The 68th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in northwestern Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Price and Rusk counties, and most of Chippewa and Taylor counties. It includes the cities of Bloomer, Cornell, Ladysmith, Park Falls, and Phillips, and the villages of Bruce, Catawba, Conrath, Gilman, Glen Flora, Hawkins, Ingram, Kennan, Lublin, Prentice, Rib Lake, Sheldon, Tony, and Weyerhaeuser. The district also contains Lake Wissota State Park, Brunet Island State Park, and Timms Hill—the highest natural point in the state of Wisconsin. The district is represented by Republican Rob Summerfield, since January 2025; Summerfield previously represented the 67th district from 2017 to 2025.
The 68th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 23rd Senate district, along with the 67th and 69th Assembly districts.
History The district was created in the 1972 redistricting act (1971 Wisc. Act 304) which first established the numbered district system, replacing the previous system which allocated districts to specific counties. The 68th district was drawn mostly in line with the former Eau Claire County 1st district (most of the city of Eau Claire), but added all of the remaining precincts of the city of Eau Claire. The last representative of the Eau Claire County 1st district, Joseph Looby, went on to win the first election to represent the 68th Assembly district.
The district boundaries have shifted over the various redistricting schemes since 1983, though the district had remained anchored on the city of Eau Claire until the controversial 2011 redistricting plan (2011 Wisc. Act 43) which divided the city between the 68th and 91st Assembly districts, and added vast stretches of Clark County and parts of Jackson and Trempealeau counties to the 68th district. Under the 2022 court-ordered redistricting, barely any of the city of Eau Claire remains in this district. The 2024 redistricting completely removed the district from Eau Claire County, shifting it north to rural Chippewa, Rusk, Price, and Taylor counties.
List of past representatives +List of representatives to the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 68th districtMemberPartyResidenceCounties representedTerm startTerm endRef.District created Joseph Looby Dem. Eau Claire Chippewa, January 1, 1973 January 1, 1979 Rep. January 1, 1979 January 5, 1981 Dem. January 5, 1981 January 3, 1983 John M. Young Rep. Brookfield Milwaukee, Waukesha January 3, 1983 January 7, 1985 Joseph Looby Dem. Eau Claire Chippewa, , Taylor January 7, 1985 January 2, 1989 David Zien Rep. January 2, 1989 April 12, 1993 --Vacant-- Chippewa, April 12, 1993 July 9, 1993 David Plombon Dem. Stanley July 9, 1993 January 6, 1997 Chuck Schafer Rep. Lafayette January 6, 1997 January 4, 1999 Larry Balow Dem. Eau Claire January 4, 1999 Terry Moulton Rep. Chippewa Falls January 5, 2009 Kristen Dexter Dem. Eau Claire January 5, 2009 January 3, 2011 Kathy Bernier Rep. Chippewa Falls Chippewa, Clark, , Jackson, Trempealeau January 3, 2011 January 7, 2019 Jesse L. James Rep. Altoona January 7, 2019 January 2, 2023 Karen Hurd Rep. Fall Creek Chippewa, Clark, January 3, 2023 January 6, 2025 Rob Summerfield Rep. Bloomer Chippewa, Price, Rusk, Taylor January 6, 2025 Current
Electoral history
Year Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality Other primary candidates 1972 Democratic 12,599 59.07% Rep. 8,730 40.93% 21,329 3,869 1974 Democratic 9,507 90.00% Amer. 1,056 10.00% 10,563 8,451 1976 Democratic 13,263 61.14% Rep. 8,430 38.86% 21,693 4,833 1978 Republican 7,382 50.10% Dem. 7,353 49.90% 14,735 29 1980 Democratic 13,398 57.20% Rep. 10,025 42.80% 23,423 3,373 1982 John M. Young Republican 11,210 100.00% 11,210 11,210 1984 Democratic 12,878 63.14% Rep. 7,518 36.86% 20,396 5,360 1986 Democratic 7,470 50.82% Rep. 7,228 49.18% 14,698 242 1988 Republican 11,093 52.65% Dem. 9,978 47.35% 21,071 1,115 1990 Republican 8,337 52.92% Dem. 7,416 47.08% 15,753 921 1992 Republican 13,466 53.40% Dem. 11,752 46.60% 25,218 1,714 1993 Democratic 4,161 51.05% Rep. 3,990 48.95% 8,151 171 1994 Democratic 7,750 50.12% Rep. 7,217 46.67% 15,464 533 Ind. 497 3.21% 1996 Republican 11,010 53.01% Dem. 9,758 46.99% 20,768 1,252 1998 Democratic 8,210 51.42% Rep. 7,758 48.58% 15,968 452 2000 Democratic 12,909 53.47% Rep. 11,205 46.41% 24,143 1,704 2002 Democratic 9,341 51.27% Rep. 8,858 48.62% 18,218 483 2004 Republican 16,665 54.09% Dem. 14,094 45.74% 30,810 2,571 2006 Republican 11,143 51.24% Dem. 10,594 48.71% 21,747 549 2008 Democratic 15,437 50.35% Rep. 15,165 49.47% 30,657 272 2010 Republican 10,765 50.15% Dem. 10,673 49.73% 21,464 92 2012 Republican 13,758 52.39% Dem. 12,482 47.53% 26,263 1,276 2014 Republican 11,289 52.82% Dem. 10,076 47.15% 21,371 1,213 2016 Republican 15,628 58.05% Dem. 11,263 41.83% 26,923 4,365 2018 Republican 14,129 57.59% Dem. 10,394 42.37% 24,533 3,735 2020 Republican 18,993 60.95% Dem. 12,162 39.03% 31,162 6,831 2022 Republican 14,338 60.68% Dem. 9,273 39.25% 23,627 5,065
References