Conley (D) in AD 44 retires, Roe and Myers announce

State Rep. Sue Conley, D-Janesville, announced she won’t run for reelection in the Assembly after serving in the chamber for four years. Conely has been a consistent supporter of cannabis reform in Wisconsin and we thank her for your work on the issue. The last bill introduced by 25 (out of 35) Democrat Representatives included Conley as a co-sponsor.

Conley, a former banker and YWCA executive director who had served on the Janesville City Council from 2017 until 2021, leaves open a district seat that leans heavily Democratic.

District 44 includes much of Janesville and its surrounding area, including the Janesville School District.

Early Bird Candidates

The Democrats

Ann Roe (D-Janesville) ran against Brian Steil (R) in the the 2022 Congressional District 1 general election. She told the Wisconsin Cannabis Activist Network “I support decriminalization as does the majority of our district.” Her campaign facebook page Ann Roe for Wisconsin is active with posts and rebranded with the State Assembly Run. Her campaign website for the 44th Assembly District run is up and running also.

Catherine (Cathy) Myers (D-Janesville) first caught my attention in her 2018 Congressional run and the Democratic Primary. Back in 2018 she publicly stated “I support legalizing marijuana to put an end to the racist enforcement of our drug laws & to release those in jail for non-violent marijuana offenses. Legalization would also boost tax revenues & provide an alternative to addictive opioids.” You can follow her campaign on Facebook and Twitter or visit her website for more information.

The Republican

Bruce Danielson (R-Janesville)

Approved for ballot, no campaign info public 6/18

NO Zimmerman?

Republican Spencer Zimmerman seems to have his eyes on the 44th Assembly District. HIs campaign facebook page Spencer Zimmerman for Assembly is still up and kind of branded with 44th Assembly District images. It is hard to tell with this guy what he is running for.

During the 2022 election, Zimmerman ran as a Republican for Assembly District 44 against Sue Conley. He lost with only 37.5% of the vote. I highly expect him to run for something in 2024 and most likely it will be this seat.

Zimmerman received 39 votes for an Assembly District 37 run on June 15th, 2021 during a special election. He did run as a Republican in the primary. The winner of that primary only got 758 votes. Sometimes primary runs are the best strategy, but not for Zimmerman in this case as he came in dead last out of 8 candidates.

In the 2021 Special Election in Senate District 13 Spencer Zimmerman ran as a third party “Trump Conservative Party”. He lost. Zimmerman ran for elected office as both a Republican candidate and Democratic candidate prior to 2019.

Zimmerman was a candidate in the special election / Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 64 on April 2, 2019 and received 5% of the vote. During that election he provided this statement:

Zimmerman said the state should allow medical marijuana and be able to tax it.

“It’s estimated that the legalization of medical marijuana would bring in $130 million a year in additional tax revenue,” Zimmerman said. “And right now we need to look at different possibilities of additional revenue so we can balance our budget.”

Zimmerman was a candidate in the Republican primary for Wisconsin Secretary of State on August 14, 2018 and received 28.6% (101,818 votes).

Zimmerman was a candidate in the special election / Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 42 on May 15, 2018 and received 5.8% of the vote.

Zimmerman was a candidate in the special election / Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 58 on December 19, 2017 and received 1.2% of the vote.

Zimmerman as a Trump Conservative candidate in the 2016 for US House Rep – District One – against Incumbent Paul Ryan. Zimmerman garnered 2.7% of the vote.

Zimmerman ran as a Republican in a special election for the position of Wisconsin State Assembly District 99 on September 1, 2015. He received 4.4% of the vote.

Zimmerman ran as a Republican in the 2012 election for the U.S. Senate, representing Nebraska and received less then 1% of the vote.

Zimmerman ran was a Republican and was the only Republican on the ticket in the General Election for Assembly District 48. He lost to to Democrat Joe Parisi by a 3 to 1 margin.

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, WisPolitics, Davesredistircing, PeoplesMaps, WEC Candidate Tracking