2024 Wisconsin State Legislature Voter Guide: Assembly District 96

This is part of The Recombobulation Area and Civic Media’s 2024 Wisconsin State Legislature Voter Guide. Read the first part of the series, “New Board, New Game,” here. See the full district-by-district breakdown of the Wisconsin State Senate here. See the comprehensive Voter Guide here.

D: Tara Johnson

R: Loren Oldenburg*

Republican Loren Oldenburg is the incumbent in this race, and has served in the Assembly since 2019. But with new maps, this is a far more blue district than what he’s represented in the past. He’s currently the Chair of the Committee on Environment and Vice-Chair of the Committee on Agriculture. 

He’ll face Democrat Tara Johnson, who is the executive director of the United Way of La Crosse, and a member of the La Crosse County Board, where she has served for 20 years and became the first woman to serve as Chair, serving half of the time in that position. She was considering a run for Congress against Derrick Van Orden, but opted instead to run for Assembly under new maps. She won a competitive primary in August, defeating Steve Campbell with more than 70% of the vote. 

CNalysis: Likely D (FLIP)

• Proj. margin: D+13

Modeled 2022 outcome: D+13.3

Wisconsin Eye interviews:

More: Tara Johnson on the Civic Media airwaves.