For decades, Milwaukee Democrats have treated too many legislative seats like inherited property. Candidates emerge from the political establishment, win the Democratic nomination and march into office with little fear of serious opposition.
The voters are expected to fall in line, election after election.
But in 2026, two Milwaukee Republicans are stepping forward to challenge that culture of political entitlement.
Charlene Abughrin is running against Democratic incumbent Supreme Moore Omokunde, Representative Gwen Moore’s son, in Wisconsin’s 17th Assembly District. The district is entirely within Milwaukee and includes west side neighborhoods such as northern Enderis Park, Capitol Heights and Lincoln Creek.
Charlene Abughrin is not a career politician waiting for permission from Milwaukee’s political establishment. She is a Milwaukee mother of six, a healthcare professional, an educator and an entrepreneur who believes strong families, safe neighborhoods and quality education are essential to giving children an opportunity to succeed. Her campaign says she has more than 15 years of experience in healthcare and education.
After her children experienced violence in Milwaukee schools, Abughrin became the plaintiff in Abughrin v. Milwaukee Board of School Directors. Her campaign describes it as the successful lawsuit that forced Milwaukee Public Schools and the City of Milwaukee to comply with Wisconsin’s school resource officer requirement.
Now she wants to take that fighting spirit to Madison.
In a Wisconsin Watch candidate questionnaire, Abughrin identified crime, murder, robbery, reckless driving, homelessness and a lack of resources as major concerns confronting District 17. She also called for greater transparency and accountability in state government.
That message should sound familiar to residents who are tired of politicians offering speeches, task forces and excuses while neighborhood conditions continue to deteriorate.
In Wisconsin’s 16th Assembly District, Republican Alciro Deacon is challenging Democratic incumbent Kalan Haywood. This is an Assembly race, not a State Senate race. District 16 is located entirely within central Milwaukee.
Haywood has served in the Wisconsin State Assembly since 2019. Deacon, meanwhile, previously ran as the Republican candidate for Wisconsin State Senate District 6 in 2020, when he faced Democratic incumbent LaTonya Johnson.
According to WUWM’s candidate guide, Alciro Deacon is campaigning on lowering crime, cutting taxes, protecting parental rights and expanding economic opportunity.
These are not abstract political talking points. Milwaukee families live every day with the consequences of crime, failing schools, disappearing opportunities and government systems that demand more money while delivering less.
Some Democrats will attempt to dismiss Abughrin and Deacon simply because they are Republicans running in heavily Democratic territory.
That attitude is exactly the problem.
No political party should own Milwaukee. No incumbent should be entitled to a legislative seat. And no community benefits when its elected officials believe the party label beside their names makes them untouchable.
Milwaukee voters deserve candidates who knock on doors, defend their records, explain their votes and answer tough questions. Competition forces politicians to listen. It shines a light on complacency and reminds incumbents that public office belongs to the people, not the party machine.
Abughrin and Deacon face an uphill battle, they are showing up in Milwaukee and fighting for votes.
They are refusing to surrender Black neighborhoods, working families and city residents to a Democratic establishment that too often remembers these communities only when it needs another election victory.
On November 3, voters in Assembly Districts 16 and 17 will have an actual choice between competing political visions.
Whether voters choose change is up to them. But the days of Democrats strolling into office without being challenged should come to an end.
Milwaukee does not belong to one political party. It belongs to the people who live here, raise families here, pay taxes here and suffer when the government fails.
Charlene Abughrin and Alciro Deacon have entered the fight. Now Milwaukee voters must decide whether they are satisfied with the same political machine or finally ready to demand something different.
