Wisconsin's 47th Assembly district

Wisconsin's 47th
State Assembly district
Map
Map
Map
2024 map defined in 2023 Wisc. Act 94
2022 map defined in Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
2011 map was defined in 2011 Wisc. Act 43
Assemblymember
  Randy Udell
D–Fitchburg
since January 6, 2025 (0 years)
Demographics80.37% White
6.34% Black
7.94% Hispanic
3.74% Asian
1.53% Native American
0.11% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Population (2020)
 • Voting age		58,987
46,671
WebsiteOfficial website
NotesMadison metro area (southeast)

The 47th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly.[1] Located in southern Wisconsin, the district comprises southeastern suburban and exurban areas of Madison within southern Dane County, including the cities of Fitchburg and Stoughton, and part of the village of McFarland. The district also contains Lake Kegonsa State Park.[2] The seat is represented by Democrat Randy Udell since January 2025.[3]

Prior to the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturning the 2022 district boundaries, District 47 was often used as one of the more extreme examples of Gerrymandering in the Wisconsin Legislature with the boundaries being compared to "swiss cheese".[4]

The 47th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 16th Senate district, along with the 46th and 48th Assembly districts.[5]

History

The district was created in the 1972 redistricting act (1971 Wisc. Act 304) which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties.[6] The 47th district was drawn with novel boundaries, taking part of the former Dane County 5th district and part of the Rock County 2nd district. The last representative of the Rock County 2nd district, Janet Soergel Mielke, won the 1972 election to become the 1st representative of the 47th Assembly district.[7]

The boundaries of the 47th district have changed significantly in almost every one of the redistrictings since 1982. The court-ordered 1982 redistricting placed the district in northern Wisconsin.[8] The 1983 legislative redistricting, which superseded the court-ordered plan, brought the district back to southern Wisconsin, covering most of Green County, sprawling through western and northern Rock County into southwest Jefferson County.[9] The 1992 and 2002 maps had the district based in Columbia County and parts of northern Dane County.[10][11] The 2011 plan moved the district into central Dane County.

Under the 2011 and 2022 maps, the district had several non-contiguous territorial islands, due to the inclusion of the now defunct towns of Madison and Blooming Grove. At the time, the towns had been mostly but not entirely annexed into the city of Madison, leaving a number of small territorial islands. The inclusion of these towns without the wards of the city of Madison that connected those territories was part of the legal basis for the 2023 lawsuit which ultimately resulted in the legislative map being ruled unconstitutional. The 2024 redistricting shifted the district to comprise much of Madison's southeast suburbs.

List of past representatives

List of representatives to the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 47th district
Member Party Residence Counties represented Term start Term end Ref.
District created
Janet Soergel Mielke Dem. Milton Dane, Rock January 1, 1973 January 6, 1975 [7][12]: 160 
Lyman F. Anderson Rep. Oregon January 6, 1975 January 3, 1977 [12]: 120 
Jonathan B. Barry Dem. Mount Horeb January 3, 1977 April 30, 1981 [12]: 122 
--Vacant-- April 30, 1981 June 25, 1982
John T. Manske Rep. Milton June 25, 1982 January 3, 1983
Robert J. Larson Rep. Medford Barron, Price, Rusk, Taylor January 3, 1983 January 7, 1985 [8][12]: 154 
John T. Manske Rep. Milton Green, Jefferson, Rock January 7, 1985 January 5, 1987 [9][12]: 157 
David G. Deininger Rep. Monroe January 5, 1987 January 4, 1993 [12]: 133 
Eugene Hahn Rep. Cambria Columbia, Dane January 4, 1993 January 5, 2009 [10][12]: 143 
Columbia, Dane, Sauk
Keith Ripp Rep. Lodi January 5, 2009 January 7, 2013 [11]
Robb Kahl Dem. Monona Dane January 7, 2013 January 2, 2017 [13]
Jimmy P. Anderson Dem. Fitchburg January 3, 2017 January 6, 2025 [14]
Randy Udell Dem. Fitchburg January 6, 2025 Current [3]

References

  1. ^ "Assembly District 47". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  2. ^ "Wisconsin Legislative Districts - Assembly District 47 Boundaries". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Representative Randy Udell". Wisconsin Legislature. 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  4. ^ "Lawsuit targets Wisconsin legislative districts resembling Swiss cheese". AP News. August 13, 2023. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
  5. ^ An Act ... relating to: legislative redistricting (Act 94). Wisconsin Legislature. 2023. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
  6. ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1973). "Legislature" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. pp. 227–230. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1973). "Biographies" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1973 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 52–53. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  8. ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1983). "Biographies" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1983-1984 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 78–79. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  9. ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (1985). "Biographies" (PDF). In Theobald, H. Rupert; Robbins, Patricia V. (eds.). The state of Wisconsin 1985-1986 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 52–53. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  10. ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2001). "Biographies" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Meloy, Patricia E. (eds.). State of Wisconsin 2001-2002 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 52–53. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau (2011). "Biographies" (PDF). In Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn (eds.). State of Wisconsin 2011-2012 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-0-9752820-1-4. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g Barish, Lawrence S.; Lemanski, Lynn, eds. (2007). "Feature Article: Those Who Served: Wisconsin Legislators 1848 – 2007" (PDF). State of Wisconsin 2007-2008 Blue Book (Report). State of Wisconsin. pp. 120, 122, 133, 143, 154, 157, 160. ISBN 978-0-9752820-2-1. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  13. ^ "Representative Robb Kahl". Wisconsin Legislature. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  14. ^ "Representative Jimmy Anderson". Wisconsin Legislature. 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.