Jodi Habush Sinykin (D) and Daniel Knodl (R) are running in the special general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 8 on April 4, 2023.
Republicans have held the seat since 1993, following Alberta Darling’s (R) election to the state Senate in 1992. Darling retired on Dec. 1, 2022. Her retirement reduced Senate Republicans’ 22-member supermajority to a 21-member majority. The results of the special election will determine whether Republicans regain a supermajority. A Republican supermajority would mean two-thirds of Wisconsin senators are Republican and would have the votes necessary to speed up the legislative process by suspending Senate rules, as well as hold impeachment trials of state officials such as the governor.
Wisconsin has a divided government, meaning Republicans control the legislature, while Tony Evers, a Democrat, holds the governorship. In Wisconsin, a two-thirds majority in each chamber is required to override a gubernatorial veto. The state House is split 64 Republicans to 35 Democrats, while the state Senate is split 21 Republicans to 11 Democrats, with one vacancy.
