Democratic Wisconsin state Sen. Brad Pfaff defeats Stacey Klein in 32nd District

Democrat Brad Pfaff has won reelection in Wisconsin’s state Senate.

Pfaff retains the 32nd District for a second term, winning with 52.3% of the 100,713 votes cast over Republican Stacey Klein.

Pfaff won 52,695 to 47,906.

For the past two years, Republicans had held a supermajority in the state Senate, but Pfaff’s win has helped deplete that total, with new, fairer maps coming into play. Republicans lost at least one seat in these fall elections, and with that, also lost the supermajority.

Republicans still retain control of the Senate. They’ve had control of the state Legislature since they drew their own voting maps 13 years ago.

For Pfaff, when he was first elected in 2020, it was an intriguing seat. He had been the Wisconsin agriculture secretary for 11 months, before Republicans essentially fired him in January of 2019 for speaking out on the GOP withholding mental health funding for farmers.

It was the first time in decades, and maybe ever, the Senate had ever ousted an ag. secretary.

A few months later, Pfaff would win an election to sit in the very Senate with collogues who had refused to confirm him into Wisconsin Gov. Evers cabinet.

Pfaff and Klein were the only candidates within La Crosse County in the state Legislature to agree to a debate. No Assembly Republicans agreed to debate the Democrats, citing “scheduling conflicts.”

The US House race between Derrick Van Orden and Rebecca Cooke also didn’t have a debate.

VOTE TOTALS
Brad Pfaff
La Crosse: 39,331
Monroe: 4,194
Trempealeau: 1,456
Vernon: 7,714
Total: 52,695

Stacey Klein
La Crosse:31,577
Monroe: 5,879
Trempealeau: 2,245
Vernon: 8,205
Total: 47,906

COUNTY TOTAL VOTES
La Crosse: 70,989
Monroe: 10,090
Trempealeau: 3,703
Vernon: 15,931
Total: 100,713