# Wisconsin's 30th Assembly district

The 30th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in western Wisconsin, the district comprises parts of southwest St. Croix County and northwest Pierce County. It includes the cities of Hudson and River Falls, as well as the village of North Hudson. It also contains the University of Wisconsin–River Falls campus, Willow River State Park, and Kinnickinnic State Park. The district is represented by Republican Shannon Zimmerman, since January 2017.
The 30th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 10th Senate district, along with the 28th and 29th Assembly districts.
The 30th Assembly district is contained within the Wisconsin portion of the Minneapolis-Saint Paul Metropolitan Area.
* Willow Falls in Willow River State Park
* South Hall, on the University of Wisconsin–River Falls campus
* John S. Moffat House in Hudson
* Downtown Hudson

## History

The district was created in the 1972 redistricting act (1971 Wisc. Act 304) which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties. The 30th district was drawn mostly in line with the boundaries of the previous Buffalo County–Pepin County–Pierce County district, exchanging part of northeast Pierce County for part of western Trempealeau County. The last representative of the Buffalo–Pepin–Pierce district, Michael P. Early, was elected in 1972 as the first representative of the 30th Assembly district.
The 1982 court-ordered redistricting briefly moved the 30th district to eastern Waukesha County. The 1983 redistricting act moved it back to western Wisconsin, but in a much smaller geographic space than 1972, comprising just Pierce County and part of southwest St. Croix County, including the cities of Hudson and River Falls. As population grew in the two cities, the 1992 court-ordered plan removed more rural parts of northeast Pierce County and central St. Croix County, but maintained the core population of the district. The 2002 redistricting continued that trend, with the district comprising just the western third of Pierce County and a strip of southwest St. Croix County. The 2011 redistricting act (2011 Wisc. Act 43) also continued with Hudson and River Falls as the core of the district, but removed most of the rest of Pierce County and shifted the district north to contain more of St. Croix County. The 2022 court-ordered redistricting severed the Hudson and River Falls connection, removing nearly all of River Falls from the district and expanding it to include much more of rural St. Croix County.
The 2024 redistricting (2023 Wisc. Act 94) restored the old Hudson and River Falls core of the district, moving it back into northwest Pierce County and southwest St. Croix County. Under the new map configuration, the 30th Assembly district is projected to be one of the most competitive districts in the state legislature.

## List of past representatives

List of representatives to the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 30th district :
| Member | Party | Residence | Counties represented | Term start | Term end | Ref. |
| District created |||||||
| Michael P. Early | Dem. | River Falls | Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, Trempealeau | January 1, 1973 | August 15, 1977 | $^{:135}$ |
| --Vacant-- | --Vacant-- | --Vacant-- | Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, Trempealeau | August 15, 1977 | November 7, 1977 | |
| James Harsdorf | Rep. | River Falls | Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, Trempealeau | November 7, 1977 | January 5, 1981 | |
| Jule Berndt | Rep. | River Falls | Buffalo, Pepin, Pierce, Trempealeau | January 5, 1981 | January 3, 1983 | |
| John C. Schober | Rep. | New Berlin | Waukesha | January 3, 1983 | January 7, 1985 | |
| William Berndt | Rep. | River Falls | Pierce, St. Croix | January 7, 1985 | January 2, 1989 | |
| Sheila Harsdorf | Rep. | River Falls | Pierce, St. Croix | January 2, 1989 | January 4, 1999 | |
| Kitty Rhoades | Rep. | Hudson | Pierce, St. Croix | January 4, 1999 | January 3, 2011 | |
| Dean Knudson | Rep. | Hudson | Pierce, St. Croix | January 3, 2011 | January 3, 2017 | |
| Shannon Zimmerman | Rep. | River Falls | Pierce, St. Croix | January 3, 2017 | Current | |

## Electoral history

| Year | Date | Elected | Elected | Elected | Elected | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Total | Plurality | Other primary candidates |
| 1972 | Nov. 7 | Michael P. Early | Democratic | 10,443 | 57.88% | Robert M. Stoughton | Rep. | 7,475 | 41.43% | 18,043 | 2,968 | |
| 1972 | Nov. 7 | Michael P. Early | Democratic | 10,443 | 57.88% | Donald Kohr | Amer. | 125 | 0.69% | 18,043 | 2,968 | |
| 1974 | Nov. 5 | Michael P. Early (inc) | Democratic | 8,515 | 58.68% | William S. Hall | Rep. | 5,829 | 40.17% | 14,511 | 2,686 | |
| 1974 | Nov. 5 | Michael P. Early (inc) | Democratic | 8,515 | 58.68% | Merlon Lingenfelter | Amer. | 167 | 1.15% | 14,511 | 2,686 | |
| 1976 | Nov. 2 | Michael P. Early (inc.) | Democratic | 14,657 | 71.56% | Myrtle J. Wright | Rep. | 5,824 | 28.44% | 20,481 | 8,833 | |
| 1977 | Oct. 25 | James Harsdorf | Republican | 3,920 | 51.07% | Rodney J. Nilsestuen | Dem. | 3,755 | 48.93% | 7,675 | 165 | George C. Banta (Rep.)Robert I. Johnson (Rep.)Michael J. Manion (Rep.)Richard Truax (Rep.) |
| 1978 | Nov. 7 | James Harsdorf (inc) | Republican | 8,033 | 57.80% | William O. Early | Dem. | 5,866 | 42.20% | 13,899 | 2,167 | |
| 1980 | Nov. 4 | Jule Berndt | Republican | 10,911 | 52.31% | Earl Gilson | Dem. | 9,947 | 47.69% | 20,858 | 964 | Louellyn Nestingen (Dem.) |
| 1982 | Nov. 2 | John C. Schober | Republican | 10,078 | 67.60% | Victor S. Preuss | Dem. | 4,830 | 32.40% | 14,908 | 5,248 | A. Vernon Jensen (Dem.) |
| 1984 | Nov. 6 | William Berndt | Republican | 11,512 | 51.25% | Earl Gilson | Dem. | 10,949 | 48.75% | 22,461 | 563 | |
| 1986 | Nov. 4 | William Berndt (inc) | Republican | 7,091 | 53.52% | Margaret Baldwin | Dem. | 6,159 | 46.48% | 13,250 | 932 | Earl Gilson (Dem.) |
| 1988 | Nov. 8 | Sheila Harsdorf | Republican | 13,480 | 56.04% | Brenda L. Kittilson | Dem. | 10,575 | 43.96% | 24,055 | 2,905 | Earl Gilson (Dem.)Tobi R. Miller (Rep.) |
| 1990 | Nov. 6 | Sheila Harsdorf (inc) | Republican | 9,626 | 67.11% | David Balin | Dem. | 4,717 | 32.89% | 14,343 | 4,909 | |
| 1992 | Nov. 3 | Sheila Harsdorf (inc) | Republican | 17,950 | 92.58% | M. Felderman-Baldwin | Ind. | 1,438 | 7.42% | 19,388 | 16,512 | |
| 1994 | Nov. 8 | Sheila Harsdorf (inc) | Republican | 10,413 | 68.31% | Jill Ann Berke | Dem. | 4,830 | 31.69% | 15,243 | 5,583 | |
| 1996 | Nov. 5 | Sheila Harsdorf (inc) | Republican | 13,604 | 57.98% | James R. Johnson | Dem. | 9,861 | 42.02% | 23,465 | 3,743 | |
| 1998 | Nov. 3 | Kitty Rhoades | Republican | 9,755 | 57.29% | James R. Johnson | Dem. | 7,272 | 42.71% | 17,027 | 2,483 | Jay Griggs (Rep.) |
| 2000 | Nov. 7 | Kitty Rhoades (inc) | Republican | 17,303 | 62.76% | Laurie J. Lundgaard | Dem. | 10,247 | 37.17% | 27,568 | 7,056 | |
| 2002 | Nov. 5 | Kitty Rhoades (inc) | Republican | 12,563 | 69.01% | Bob Feickert | Dem. | 5,635 | 30.95% | 18,205 | 6,928 | |
| 2004 | Nov. 2 | Kitty Rhoades (inc) | Republican | 20,540 | 61.09% | Tom Parent | Dem. | 13,071 | 38.87% | 33,624 | 7,469 | |
| 2006 | Nov. 7 | Kitty Rhoades (inc) | Republican | 12,790 | 57.40% | Dan Gorman | Dem. | 9,479 | 42.54% | 22,282 | 3,311 | |
| 2008 | Nov. 4 | Kitty Rhoades (inc) | Republican | 19,729 | 54.74% | Sarah A. Bruch | Dem. | 16,278 | 45.17% | 36,041 | 3,451 | Bob Hughes (Rep.) |
| 2010 | Nov. 2 | Dean Knudson | Republican | 14,124 | 62.00% | Matt Borup | Dem. | 8,629 | 37.88% | 22,780 | 5,495 | Ben Plunkett (Dem.) |
| 2012 | Nov. 6 | Dean Knudson (inc) | Republican | 17,261 | 55.79% | Diane Odeen | Dem. | 13,657 | 44.14% | 30,938 | 3,604 | |
| 2014 | Nov. 4 | Dean Knudson (inc) | Republican | 13,951 | 59.70% | Darrel Laumann | Dem. | 8,658 | 37.05% | 23,368 | 5,293 | |
| 2014 | Nov. 4 | Dean Knudson (inc) | Republican | 13,951 | 59.70% | Laurie Kroeger | Ind. | 747 | 3.20% | 23,368 | 5,293 | |
| 2016 | Nov. 8 | Shannon Zimmerman | Republican | 17,790 | 56.05% | Scott J. Nelson | Dem. | 12,358 | 38.94% | 31,739 | 5,432 | Paul W. Berning (Rep.) |
| 2016 | Nov. 8 | Shannon Zimmerman | Republican | 17,790 | 56.05% | Aaron S. Taylor | Ind. | 1,574 | 4.96% | 31,739 | 5,432 | Paul W. Berning (Rep.) |
| 2018 | Nov. 6 | Shannon Zimmerman (inc) | Republican | 15,240 | 53.91% | Barry Hammarback | Dem. | 13,015 | 46.04% | 28,271 | 2,225 | |
| 2020 | Nov. 3 | Shannon Zimmerman (inc) | Republican | 20,711 | 55.88% | Sarah Yacoub | Dem. | 16,322 | 44.04% | 37,062 | 4,389 | |
| 2022 | Nov. 8 | Shannon Zimmerman (inc) | Republican | 17,719 | 58.48% | Sarah Yacoub | Dem. | 12,557 | 41.44% | 30,301 | 5,162 | |