# Wisconsin's 88th Assembly district

The 88th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in Northeastern Wisconsin, the district comprises parts of central Brown County. It includes the city of De Pere, the villages of Allouez and Bellevue, and a small part of the city of Green Bay. The district also contains landmarks such as St. Norbert College and the De Pere Lock and Dam Historic District. The district is represented by Ben Franklin, since January 2025.
The 88th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 30th Senate district, along with the 89th and 90th Assembly districts.
* St. Norbert College
* De Pere Dam on the Fox River
* Downtown De Pere

## 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. Under the 1972 plan, the 88th district did not closely resemble any of the districts under the previous maps, it comprised parts of eastern Marinette and Oconto counties.
Under the 1982 court-ordered redistricting plan, the district was briefly moved to east-central Wisconsin, comprising much of southern Winnebago County and central Fond du Lac County. The 1983 redistricting reverted the 88th district back to its prior location, but added parts of Shawano County. The 1992 court-ordered redistricting plan moved the 88th district into the east side of the city of Green Bay, with the 89th district taking over much of what had been the 88th district. The district remained in that area with only slight boundary changes in the 2002 redistricting. The 2011 redistricting plan (2011 Wisc. Act 43) removed most of central Green Bay from the district in order to pack Democratic votes into the 90th district. The 88th district shifted into the neighboring village of Bellevue, the towns of Ledgeview and Glenmore, and part of the city of De Pere. The 2022 court-ordered redistricting mostly preserved this configuration, giving the district a mostly rural character.
The 2024 redistricting (2023 Wisc. Act 94) moved the 88th district closer into the Green Bay metro area, adding all of the city of De Pere, all the territory of the villages of Allouez and Bellevue, and part of the city of Green Bay, itself. Rural towns were mostly removed from the district. Under the new map configuration, the 88th 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 88th district :
| Member | Party | Residence | Counties represented | Term start | Term end |
| District created |||||||
| Richard P. Matty | Rep. | Stephenson | Marinette, Oconto | January 1, 1973 | January 3, 1983 |
| Esther Doughty Luckhardt | Rep. | Horicon | Dodge, Fond du Lac, Washington | January 3, 1983 | January 7, 1985 |
| Richard P. Matty | Rep. | Stephenson | Marinette, Oconto, Shawano | January 7, 1985 | August 4, 1987 |
| --Vacant-- | --Vacant-- | --Vacant-- | Marinette, Oconto, Shawano | August 4, 1987 | October 12, 1987 |
| John Gard | Rep. | Peshtigo | Marinette, Oconto, Shawano | October 12, 1987 | January 4, 1993 |
| Rosemary Hinkfuss | Dem. | Green Bay | Brown | January 4, 1993 | January 2, 1995 |
| Carol Kelso | Rep. | Green Bay | Brown | January 2, 1995 | January 1, 2001 |
| Judy Krawczyk | Rep. | Green Bay | Brown | January 1, 2001 | January 3, 2007 |
| James Soletski | Dem. | Green Bay | Brown | January 3, 2007 | January 3, 2011 |
| John Klenke | Rep. | Green Bay | Brown | January 3, 2011 | January 5, 2015 |
| John Macco | Rep. | Ledgeview | Brown | January 5, 2015 | January 6, 2025 |
| Ben Franklin | Rep. | De Pere | Brown | January 6, 2025 | Current |

## Electoral history

| Year | Date | Elected | Elected | Elected | Elected | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Defeated | Total | Plurality | Other primary candidates |
| 1972 | Nov. 7 | Richard P. Matty | Republican | 10,720 | 59.19% | Robert La Count | Dem. | 7,390 | 40.81% | 18,110 | 3,330 | John E. Blackowiak (Dem.)Robert LaCount (Dem.)Stanley J. Leja (Dem.)James R. Hertwig (Rep.) |
| 1974 | Nov. 5 | Richard P. Matty (inc) | Republican | 9,769 | 67.70% | James G. O'Donahue | Dem. | 4,661 | 32.30% | 14,430 | 5,108 | |
| 1976 | Nov. 2 | Richard P. Matty (inc.) | Republican | 14,344 | 70.60% | Carl E. Krog | Dem. | 5,974 | 29.40% | 20,318 | 8,370 | |
| 1978 | Nov. 7 | Richard P. Matty (inc.) | Republican | 10,876 | 69.11% | Joseph Donovan Jr. | Dem. | 4,861 | 30.89% | 15,737 | 6,015 | |
| 1980 | Nov. 4 | Richard P. Matty (inc.) | Republican | 15,891 | 73.14% | Gene L. Oatman | Dem. | 5,835 | 26.86% | 21,726 | 10,056 | |
| 1982 | Nov. 2 | Esther Doughty Luckhardt | Republican | 6,946 | 49.71% | Patricia Gruber Jerominski | Dem. | 6,869 | 49.16% | 13,973 | 77 | |
| 1982 | Nov. 2 | Esther Doughty Luckhardt | Republican | 6,946 | 49.71% | Carol Neumann | Con. | 6,869 | 49.16% | 13,973 | 77 | |
| 1984 | Nov. 6 | Richard P. Matty | Republican | 11,791 | 58.18% | Douglas T. Oitzinger | Dem. | 8,475 | 41.82% | 20,266 | 3,316 | |
| 1986 | Nov. 4 | Richard P. Matty (inc) | Republican | 10,827 | 100.0% | | | | | 10,827 | 10,827 | Richard C. Johnson (Rep.) |
| 1987 | Oct. 6 | John Gard | Republican | 5,037 | 51.59% | Charles J. Boyle | Dem. | 4,726 | 48.41% | 9,763 | 311 | Jason L. Maloney (Dem.)Tim A. Duket (Rep.)Walter C. Hitt (Rep.)Richard C. Johnson (Rep.)Danny J. Kanack (Rep.)Corliss A. Lightner (Rep.)Harold A. Pierce (Rep.) |
| 1988 | Nov. 8 | John Gard (inc) | Republican | 11,624 | 59.71% | Gary Potasnik | Dem. | 7,843 | 40.29% | 19,467 | 3,781 | |
| 1990 | Nov. 6 | John Gard (inc) | Republican | 6,991 | 50.16% | Scott A. McCormick | Dem. | 6,946 | 49.84% | 13,937 | 45 | |
| 1992 | Nov. 3 | Rosemary Hinkfuss | Democratic | 12,246 | 58.38% | Robert J. Loy | Rep. | 8,731 | 41.62% | 20,977 | 3,515 | |
| 1994 | Nov. 8 | Carol Kelso | Republican | 8,223 | 56.39% | Rosemary Hinkfuss (inc) | Dem. | 6,360 | 43.61% | 14,583 | 1,863 | Robert L. Menner (Rep.) |
| 1996 | Nov. 5 | Carol Kelso (inc) | Republican | 11,067 | 100.0% | | | | | 11,067 | 11,067 | |
| 1998 | Nov. 3 | Carol Kelso (inc) | Republican | 8,783 | 56.93% | Lori Nelson | Dem. | 6,646 | 43.07% | 15,429 | 2,137 | |
| 2000 | Nov. 7 | Judy Krawczyk | Republican | 11,078 | 50.32% | Steve Peggs | Dem. | 10,898 | 49.50% | 22,015 | 180 | Jack Krueger (Dem.)Michael Bina (Rep.) |
| 2002 | Nov. 5 | Judy Krawczyk (inc) | Republican | 8,157 | 60.41% | Bryan Milz | Dem. | 4,794 | 35.50% | 13,503 | 3,363 | |
| 2002 | Nov. 5 | Judy Krawczyk (inc) | Republican | 8,157 | 60.41% | Dan Senglaub | Lib. | 541 | 4.01% | 13,503 | 3,363 | |
| 2004 | Nov. 2 | Judy Krawczyk (inc) | Republican | 13,174 | 54.24% | Dan Aude | Dem. | 11,093 | 45.67% | 24,290 | 2,081 | |
| 2006 | Nov. 7 | James Soletski | Democratic | 8,927 | 50.15% | Judy Krawczyk (inc) | Rep. | 8,851 | 49.72% | 17,800 | 76 | Dan Aude (Dem.) |
| 2008 | Nov. 4 | James Soletski (inc) | Democratic | 13,155 | 55.86% | Tony Theisen | Rep. | 10,368 | 44.03% | 23,548 | 2,787 | |
| 2010 | Nov. 2 | John Klenke | Republican | 8,224 | 50.74% | James Soletski (inc) | Dem. | 7,957 | 49.09% | 16,209 | 267 | |
| 2012 | Nov. 6 | John Klenke (inc) | Republican | 14,445 | 52.40% | Ward Bacon | Dem. | 13,085 | 47.47% | 27,566 | 1,360 | |
| 2014 | Nov. 4 | John Macco | Republican | 12,915 | 56.20% | Dan Robinson | Dem. | 10,046 | 43.72% | 22,980 | 2,869 | |
| 2016 | Nov. 8 | John Macco (inc) | Republican | 17,742 | 60.99% | Noah Reif | Dem. | 11,312 | 38.88% | 29,091 | 6,430 | |
| 2018 | Nov. 6 | John Macco (inc) | Republican | 14,628 | 53.31% | Tom Sieber | Dem. | 12,793 | 46.62% | 27,440 | 1,835 | |
| 2020 | Nov. 3 | John Macco (inc) | Republican | 17,214 | 52.31% | Kristin Lyerly | Dem. | 15,673 | 47.63% | 32,906 | 1,541 | |
| 2022 | Nov. 8 | John Macco (inc) | Republican | 14,451 | 58.14% | Hannah Beauchamp-Pope | Dem. | 10,384 | 41.78% | 24,854 | 4,067 | |