On November 3, Democrats won the Assembly 53-46 and the Senate 18-15 and elected David Crowley governor, the first Democratic trifecta in Madison since the Great Recession. The new Legislature will be sworn in January 4. In the days since the election, all four caucuses have chosen the lawmakers who will lead them.
Incoming Assembly Speaker Greta Neubauer of Racine, the first woman to hold that office, put it plainly: “We are not going to be patient.” Incoming Senate Majority Leader Dianne Hesselbein of Middleton declared “that long nightmare is over,” after 16 years. Republicans are now the minority in both houses. Caucus votes for speaker, speaker pro tempore, Senate president, and president pro tempore still go to the full houses on the first day of the new session. Here are the teams they will take into that fight.
Assembly Democrats
Assembly Democrats elected their leadership team on November 10.
Speaker: Greta Neubauer
Neubauer, first elected in a January 2018 special election, represents the 66th Assembly District and lives in Racine, where she was born and raised. She is a former legislative aide to then-Rep. Cory Mason and has led Assembly Democrats since December 2021. Her caucus unanimously chose her as speaker, the first woman to hold that office in state history.
Speaker pro tempore: Lisa Subeck
Subeck, first elected in 2014, represents the 79th Assembly District and lives in Madison. Born in Chicago, she is a former Head Start program manager, technical college instructor, and nonprofit executive director, and she served on the Madison Common Council from 2011 to 2015. She was Assembly Democratic caucus chair in the previous session and caucus vice chair before that.
Majority Leader: Kalan Haywood
Haywood, first elected in 2018, represents the 16th Assembly District and lives in Milwaukee, where he was born. A former nonprofit consultant, he has served as assistant minority leader and sits on the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority board. He is set to become the first Black Assembly majority leader, and news reports have described him as the youngest in state history.
Assistant Majority Leader: Mike Bare
Bare, first elected in 2022, represents the 80th Assembly District and lives in Verona. Born in Manitowoc, he is co-owner of the Biergarten at Olbrich Park and previously served on the Verona City Council and the Dane County Board. He was Assembly Democratic caucus secretary in the previous session.
Caucus Chair: Clinton Anderson
Anderson, first elected in 2022, represents the 45th Assembly District and lives in Beloit, where he was born. He previously worked as a youth support specialist and as a volunteer coordinator at the YWCA of Rock County, and he served on the Beloit City Council from 2017 to 2023, including a term as council president. He was Assembly Democratic caucus vice chair in the previous session.
Caucus Vice Chair: Karen DeSanto
DeSanto, elected to the Assembly in 2024, represents the 40th Assembly District and lives in Baraboo. Born in Sacramento, California, she is a former Ringling Bros. circus clown and later served as CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of West Central Wisconsin and as president of the Wisconsin Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs. She owns Catalyst Consulting LLC.
Caucus Secretary: Ann Roe
Roe, elected to the Assembly in 2024, represents the 44th Assembly District and lives in Janesville. Born in Chicago, she is a consultant and business owner and previously served as executive director of the Beloit Janesville Symphony Orchestra and as a lecturer at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater College of Business and Economics. In the previous session, she served on the Assembly Committee on State Affairs.
Caucus Sergeant at Arms: Margaret Arney
Arney, elected to the Assembly in 2024, represents the 18th Assembly District and lives in Wauwatosa. Born in Milwaukee, she is a program director and teacher and was elected to the Wauwatosa Common Council in 2022. In the last session, she served on the Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules.
Assembly Republicans
Assembly Republicans elected their minority leadership team the same week.
Minority Leader: Tyler August
August represents the 31st Assembly District in Walworth and Rock counties and lives in Walworth. First elected in 2010, he served as speaker pro tempore from 2013 to 2023 and has been majority leader since January 2023. He won re-election last week even as his party lost the chamber.
Assistant Minority Leader: Nate Gustafson
Gustafson, first elected in 2022, represents the 55th Assembly District and lives in Omro. Born in Appleton and raised in Fox Crossing, he was elected to the Winnebago County Board in 2022. He chairs the Assembly Committee on Science, Technology, and AI and co-chaired the Joint Committee on Information Policy and Technology.
Caucus Chair: Mark Born
Born, first elected in 2012, represents the 37th Assembly District and lives in Beaver Dam, where he was born and raised. Before entering the Legislature, he was a corrections supervisor at the Dodge County Sheriff’s Department and served on the Beaver Dam Fire and Police Commission and the Beaver Dam City Council. He co-chairs the Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, a role he has held since 2016.
Caucus Vice Chair: Joy Goeben
Goeben, first elected in 2022, represents the 5th Assembly District in the greater Green Bay area and lives in Hobart. A former teacher in the Ashwaubenon School District, she owned a childcare center for 10 years and now helps run her family’s business. She chaired the Assembly Committee on Environment and is vice chair of the Committee on Education.
Caucus Secretary: Barbara Dittrich
Dittrich, first elected in 2018, represents the 99th Assembly District and lives in Oconomowoc. She previously worked as a financial advisor, ran a small business with her husband, and founded and led a faith-based nonprofit for 16 years. She chaired the Assembly Committee on Insurance and was vice chair of the Committee on Small Business Development.
Caucus Sergeant at Arms: William Penterman
Penterman was first elected in a July 2021 special election and has been reelected since 2022. He represents the 38th Assembly District and lives in Hustisford. He is a staff sergeant in the U.S. Army Reserve, works as a substitute teacher and a licensed real estate salesperson, and chaired the Assembly Committee on Veterans and Military Affairs.
Senate Democrats
Senate Democrats elected their leadership team on November 10.
Majority Leader: Dianne Hesselbein
Hesselbein represents the 27th Senate District and lives in Middleton. Born in Madison, she served on the Middleton-Cross Plains Area School Board and the Dane County Board before she was elected to the Assembly in 2012 and to the Senate in 2022. She has led Senate Democrats since December 2023, when she became minority leader, and her caucus elected her majority leader on November 10.
Senate President: Mark Spreitzer
Spreitzer represents the 15th Senate District and lives in Beloit. Born in Chicago, he worked in alumni relations at Beloit College, served on the Beloit City Council from 2011 to 2015, and was elected to the Assembly in 2014 and to the Senate in 2022. He was Assembly minority caucus chair from 2017 to 2022 and Senate minority caucus chair in the current session.
Assistant Majority Leader: Kristin Dassler-Alfheim
Dassler-Alfheim, elected to the Senate in 2024, represents the 18th Senate District and lives in Appleton. Born in Wausau, she is president and owner of Retirement Dynamix LLC and previously served as a managing director at Futurity First Insurance Group. She was elected to the Appleton Common Council in 2021 and 2023.
President pro tempore: Dora Drake
Drake represents the 4th Senate District and lives in Milwaukee, where she was born. A social worker and trauma-informed response facilitator, she was elected to the Assembly in 2020 and won a July 2024 special election for the Senate seat left open when Lena Taylor was appointed to the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. She has chaired the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus and was Senate minority caucus vice chair in the current session.
Caucus Chair: Melissa Ratcliff
Ratcliff represents the 16th Senate District and lives in Cottage Grove. Born in Green Bay, she is a paralegal and previously served as a Cottage Grove village trustee and on the Dane County Board. She was first elected to the Assembly in 2022 and to the Senate in 2024.
Caucus Vice Chair: Jeff Smith
Smith represents the 31st Senate District and lives in Brunswick. Born in Eau Claire, he formerly owned a window cleaning business, served as chair of the Town of Brunswick Board, and was elected to the Assembly in 2006 and to the Senate in 2018. He was Senate assistant minority leader in the current session.
Senate Republicans
Senate Republicans elected their minority leadership team on November 5, two days after the election.
Minority Leader: Julian Bradley
Bradley, first elected to the Senate in 2020, represents the 28th Senate District and lives in New Berlin. Born in Baltimore, he moved to Wisconsin in 1992 and is a former realtor, operations manager, and professional wrestler. In the previous session, he served on the Joint Finance Committee and chaired the Committee on Utilities, Technology and Tourism. Senate Republicans elected him minority leader on November 5, making him the first Black lawmaker to lead a caucus in either house.
Assistant Minority Leader: Romaine Quinn
Quinn represents the 25th Senate District and lives in Birchwood. Born in Rice Lake, he is a former Coca-Cola salesman who served on the Rice Lake City Council and as mayor of Rice Lake from 2010 to 2012. He was first elected to the Assembly in 2014 and to the Senate in 2022, when he won the open seat previously held by Democrat Janet Bewley.
Caucus Chair: Rachael Cabral-Guevara
Cabral-Guevara represents the 19th Senate District and lives in Fox Crossing. Born in Appleton, she is a nurse practitioner and the owner of Nurse Practitioner Health Services LLC, and she previously taught nursing at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. She was elected to the Assembly in 2020 and to the Senate in 2022, and previously served as Senate Republican caucus vice chair.
Caucus Vice Chair: Dan Feyen
Feyen, first elected to the Senate in 2016, represents the 20th Senate District and lives in Fond du Lac. Born in New Holstein, he works as a print and bindery coordinator. He served as Senate assistant majority leader in 2019, 2021, and 2023, and chaired the Committee on Government Operations, Labor and Economic Development.
Those are the teams. Democrats will hold every gavel. Republicans will have to fight from the minority. The formal votes for Speaker and Senate president come January 4.
