Which Democrat will win rural votes for an open Assembly seat in District 40?

Three political newcomers — a former entertainer, a recent college graduate and a longtime district resident — are grappling for Wisconsin’s 40th Assembly District after incumbent Rep. Dave Considine, D-Baraboo, decided not to run for reelection. 

The new faces on the ballot include: 

• Brad Cook, 50, of Pardeeville, is a Realtor who serves on the Columbia County Board of Supervisors and worked 24 years as a volunteer firefighter. He says he is a “rural guy” who relates to the district.
• Karen DeSanto, of Baraboo, is the former CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of West Central Wisconsin and performed as a circus clown for three decades. She is campaigning as a dealmaker.
• Kyle Kunicki, 23, of Merrimac, is an engineer who recently graduated from UW-Madison and is the son of former Democratic Assembly Speaker Walter Kunicki, who led the chamber between 1991 and 1995. He wants to bring a young, fresh voice to the Assembly.

The winner of the Aug. 13 primary is likely to secure the seat now given the district’s strong Democratic tilt. Spanning small cities like Baraboo and Portage while also including several rural communities west of Prairie du Sac, the district provides insight into what type of Democrat can win in rural areas.

All three candidates told Wisconsin Watch health care access is crucial to voters, and it’s a focus of each of their campaigns. The local hospital in Portage recently dropped its ambulance service while another hospital, Sauk Prairie Healthcare, recently became out-of-network for a major health insurance plan.

Cook pitches himself as a moderate and a lifelong resident of the district who can relate to its residents. He fishes, hunts, is involved in his church and even farmed in his youth.

Cook recently made headlines after some of his old social media posts surfaced. In one he declared: “Finding intelligent life forms in the City of Portage today is more of a struggle than normal.”

“I guess you can add me to the list of people that have posted stupid stuff online,” Cook told Wisconsin Watch. “It’s really not what people are concerned about. They want to know, if I’m elected, what can I do to help them in their day-to-day lives.” 

DeSanto said she has collaborative skills and can work across the aisle if elected. She said she is a trusted community member who has worked closely with families in the area, giving her a bird’s eye view of the issues affecting young people. 

Kunicki prioritizes talking with voters while campaigning to thoroughly understand the issues that matter to them, he said. 

Both Cook and DeSanto say Kunicki lacks the experience to win the seat. Constituents have told him Kunicki is too young, Cook said. DeSanto, meanwhile, said she believes “experience is going to win the game, especially at this critical time.”

Kunicki said voters he meets on the campaign trail disagree.

“It’s really been people of all ages that have been pretty happy to see a younger person getting involved in government,” Kunicki said.

Considine, who has represented the district since 2015, said rural health care, agriculture and rural development are key to this district, and Democrats can’t forget about those issues. A former farmer and teacher, Considine has been able to pull rural votes in the communities he represents. He said voters want a candidate who is respected across the aisle.

“They want to see that whoever we elect is somebody that can really work with others,” Considine told Wisconsin Watch. “There’s a decency about rural communities, and they don’t want to breach that.”

This article first appeared on Wisconsin Watch and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.