The August Primary has come and gone in Wisconsin, and it’s clear that voters are engaged and showing up. The state beat a 60-year record for a fall primary in an election year with 26% of registered voters statewide casting a ballot. Madison had the best voter turnout in such an election in the 40 years that the clerk’s office has kept records on those statistics with a 45% turnout. Some wards saw numbers as high as 70% throughout the city. High voter turnout usually bodes well for progressive causes, and we saw that this summer with the rejection of the two amendments that “sought to limit the governor’s power to spend money,” according to PBS Wisconsin. They continue, “The election was also the first under newly drawn legislative maps, creating dozens of competitive races in addition to other hot contests for local office.”

In Madison, there was a primary for who would replace Joe Parisi, who retired in April of this year, for County Executive. Melissa Agard, a current State Senator who was endorsed by Parisi on his way out, received the majority of the votes with 57%. Dana Pellebon, a current County Board Supervisor who has been very visible at local queer events this spring and summer, was second with 17.2% of the votes. They beat out Dane County Equity and Inclusion Director Wes Sparkman, and Madison City Council Ald. Regina Vidaver to advance to a runoff election this coming November. Both women have a track record of support for the LGBTQ community. Also in Madison, Chuck Erickson did not win his bid to represent District 77, a new district that, for the first time ever, comprises the entire UW-Madison campus. Renuka Mayadev will continue to the November election for that district.

In Republican news, Eric Hovde will face incumbent Tammy Baldwin for a spot in the United States Senate. Hovde has been criticized for his numerous attacks on LGBTQ rights, coming out strongly against gender-affirming care for minors and parroting the talking points used by many Republicans against trans kids playing sports on teams that align with their gender identity. Baldwin, on the other hand, in addition to being the first out gay person in the U.S. Senate, spearheaded the “Respect for Marriage Act” in late 2022, a law aimed at protecting marriage rights for LGBTQ Americans. She did so in response to Justice Thomas’s opinion published for the Dobbs decision, famously reversing Roe v. Wade, which called for the Court to “right the wrong” of the Obergefell decision from 2015.