Southeast Wisconsin has a new congressman-elect. Mitchell Berman, an emergency room nurse and first-time candidate, defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil by about four percentage points, roughly 12,000 votes out of more than 300,000 cast.
Steil had represented the 1st District since 2019, and Republicans had held the seat for more than 30 years. Former House Speaker Paul Ryan represented the district from 1999 to 2019.
Mordecai Lee, a political science professor emeritus at UW-Milwaukee, called the result a political miracle, noting Steil's large campaign fund, his media presence and his constant visibility in the district. Steil raised and spent more than $6.3 million, while Berman reported raising nearly $2 million and spending about $1.6 million, according to Federal Election Commission reports.
Berman won Rock County by 19 points, the district's southern Milwaukee County areas by 10 points, and Kenosha County by about four points, according to reporting from The New York Times. Steil carried Racine County, where Berman lives, by less than a point and won Walworth County by 14 points.
Berman said he will fight to lower costs, fix the health care system and end corruption in Washington. With Berman's win and Democrat Rebecca Cooke's victory over Rep. Derrick Van Orden in the 3rd District, Wisconsin's eight-member U.S. House delegation will be split evenly between the two parties.
