Senate 8: Stroebel (R) vs Habush Sinykin (D)
Senate District 8 is listed many places as a competitive Senate race to keep our eye on for sure. What some call a “toss up district” others are giving the Republican a small advantage. There are 5 competitive Senate Races and 2 out of those 5 are listed as toss ups. The other 3 races either tilt, lean or likely Democrat. Expect big money to be poured into this campaign and mega rich Senator Stroebel seeks this seat.
Senate District 8 is the areas around Port Washington, Grafton, Cedarberg, Germantown, Theinsville, Mequon, Lannon, Menomonee Falls, Brown Deer, Bayside, Fox Point and Whitefish Bay.
Republican
Duey Stroebel
Occupation: real estate management and development
Campaign facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dueyforsenate
Stroebel voted NO to Industrial Hemp for Wisconsin and called CBD Oil “snake oil”.
In Feb 2019 Republicans voiced opposition to the Governor Evers plan to decriminalize marijuana. Sen. Duey Stroebel, says there are enough issues with substance abuse in Wisconsin now, and does not want to see marijuana decriminalized. He discusses his opposition to CBD oil, saying he did not want to mislead people to the benefits of the product without adequate tests.
Most recent email from the Senator: “I’m opposed to the legalization of marijuana for any use. Many studies have shown that marijuana may lead to the use of other drugs and a destructive lifestyle. There are currently clinically approved pain therapy methods that do not have the same negative effects as marijuana.”
In the past he has issued press statements opposing reform and is always a vocal hater of the cannabis plant. Senator Stroebel has blocked bills from public hearings as committee chair.
He was first elected to public office in 2011. In 2014 came in third out of four in a congressional primary won by Glen Grothman. In 2020 he ran unopposed for re-election of his Senate seat which he has held since 2015.
Democrat
Jodi Habush Sinykin, D-Whitefish Bay
Occupation: Attorney
Campaign website: https://www.jodiforsenate.com/
Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodi4senate
This candidate narrowly lost a bid for this seat in 2023 during a special election. She lost by 1.7% or 1292 votes to Dan Knodl (R).
Habush Sinykin received her law degree from Harvard Law School, and began her professional career as a judicial clerk to a federal district court judge, followed by a decade of private practice. She is a partner at Habush Habush and Rottier. Her father is Robert Habush.
In all fairness, the WisPolitics Interviewer did only ask the candidates about medical marijuana and not recreational. Here is her answer to if she supports medical marijuana.
She also supports legalizing medical marijuana because she says it could help those with chronic pain, arthritis, cancer, and children with seizures, among others. You can listen to her whole interview with the marijuana question/answer at about the 3:31 mark.
We have reached out to her campaign, but as of the March 19th, 2023 primary date we have received no response.
If you are in the 8th Senate District you may want to apply some voter pressure to this candidate for clarification on her stance on cannabis. Her interview, which begins at the 16:25 mark is worth the listen. Personally, I think she should have taken some time to research this subject before she answered, or didn’t answer.
Newsmakers: Campaign 2023 Interview with 8th Senate District Candidate Jodi Habush Sinykin
There are 99 state Assembly seats and 16 state Senate seats on the ballot this November. The ACLU of Wisconsin sent a questionnaire to all candidates to gauge their positions on access to contraception and IVF, classroom censorship, marijuana legalization, and more.
We are not surprised that Jody Habush Sinykin answered YES to the ACLU question: Do you support the legalization, regulation, and taxation of marijuana for recreational use by adults 21 and over in Wisconsin?
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.
