Madison Common Council Member Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford won the Democratic nomination for Madison’s 76th Assembly District on Tuesday. Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, left the seat vacant after announcing her campaign for governor.
Martinez-Rutherford won the race with 6,170 votes over four other candidates, according to the Associated Press. The Associated Press called the race at 11:31 p.m. when Martinez-Rutherford had 29.4% of the vote.
Martinez-Rutherford, a democratic socialist, will go on to face Republican Nina Chat, who ran uncontested in the primary, in the November election. Democrats will likely maintain their grasp on the historically bright blue seat.
Before Hong, the seat was held by current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Chris Taylor from 2011 to 2020.
Hong was elected in 2020 in a landslide election with 88% of the vote after Taylor was appointed to the Dane County Circuit Court by Gov. Tony Evers. Hong then went on to run unopposed for both the 2022 and 2024 elections.
Martinez-Rutherford’s opponents included former State Assembly Policy Director Isaia Ben-Ami, former District 8 Alder Juliana Bennett, activist and musician Tony Castañeda and journalist Zoe Sullivan.
Housing affordability and cost of living in Madison were top issues, according to a City Cast Madison questionnaire sent to all candidates. They agreed to support a yearlong moratorium on data center construction in Wisconsin, according to The Cap Times.
The majority of the candidates like Ben-Ami and Bennett also aligned themselves with democratic socialism.
Cost of living and access to reproductive healthcare were key issues for Martinez-Rutherford, who was endorsed by Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway.
During her campaign, Martinez-Rutherford accrued over $45,000 in campaign money.
The general election is set for Nov. 3.
Staff writer
