AD 21: Jessie Rodriguez (R) Assembly seat in jeopardy
Assembly District 21 is now occupied by Republican Jessie Rodriguez from Oak Creek. The district will change slightly under the new maps by loosing South Milwaukee and gaining the Garden District, which makes this district much more competitive now. Will the Democrats carry this district by 6% like some experts think? Some more conservative projections show the new maps giving a slight “tilt” to the Democrats with a 4.9% projected margin.
Rep. Rodriguez recently says she can support medical “if” so long it was not used to legalize recreational marijuana. She remains opposed to recreational marijuana and uses the gateway theory and cites law enforcement concerns of medical diversion to the the recreational market.
Extremely late in the 2024 legislative session the Republicans finally unveiled their vision of medical marijuana for Wisconsin. The controversial bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Rodriguez. This is the first time since Rep. Rodriguez was elected in 2012 that she co-sponsored any positive cannabis reform measures. After serving 10 years in office, her time seems to be limited in the Assembly.
Rodriguez campaign facebook page has nothing posted since last fourth of July and her campaign Twitter account has the same 4th of July post.
The Democrats
The previous election cycle Rep. Rodriguez faced Democrat Nathan Jurowski who is a member of the South Milwaukee School Board. South Milwaukee is not in the Assembly District 21 so I do not look at him to run.
David Marstellar (D – Milwaukee)
The Marstellar Campaign Press Release announcing his run for assembly contained is support for legalization of cannabis and it would be a priority for his campaign. In part, the release stated:
“We have an incredible opportunity under these new fair legislative maps, signed by Governor Evers, to elect people who want to bridge the divide and make real progress on issues that the majority of people in Wisconsin care about – such as expanding BadgerCare, improving affordable housing, legalizing marijuana, and effectively dealing with crime and reckless driving. That is why I’m running.
David Marstellar for Assembly has the endorsement of many of our Democrats who led the cannabis legalization bills in the past sessions. The campaign is holding a campaign kick off party at BelAir Cantina in Oak Creek on Thursday June 13th at 5:30pm.
Stay tuned and get active!
I will provide you additional 2024 Wisconsin State Election coverage throughout the campaign season. This next election is extremely important for marijuana reform and I will continue to bring you information as more candidates make their political moves.
In the event that we end up with divided government in the 2024-25 legislation session, the official formation of The Wisconsin Cannabis Caucus would be a must first step towards reform. The official establishment of this Caucus will represent the growing, bipartisan support in Wisconsin.
Although session as ended we still urge you to contact your elected officials. The top four action alerts are still functionable on The Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Action Network for you immediate use.
Sources: CNanalysis (+7 Lean Deam), WisPolitics / 2024 Assembly 54% Dem, Davesredistircing, PeoplesMaps
Update after the primary election and it looks like the forecast for this district is not even a “Tilt” district, but is trending from Lean Dem to Likely Dem with a current +8.
