Mayadev, Pocan and Martinez-Rutherford Retain Madison Democratic Seats

Democrats Secure Madison Legislative Seats in Tuesday Elections

Democratic candidates swept key legislative races across Madison on Tuesday, holding safely blue districts as local voters cast ballots in state and federal contests. The results, detailed in reporting by The Daily Cardinal, secured victories for state assembly candidates and a congressional seat in an election that shaped local representation from the municipal level up to Washington, D.C.

In the 77th Assembly District, Democratic Rep. Renuka Mayadev fended off a challenge from Jane McCormick, securing 89% of the vote with 96% of the district reporting. Mayadev, who first took the west Madison seat in January 2025 as the first South Asian person to serve in the Wisconsin State Assembly, campaigned on her record of extending postpartum Medicaid coverage and pushing for stricter gun laws. Final tallies showed Mayadev with 23,471 votes to McCormick’s 2,786.

Pocan Returns to Congress Uncontested

Federal representation in the area remains unchanged as U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan won Wisconsin’s District 2 congressional seat uncontested. Pocan, the co-founder and co-chair of the Congressional Labor Caucus, received 60,445 votes at 8:05 p.m. on Tuesday.

Pocan drew sharp contrasts with Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, criticizing Tiffany’s voting record and his vote for the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Pointing to an estimate from the Congressional Budget Office regarding the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Pocan warned constituents about potential coverage losses and pledged to continue efforts to strengthen traditional Medicare.

Martinez-Rutherford Moves to East Madison Assembly Seat

In east Madison’s 76th Assembly District, Democratic socialist and Common Council Member Dina Nina Martinez-Rutherford defeated Republican Nina Chat, capturing 92% of the vote. Martinez-Rutherford steps into the seat previously held by Rep. Francesca Hong, who mounted an unsuccessful gubernatorial primary run earlier this summer.

Martinez-Rutherford brings her municipal policy focus on affordable housing and data center regulation to the state legislature. Having previously made history in 2023 as the first transgender woman to serve on Madison’s Common Council, she now becomes Wisconsin’s first transgender Assembly member. Telling The Capitol Times that the milestone carries both a “huge responsibility and also a huge honor,” she will inherit a district where she previously helped enact a municipal moratorium preventing the zoning of new data centers until January 2027.