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 northern half of the city of Racine, the western half of the city of Greenfield, and part of southwest Milwaukee, as well as the villages of Greendale, Hales Corners, Caledonia, Wind Point, and North Bay.
Current elected officials Van H. Wanggaard is the senator representing the 21st district. He was elected to his first term in the 2010 general election, but was removed from office in a recall election in 2012. He subsequently was returned to office in the 2014 general election, and is now in his third four-year term.
Each Wisconsin State Senate district is composed of three Wisconsin State Assembly districts. The 21st Senate district comprises the 61st, 62nd, and 63rd Assembly districts. The current representatives of those districts are: Assembly District 61: Bob Donovan (R–Greenfield) Assembly District 62: Angelina Cruz (D–Racine) Assembly District 63: Robert Wittke (R–Caledonia)
The district, in its current boundaries, crosses three congressional districts. Most of the district is contained within Wisconsin's 1st congressional district, which is represented by U.S. Representative Bryan Steil. The portion of the district in Greenfield falls within Wisconsin's 5th congressional district, represented by Scott L. Fitzgerald. The portion of the district in the city of Milwaukee falls within Wisconsin's 4th congressional district, represented by Gwen Moore.
Recalls The 21st Senate district is unique in Wisconsin recall history. In 1996, it became the first district in which a Wisconsin state legislator was successfully removed from office via recall election, when Kimberly Plache defeated George Petak. With the recall of Van H. Wanggaard in 2012, it became the only Wisconsin district where there have been more than one successful recall elections.
Boundaries As with all state senate and assembly seats, the boundaries of the 21st have moved over time during decennial redistricting. Senators of previous eras have represented different geographic areas.
The district was created after the 1850 census and reapportionment and was drawn for Winnebago County, in central Wisconsin. The inaugural holder was Coles Bashford in the 6th session of the Wisconsin Legislature, 1853.
In the 19th century, the district included at various times Marathon, Oconto, Shawano and Waupaca counties, and was located within the now-defunct 9th Congressional District
For most of the 20th century, the district covered the city of Racine and Racine County, in southeastern Wisconsin, within the boundaries of the 1st Congressional District.
In redistricting after the 2010 census, the city of Racine was mostly removed and rural and suburban portions of Kenosha County were added to the district, turning the 21st into a safe Republican seat.
The 2024 redistricting again dramatically reshaped the district, removing all of Kenosha County and most of Racine County. The district instead moved back into the city of Racine, comprising the city's north side and stretching north into southwest Milwaukee County. Under the new map, it is projected to be one of the most competitive districts in the state Senate.
Past senators The 21st senate district has had several notable officeholders, including American Civil War General John Azor Kellogg and Wisconsin Governors Coles Bashford and Walter Samuel Goodland.
A list of all previous senators from this district:
Senator Party Notes Session Years District definition District created by 1852 Wisc. Act 499. 1852 Winnebago County Coles Bashford Whig Won 1852 election.Resigned 1855, elected Governor of Wisconsin. 6th 1853 7th 1854 Rep. 8th 1855 John Fitzgerald Dem. Won 1855 special election. 9th 1856 Edwin Wheeler Rep. 10th 1857 11th 1858 Ganem W. Washburn Rep. 12th 1859 13th 1860 Horace O. Crane Rep. Resigned June 1861. 14th 1861 Samuel M. Hay Rep. Won 1861 special election. 15th 1862 Joseph B. Hamilton Rep. 16th 1863 17th 1864 George S. Barnum 18th 1865 19th 1866 George Gary Resigned Oct. 1867. 20th 1867 William G. Ritch Rep. Won 1867 special election. 21st 1868 Ira W. Fisher Rep. 22nd 1869 23rd 1870 James H. Foster Rep. Redistricted to 19th district. 24th 1871 Myron Reed Dem. 25th 1872 Marathon, Oconto, Shawano, Waupaca counties, and Myron H. McCord Rep. 26th 1873 27th 1874 Willis C. Silverthorn Dem. 28th 1875 29th 1876 Henry Mumbrue 30th 1877 Marathon, Portage, and Waupaca counties 31st 1878 John Azor Kellogg Rep. 32nd 1879 33rd 1880 Charles F. Crosby Rep. 34th 1881 35th 1882 John Ringle Dem. 36th 1883–1884 Shawano, Waupaca, and Marathon counties 37th 1885–1886 John E. Leahy Rep. 38th 1887–1888 39th 1889–1890 Shawano and Waupaca counties, and Joseph H. Woodnorth Dem. 40th 1891–1892 41st1893–1894 Portage and Waushara counties, and John Phillips Rep. 42nd 1895–1896 43rd1897–1898 Portage and Waupaca counties William H. Hatton Rep. 44th 1899–1900 45th 1901–1902 46th 1903–1904 47th 1905–1906 Edward E. Browne Rep. 48th 1907–1908 49th 1909–1910 50th 1911–1912 Edward F. Kileen Rep. 51st 1913–1914 Waushara, Adams, Juneau, and Marquette counties Frank H. Hanson Rep. 52nd 1915–1916 53rd 1917–1918 John A. Conant Rep. 54th 1919–1920 55th 1921–1922 Max W. Heck Rep. 56th 1923–1924 Racine County 57th 1925–1926 Walter S. Goodland Rep. Won 1926 election.Re-elected 1930.Elected Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin in 1934. 58th 1927–1928 59th 1929–1930 60th 1931–1932 61st 1933–1934 Joseph Clancy Dem. 62nd 1935–1936 63rd 1937–1938 Kenneth L. Greenquist Prog. 64th 1939–1940 65th 1941–1942 Edward F. Hilker Rep. 66th 1943–1944 67th 1945–1946 68th 1947–1948 69th 1949–1950 Gerald T. Flynn Dem. 70th 1951–1952 71st 1953–1954 Lynn E. Stalbaum Dem. Won 1954 election.Re-elected 1958, 1962.Resigned 1964 after election to U.S. House. 72nd 1955–1956 73rd 1957–1958 74th 1959–1960 75th 1961–1962 76th 1963–1964 Henry Dorman Dem. Won 1965 special election.Re-elected 1966, 1970, 1974.Defeated in 1978 primary. 77th 1965–1966 78th 1967–1968 79th 1969–1970 80th 1971–1972 81st 1973–1974 82nd 1975–1976 83rd 1977–1978 Joseph A. Strohl Dem. Won 1978 election.Re-elected 1982, 1986.Majority Leader 1987–1990.Defeated in 1990 election. 84th 1979–1980 85th 1981–1982 86th 1983–1984 87th 1985–1986 88th 1987–1988 89th 1989–1990 George Petak Republican Won 1990 election.Re-elected 1994.Defeated in 1996 recall election. 90th 1991–1992 91st 1993–1994 92nd 1995–1996 Kimberly Plache Dem. Won 1996 recall election.Re-elected 1998.Defeated in 2002 election. 93rd 1997–1998 94th 1999–2000 95th 2001–2002 Cathy Stepp Rep. Won 2002 election.Did not seek re-election. 96th 2003–2004 97th 2005–2006 John Lehman Dem. Won 2006 election.Defeated in 2010 election. 98th 2007–2008 99th 2009–2010 Rep. Won 2010 election.Defeated in 2012 recall election. 100th 2011–2012 John Lehman Dem. Won 2012 recall election.Did not seek re-election. 101st 2013–2014
Rep. Won 2014 election.Re-elected 2018, 2022. 102nd 2015–2016 103rd 2017–2018
104th 2019–2020 105th 2021–2022 106th 2023–2024 Most of Kenosha County,most of Racine County,part of Walworth County 107th 2025–2026 Northeast Racine Countysouthwest Milwaukee County
References
External links Senate District 21 at Wisconsin Legislature Senator Van H. Wanggaard (2023) Senator Van H. Wanggaard (2021) Senator Van H. Wanggaard (2019) Senator Van H. Wanggaard (2017)