Where have all the candidates gone?

So far, only one major contender is running for Sen. Fred Risser’s seat

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When Madison’s 26th state Senate district last opened up, the world was taking a deep breath after coming close to annihilation over the Cuban Missile Crisis. John Kennedy was president. I was 3 years old and Kelda Roys’ parents were probably about the same age. 

And yet Roys is the only serious contender for the seat Sen. Fred Risser has held since being elected to the Senate in 1962. 

It is, to say the least, a curious thing. For decades Madison pols have grumbled about Risser holding on to the seat for so long. He was standing in the way of the advancement of younger liberal political talent, they whined. Occasionally one of those young guns would take a run at Risser in a primary only to be dispatched without getting close. 

In March, Risser, who just turned 93 last week and who is the longest serving state legislator in the history of the United States, announced that he would step down after 63 years in office. He served three terms in the Assembly before moving up to the Senate. (In full disclosure, my wife Dianne was Risser’s Senate chief of staff for many years and she and I have a high regard for him.) 

After all those decades of pent-up energy you would think that the flood gates would now be open. But instead of a gushing torrent of candidates we have but a trickle. That would have been more understandable if Rep. Chris Taylor had decided to run. She was long thought to be Risser’s latest heir apparent, but she bowed out and instead will leave the Legislature altogether. 

That leaves Kelda Roys as the only major candidate unless others show up by the filing deadline of June 1. Barring that, Roys will walk into Risser’s office without breaking a sweat. She may face some minor opponents, but they’re unlikely to get much traction. 

I’m not being critical of Roys. She has served time in the Assembly and she ran creditable campaigns for Congress and for governor. She’s a small business person and an attorney. She’s plenty qualified. 

But I’ve always felt that in one party districts like the 26th, crowded primaries are good for democracy. After all, the Democratic primary on Aug. 11 is the election. No Republican has any chance at all of being elected in Madison in the November general election. 

Early on it looked like Roys would get a run for her money from at least one serious opponent, former One Wisconsin Now director Scot Ross. Ross said he planned to run, but then a few weeks ago things took a turn for the bizarre. On her last day as Senate minority leader, Sen. Jennifer Shilling (who is not running for reelection in November) appointed Ross to the state Ethics Commission. 

What makes that bizarre is that Ross has been described by Milwaukee Journal Sentinel political reporter Dan Bice as a “frequently crude and always outspoken Democratic hatchet man.” The Wisconsin State Journal described him as “an aggressive political operative who regularly spews vulgar insults on Twitter.” Both Bice and the State Journal listed some of Ross’ more tame social media posts, which you can read in the links to judge for yourself. 

Even more troubling, the State Journal points out, Ross violated ethics laws himself when he worked in the Senate Democratic caucus, being paid by taxpayers while working on partisan campaigns. In an interview with Bice, Ross charged that anti-quarantine protesters in Michigan were being funded by anonymous business interests. That’s ironic since One Wisconsin Now steadfastly refuses to identify its donors. Ross is for transparency unless it applies to left-wing groups, I guess. 

So, a lot of people are scratching their heads over Shilling’s appointment of a man so unsuited by temperament and history to serve on the Ethics Board. But since then Ross has made no additional moves to mount a campaign. Being on the board probably doesn’t preclude him from running, but it would be odd for Shilling to give him a significant appointment that might help boost his candidacy over another Democrat. Still, nobody has said that there was a quid pro quo.

In any event, despite my differences with Ross, I wish he would run. I may not like his style of politics, but he’s smart, energetic and has plenty of ideas. He and Roys could have a very lively debate and voters would get a choice. 

And it’s not just the 26th. In the 16th Senate district Sen. Mark Miller is retiring after 16 years of distinguished service. Yet, only one serious candidate has emerged, Rep. Melissa Sargent. Sargent is a bit like Taylor in that she’s been preparing for this race for a while and is probably freezing out the competition, so it’s a little more understandable here. But, still, there are plenty of politically active people in the 16th who would make strong candidates. There’s no reason that there shouldn’t be a competitive primary here as well. 

I live in the 26th and if Roys is the only real choice I get I’ll vote for her without reservation. She’ll do fine. But when a key legislative seat in a city as politically active as Madison opens up for the first time in almost six decades, it would be a sign of civic health to have a crowded and hotly contested primary. The lack of one would say nothing good about the state of our local democracy. Let’s hope more serious candidates show up by June 1. 

[Editor's note: There are three other candidates who have filed to run for Risser's seat: William Henry Davis III, a write-in candidate for lieutenant governor in 2018; Aisha Moe, a 2019 graduate of UW-Madison who worked as a field organizer for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's Coordinated Campaign in 2018; and Nada Elmikashfi, a 2020 graduate of UW-Madison and former legislative fellow for former Sen. Jennifer Shilling.]