Two Republicans square off in toss-up 13th Assembly District that was once GOP stronghold

A Republican incumbent who was first elected in 2022 in a GOP-friendly district faces both a primary challenger and, if he wins on Aug. 13, a Democratic lawmaker in what is now a toss-up district.

Rep. Tom Michalski, R-Elm Grove, faces political newcomer Patti Granger in the Republican primary for Wisconsin’s 13th Assembly District.

The district covers Wauwatosa, Brookfield and Elm Grove and, based on past election results, is a political toss-up. In the Nov. 5 election the GOP primary winner will face Rep. Robyn Vining, who represents the 14th Assembly District but was drawn into the 13th as part of recent redistricting.

In 2011, Republicans drew the 13th and 14th districts to ensure two Republicans would be elected. But as the Milwaukee suburbs, particularly Wauwatosa, have become more liberal, Democrats managed to win both in 2020. Republicans changed the composition of the districts to ensure the 13th would go back to being Republican, but made the 14th a Democratic stronghold. The new maps make them both toss-up districts.

Granger, who works in business process improvement, told Wisconsin Watch she stands apart from Michalski as a woman and a single mother who adopted two children.

Granger said she wants to work with both sides of the aisle. She described family issues, education and lowering crime as her biggest campaign issues, but didn’t go into specifics when asked what she would plan to change. She offered that the education system needs to incorporate more trade skills such as carpentry, electricity, sewing and cooking, Granger said.

“People’s voices just aren’t being heard or conversations are not being had on both sides of the aisle. They’re very one sided. And if you pick a topic, people just feel they’re not being heard,” she said. “I don’t want to get into specific things that are different without really having a hard look at the moment.” 

Michalski, who has been a representative since last year, was elected to the Waukesha County Board in 2016 and also is on the Elm Grove Board of Trustees. The Freeman reported in December his priorities include election integrity, support for law enforcement, mental health initiatives and education. 

Michalski did not respond to repeated requests for comment. 

Last year in a March interview he told the Institute for Reforming Government his constituents are concerned about lawlessness and a decentralized judicial system. 

“Be it retail theft, reckless driving, car-jacking, and violence, all are very much on the mind of my constituents,” he said. “They do not blame the police. Instead, they hold the judicial system culpable for failing to enforce the laws already on the books.” 

Part of his goal is to require district attorneys to adhere closer to what the law prescribes, rather than exercise their own discretion, when they charge individuals arrested for crimes, he said. 

Vining, who took office in 2019, is focusing her campaign on mental health, reproductive rights and educational funding. Wisconsin is one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid access for low-income people. She said her constituents want better and affordable health care and access to abortion services, birth control and IVF. 

“We’ve spent the last couple years fighting for affordable child care. It’s a relentless fight,” she said. “I have received letters in my district about people afraid of if child care costs go up anymore, choosing between food and whether or not they can afford to work. And that’s really real.”

One issue that has stood out recently for Vining is education. Voters have been asked repeatedly via referendum to raise their own taxes to pay for public schools. 

“Under Scott Walker, the Republican (and) the gerrymandered Republican Legislature massively cut funding to schools, and we have now watched an entire generation of kids, my kids included, go through schools that suffered those cuts,” she said. “We’re starting to really understand the ramifications of that, schools across the state are now funding by referendum, because the state has failed to fund the schools.”

This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.