wisconsin state lawmakers hanging it up this year is near a modern-day high and could exceed the number reached during World War II.

The mass exodus comes amid uncertainty over legislative boundaries due to a redistricting fight, an ever-more partisan political environment and years of animosity between majority Republicans and minority Democrats.

Thirty incumbents have announced that they will retire, won’t seek reelection or are running for another office this year.

That’s fully one-quarter of the 118 lawmakers who are up for reelection.

Thirteen Republicans and 10 Democrats in the Wisconsin state Assembly are leaving. Four Republicans and three Democrats in the Senate are out.

The 30 departures ties with 2014 for the third-highest number of incumbent retirements since at least 1940, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. According to the agency’s records, 31 incumbents left in 1954 and 32 in 1942 amid World War II. The agency’s legislative turnover records go back only to 1940.

University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Barry Burden said legislative departures often are higher in redistricting years, when the Legislature redraws lawmakers’ district lines to reflect population changes.

This year’s maps were delayed as Democrats and Republicans fought over them in court. The Wisconsin Supreme Court didn’t finalize the maps until the day candidates could pull nomination papers.

Though the districts ended up remaining largely unchanged, Burden said the delay likely made it difficult for incumbents to plan.

Burden said Republicans also might be leaving because of internal dissension over election integrity. A vocal faction of the party still maintains that President Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election even though recounts, court decisions and audits have confirmed that Biden beat former President Donald rump in Wisconsin by nearly 21,000 votes.

Republican Sen. Kathy Bernier is retiring after 12 years in the Legislature. She took criticism for defending local clerks’ elections performance and questioning Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ decision to hire former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman to investigate the election. Gableman called on her to resign.

Bernier said she was ready to quit anyway, but the attacks made her decision easy. She said many Republicans believe as she does but are too afraid to stand up.

Assembly Majority Leader Jim Steineke announced in January he won’t seek reelection. He ran afoul this winter of a faction of Assembly Republicans who demanded the body decertify the 2020 election results. Vos and the rest of the party leadership refused, saying that couldn’t be done.

Steineke called his decision “just good timing” after 12 years in Madison. He also said he’s been dealing with criticism that has, at times, been irrational.

“Somebody called [from] my district frustrated with the 2020 election,” Steineke said. “As we walked through all the issues he believed were wrong in the election, I explained every single one of them and what the reality was. He still couldn’t accept that and then [implied] elected officials are agents of foreign governments.

“There’s a segment of our citizenry that is incredibly frustrated and looking for an outlet. And, often times, elected officials become an outlet for that frustration.”

Hanging over the departures is a partisan atmosphere that has grown more bitter, personal and sometimes abusive.

This generation of lawmakers was on the front lines for the divisive battle over then-Gov. Scott Walker’s government union restrictions, a fight that grew so intense that Democratic senators fled to Illinois in a futile effort to prevent passage. The night the Assembly passed the bill, Democratic Rep. Gordon Hintz shouted at a Republican colleague, “You’re dead!”

Hintz is among those not seeking reelection.

That leaves Christine Sinicki as the only Assembly Democrat who was present for the floor debate on the bill running again this fall. Senate Democrats never voted on the measure because they had left the state.

The divide deepened after Democratic Gov. Tony Evers defeated Walker in 2018 while Republicans kept control of both legislative houses.

The rancor has continued the past two years as Republicans work to tighten voting laws, drawing protests from Democrats who say Republicans are trying to suppress votes.

“I certainly understand the frustration some legislators on both sides of the aisle have, with the makeup of the Legislature and the tone of the debate,” said Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who’s retiring after 23 years. “We’re not talking about issues that affect districts. Why is Robin Vos spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on something that’s not real? I got tired of trying to answer that when there’s no answer. Or that the answer is they’re trying to keep the Trump people on board in the Republican Party, and that’s the only way to do it.”