The next election is a primary Aug. 11 to determine who will be on the ballot for elections to state office on Nov. 3. All state Assembly districts and some state Senate districts will be electing representatives. This also is the year Wisconsin will elect a governor to a new four-year term.
Early voting has begun for the primary. Information on voting in Wauwatosa is available on the city's website.
Wisconsin has four Assembly districts and three Senate districts that include parts of Wauwatosa. The largest portion of the city is included in Assembly District 13, which has a primary, and Senate District 5, which does not.
The other Assembly districts are 12, 14 and 18. Of those, only District 12 has a primary. The other Senate districts are 4 and 6, and neither is up for election this year.
Candidates file for state Legislature, with several contested races in Tosa districts
Two of the most closely watched elections this fall in Wauwatosa will be for the open seats in Senate District 5 and Assembly District 13.
David Paulsen
Voters begin sizing up 2 Dem candidates in 13th District ahead of Aug. 11 primary
David Sanchez and Amy Zimmerman are facing off in the 13th Assembly District’s Democratic primary, for the chance to face Republican challenger Mike Morgan in the Nov. 3 general election.
David Paulsen
Sanchez, Zimmerman head to primary in Democratic race for Assembly’s District 13
Tosa Forward News interviewed both Democratic candidates and asked them to submit written responses to questions about their backgrounds for this preview to the Aug. 11 primary election.
David Paulsen
Spring election recap
The spring elections in Wisconsin were April 7, and Wauwatosa voters had several active races to decide for seats on the Common Council and School Board. General information is available on the city's website and school district's website.
RESULTS: Unofficial totals point to wins in School Board, Common Council races
Check back at tosanews.com for the latest results of Wauwatosa’s elections, as well as reporting on the winners once the counting is done.
Tosa Forward News Staff
Common Council
Voters elected 12 members to brand new Common Council districts based on a configuration of the council that takes effect after the election.
Two newcomers, one incumbent win contested races for Common Council
All 12 seats on the council were up for election under a new structure that is reducing the council’s size, but only three of the 12 elections were contested.
David Paulsen
Spending on District 11 council race topped $10,000, mostly by DC-based group
Melissa Dolan had received scrutiny before the election for missing a March 30 filing deadline. City records showed she submitted her campaign finance disclosure eight days late, on Election Day.
David Paulsen
Tosa Forward News' pre-election coverage is below.
Meet the 6 candidates in contested elections for Tosa Common Council
All 12 council seats are up for election on April 7 as the city moves to a new district configuration, but only three of those districts have contested elections. Tosa Forward News contacted each candidate in those three races to learn more about their backgrounds and their reasons for running.
David Paulsen
Tosa council races feature rare bursts of fundraising, campaign spending
The most active of the council races has been in District 4, where newcomers Amanda Saso and Sean Hurley each have raised and spent about $2,000.
David Paulsen
National political group spends more than $7,000 on one Tosa council race
State + Local Election Alliance’s spending in District 11 is more than triple what any individual candidate has reported spending in the elections for the Wauwatosa Common Council’s 12 nonpartisan seats.
David Paulsen
Tosa council members have varying records of attending meetings
In general, the council had a good year of meeting attendance. At most meetings, all but one or two members were present. Some members missed more meetings than others.
David Paulsen
Tosa Forward News compiled snapshots in December of each of the 12 new districts, which can be found here:
These 4 districts have no incumbents running for Tosa council in April
This is the first of three articles providing an overview of the coming council election, the nominating period, the council’s structural changes and the latest status of the 16 incumbents.
David Paulsen
Some council incumbents start election season awaiting challengers
The new 12-seat configuration of the Wauwatosa Common Council, which takes effect with the April 2026 election, is forcing all incumbents interested in staying on the council to campaign for the votes of at least some new constituents in newly drawn districts.
David Paulsen
As filing deadline nears, some council members may face each other
Voters in at least one of the new districts will have two incumbents on the ballot to choose from, and multiple incumbents could be on the ballots in up to three other districts.
David Paulsen
School Board
Incumbents on Tosa School Board hold off challenge from ’2030 Slate’ candidates
The April 7 election marked the transition to a system of results based on the top four vote-getters from the whole pool of candidates, rather than separate head-to-head contests for numbered board seats.
David Paulsen
Tosa Forward News' pre-election coverage is below.
These are Tosa’s 8 candidates running for 4 school board seats
Tosa Forward News contacted and interviewed each of the eight candidates to learn more about their backgrounds and to provide an opportunity to share their reasons for running for the school board in the April 7 election.
David Paulsen
Tosa School Board candidates present range of perspectives at public forum
Nearly all of the two hours was devoted to hearing the words of the eight candidates themselves, as a crowd of more than 100 people listened inside the Longfellow theater. Tosa Forward News highlights some of their responses.
David Paulsen
School Board candidates debate teacher retention rates, cite contrasting data
Two numbers. Two very different conclusions. Tosa Forward News took a closer look at differing teacher retention rates and what story they might tell about district culture, finding that the apparent discrepancy is largely a matter of interpretation and emphasis.
David Paulsen
Voter files ethics complaints accusing 2030 Slate of violating campaign finance rules
The complaints against the campaigns of Chris Merker, Heather Birk and Dan Stemper mostly relate to the size of fund transfers between the campaign committees and how they reported their coordinated campaign expenses, such as signs and mailings.
David Paulsen
