Johnson announces bid for 96th Assembly seat

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WLCX) – Tara Johnson, a longtime member of the La Crosse County Board and its former chair, announced her candidacy for the Wisconsin Assembly’s 96th District on Friday.

Johnson, a Democrat, seeks to challenge Republican incumbent Rep. Loren Oldenburg.

The 96th District covers nearly all of Vernon County and the southern part of La Crosse County post-redistricting. Before the new maps, the 96th included most of Vernon and all of Crawford counties as well as parts of Monroe County.

In making her announcement, Johnson was critical of the incumbent representative.

“For too long, rigged districts have kept our region from having a voice in the Assembly,” Johnson said. “[Oldenburg] is a rubber stamp for Robin Voss and his extremist
agenda.”

Johnson was most recently a candidate for the 3rd Congressional District seat held by Republican Derrick Van Orden, but dropped out last year. She spent 20 years on the La Crosse County Board, nine years as its chair.

Oldenburg, a farmer from Viroqua, was first elected to the Assembly in 2018. He has not formally announced a re-election campaign.

The 2024 Fall Primary is on Aug. 13, while the 2024 General Election will be held on Nov. 5.

To find your voter registration status, see a sample ballot, or look up your voter information, you can visit MyVote Wisconsin.

For information on Wisconsin’s elections, you can visit the Wisconsin Elections Commission. You can also see who has registered to run in different races and see candidate nomination paperwork.