Wisconsin’s 2nd Congressional District House Race 2026

U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan's Madison office received a suspicious piece of mail on Oct. 19, prompting a hazmat response from the Madison Fire Department. Staff recognized it as matching mailings sent to officials around the country containing an unidentified powdery substance; the envelope was not opened and its contents were sent for testing. Similar mail was earlier received by U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore's Milwaukee office and the Wisconsin Elections Commission. Other targets reportedly include election offices in Oklahoma, Louisiana and Ohio, plus Sen. Chuck Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Sen. Chris Murphy and Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester. The FBI and U.S. Postal Inspection Service are investigating and working to identify those responsible ahead of the election.

Wisconsin's U.S. House delegation returned to Washington for a busy week before the Labor Day recess, with midterm politics dominating the agenda. Republican Reps. Tom Tiffany, Derrick Van Orden and Bryan Steil attended a White House Rose Garden dinner for vulnerable GOP members, where President Trump pledged to campaign in battleground districts, singling out Tiffany's gubernatorial run against Democrat David Crowley. Van Orden faces a competitive re-election contest against Democrat Rebecca Cooke. Separately, Van Orden sponsored a bill loosening D.C. motorcycle helmet requirements to mirror Wisconsin law, drawing criticism from Rep. Mark Pocan.

The House also passed a Republican-led resolution denouncing socialism, tied to a contested voter ID measure, splitting largely along party lines. Lawmakers cleared a government funding extension to December 11, signed by Trump, avoiding a pre-election shutdown. The delegation also pressed Trump for a disaster declaration after July storms, while Wisconsin election officials warned that Trump's mail-in ballot executive order would be difficult to implement before November.

Wisconsin's projected budget surplus has climbed to about $3 billion, up from roughly $2.5 billion projected in January, after state revenue for fiscal year 2026 came in higher than expected. The Department of Revenue reported a 3.4% increase in tax collections, reaching about $23.1 billion, though the figures remain preliminary pending review by the State Controller's Office ahead of an October 15 fiscal report.

The larger surplus comes months after a bipartisan deal combining taxpayer rebates, property tax relief, and school funding failed in the state Senate. With voters set to choose a governor and Legislature in November, the surplus has become a campaign flashpoint. Republican candidate Tom Tiffany wants to return the full surplus to taxpayers, while Democratic candidate David Crowley favors targeted relief and long-term investments in schools and services. Polling shows voters divided on the issue, with a slim majority favoring spending on services over full rebates, though it's unclear how heavily the surplus will weigh on ballots this fall.

Multiple Madison Common Council members say they will back a resolution from District 2 Alder Will Ochowicz to terminate the appointment of Interim Independent Police Monitor Aeiramique Glass. District 13 Alder Tag Evers confirmed support, and another alder who spoke anonymously said the move was overdue.

The resolution cites city memoranda raising concerns about Glass's failure to complete core duties, chiefly hiring a permanent independent monitor, and argues this constitutes a breach of contract. Glass was hired in late 2025, with her term originally set to end by mid-to-late 2026; the council extended her appointment in June. City Attorney Michael Haas says the council has authority to end the provisional appointment, a view disputed by the Police Civilian Oversight Board, whose vice chair argues only the board can hire or fire the monitor. Common Council VP Carmella Glenn and Alder Julia Matthews were the only two to oppose introducing the resolution. If passed, the Common Council Chief of Staff would oversee the monitor's office until a permanent hire is made.

San Francisco's roughly 400 Flock automated license plate readers have become a key issue in city elections after a June SFPD audit found federal and out-of-state agencies searched local plate data hundreds of times, raising immigration enforcement and privacy concerns. Mayor Daniel Lurie responded by tightening restrictions, including a 30-day data retention limit.

Candidates are split. In the race to succeed Nancy Pelosi, Connie Chan wants to end federal funding for Flock, while Scott Wiener backs plate readers with privacy safeguards but hasn't committed on renewing the city's contract. Board of Supervisors incumbents are similarly divided: Matt Dorsey wants to renew and expand the program, Stephen Sherrill supports it conditionally, and Alan Wong backs crime-fighting tech generally without a specific Flock stance. In District 8, Gary McCoy, Darshini Patel, and Michael Nguyen all oppose the cameras, while District 10 candidates range from opposition to conditional support with added oversight.

The debate centers less on whether Flock cameras help solve crimes and more on whether new safeguards adequately address surveillance and data-sharing risks.

California voters head to the polls in November to decide statewide and local races alongside 14 ballot propositions, including a closely watched "billionaires tax" measure and a recall-process reform. San Diego County's voter guide outlines a packed slate of contests, with voter pamphlets mailed in late September and ballots beginning to arrive October 5.

Key federal races include five competitive U.S. House districts (48–52), pitting incumbents and challengers from both parties after redistricting reshaped several seats. State Senate and Assembly races feature multiple incumbents defending seats, while the California State Board of Equalization's District 4 race pits a local water official against a sitting state senator.

Locally, San Diego County voters will also choose county supervisors, school board members, and city officials across numerous municipalities including San Diego, Chula Vista, Carlsbad, Escondido, Oceanside, and others, alongside mayoral races and special district seats covering healthcare, water, and community college boards. The wide-ranging ballot reflects a highly competitive election cycle across Southern California.

Republican John Bratz and Democrat Craig Goforth are running for Madison County, North Carolina's school board chair ahead of the Nov. 3 general election, with early voting beginning Oct. 15. Both candidates, in interviews with The News-Record, cited student safety, teacher support and funding as top priorities, along with facility maintenance and responsible financial planning.

Bratz, a current District 2 board member with a maintenance and engineering background, emphasized bus safety, competitive teacher compensation and preventative facility upkeep. Goforth, who has 18 years of prior school board experience and helped bring programs like ROTC and school resource officers to the county, focused on securing additional funding streams, managing growth from nearby Weaverville, and addressing food insecurity among students. Both candidates said transparency between the school board and community is essential, echoing the new superintendent's stated goal of improving communication with parents. The race also touches on statewide debates over private school voucher expansion and public school funding pressures affecting North Carolina districts.

Rebecca Cooke defeated Emily Berge in Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District Democratic primary, setting up a third consecutive matchup against Republican Rep. Derrick Van Orden. Cooke, who grew up on a dairy farm near Eau Claire and works as a waitress and small-business owner, narrowly lost to Van Orden in 2024 by less than three percentage points after also losing the 2022 primary. She entered this year's primary with backing from the DCCC's "Red to Blue" program, while Berge campaigned as a local alternative skeptical of national party influence. Cooke holds a fundraising edge, having raised about $8.6 million to Van Orden's $7.5 million, though he retains nearly $3 million more cash on hand.

The western Wisconsin district, covering Eau Claire and La Crosse, has trended Republican in presidential races but is rated a toss-up, making it Democrats' top target in the state as they seek to retake the House majority in November. Cooke is campaigning on rural frustration over Trump administration policies, including tariffs that have hurt farm exports, cuts to Medicaid and SNAP, and rising fuel and fertilizer costs tied to the Iran conflict, while Van Orden defends his record backing Trump's agenda. The race is part of a broader Wisconsin battleground that includes the 1st District, where nurse Mitchell Berman will challenge GOP Rep. Bryan Steil, and the solid-red 7th District, won by Sean Duffy's son-in-law Michael Alfonso in the Republican primary.

Marcus Robert Johnson, a Wisconsin Golden Gloves champion boxer, boxing trainer and east side bartender, launched his campaign for Madison mayor this week. Johnson said his platform will focus on government transparency and integrity, housing affordability and public safety, framing himself as an alternative to "politics as usual."

His entry brings the number of declared candidates in the Madison mayoral race to six who have filed a declaration of candidacy. A seventh contender, gym founder Jonny Hinds, has registered campaign finance paperwork but has not yet filed a declaration of candidacy. Incumbent Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway has said she plans to seek re-election but had not made any official campaign filings as of midweek. The growing field signals an increasingly competitive contest for city hall, with candidates staking out positions on housing costs, public safety and government accountability as key issues for voters.