Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin announced Wednesday that she is running for reelection in Wisconsin, which will likely be a key battleground state for control of the Senate in 2024.
Baldwin highlighted the progress she and her office have made in the Senate over the past few years in a campaign email Wednesday, including lowering the price of prescription drugs, addressing the climate crisis with investments in clean energy and expanding health care for veterans.
She also spearheaded the Respect for Marriage Act, the bipartisan bill that codified same-sex and interracial marriage, which was signed into law in November 2022.
“But there’s a lot more to be done, and I’m not willing to give up the fight to make things easier, better, safer, and stronger for hard-working Wisconsinites,” Baldwin wrote.
Baldwin’s announcement comes a week after liberal candidate Janet Protasiewicz defeated conservative Daniel Kelly in the Supreme Court election on April 4, the most expensive judicial contest in United States history. Protasiewicz’s win flipped the court’s ideological makeup for the first time in 15 years.
The court will be crucial in addressing issues such as Wisconsin’s abortion ban, voting maps and other Democratic priorities. A lawsuit from Attorney General Josh Kaul challenging Wisconsin’s abortion ban is currently pending in a lower court.
“If we’re going to ensure women in every zip code have the freedom to make their own health care choices, if we’re going to continue to defend democracy from extremists who want to tear it down, if we’re going to continue fighting climate change and making the world better for our kids and grandkids, we are going to need to hold this seat and defend our Senate majority,” Baldwin wrote.
Baldwin won her first term in 2012 by almost six points against former Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, becoming the state’s first woman senator and the country’s first openly gay senator. She won reelection in 2018 by 11 points against Republican Leah Vukmir.
Democrats fell short of gaining the state’s other Senate seat in the 2022 midterm elections, with former Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes narrowly losing against incumbent Republican Sen. Ron Johnson.
No Republicans have formally announced a challenge to Baldwin’s seat in the upcoming elections.
