Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District, covering Racine, Kenosha, Janesville and Beloit along with Milwaukee's outer southern suburbs, has been held by Republicans since 1995. This year Democrat Mitchell Berman is trying to unseat Rep. Bryan Steil, who succeeded former House Speaker Paul Ryan in the seat.
Berman, 40, grew up near Peshtigo, worked a decade at a Veterans Affairs hospital and built a home in rural Racine County with his wife, Jillian, where they are raising two daughters. He won the Aug. 11 Democratic primary and was added in September to House Democrats' Red to Blue target list. He campaigns on health care and the cost of living, and in one ad says that in the emergency room he does not ask patients how they vote, he asks where it hurts.
The race has tightened in the final weeks. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates it lean Republican, while Fox News on Oct. 27 moved it from lean Republican to toss-up. Steil, 46, of Janesville, first won the seat in 2018 and has won each of his races by about 10 points. He now chairs the House Administration Committee.
Steil's campaign stresses his votes to lower taxes and his pledge to protect Social Security. A cryptocurrency-aligned group, Fairshake, spent more than $1 million in October backing his re-election, a point Berman has attacked in ads contrasting the outside money with his own hunting background.
Money remains Steil's clearest edge: federal records showed about $2 million on hand for Steil in mid-October, compared with about $351,000 for Berman. Voters decide the race Tuesday, Nov. 3.
