Pfaff runs for second term in State Senate, after considering another campaign for Congress

A year after running for Congress, one area lawmaker says he will campaign for another term in his current job.

State Senator Brad Pfaff has launched his run for re-election in the 32nd District, which includes all of Crawford County and parts of La Crosse, Vernon, and Monroe Counties. Pfaff tells WIZM News that he thought about another run for the 3rd District House seat, after losing last November to Republican Derrick Van Orden.

“I do think it’s important that we do have a member of Congress that has deep roots in this district, and someone that recognizes the values of this district and someone who’s a good neighrbor,” said Pfaff. He and other Democrats criticized Van Orden for living in the 3rd District only a short time before the 2022 race for Congress.

Pfaff has held the La Crosse area Senate seat for nearly three years, and says he’s very proud of the work he’s been able to do in Madison. He served as state agriculture secretary under Gov. Tony Evers before winning the Senate seat in 2020.

Pfaff made his campaign announcement on the same day that he hosted a Democratic party corn roast at the fairgrounds in West Salem, continuing a tradition by his old boss, former Congressman Ron Kind.