The 85th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in north-central Wisconsin, the district is entirely contained within Marathon County. It includes the city of Wausau and the village of Weston. The district is represented by Republican Patrick Snyder, since January 2017. After the 2024 redistricting, Snyder no longer resides in the new 85th district.
The 85th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 29th Senate district, along with the 86th and 87th 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 85th district was drawn almost exactly in line with the previous Marathon County 2nd district (the cities of Wausau and Schofield, and north-central Marathon County. The last representative of the Marathon County 2nd district, Tony Earl, went on to win the 1972 election as the first representative of the 85th Assembly district. The district has remained in the same vicinity, centered on Wausau and Schofield, in the various redistricting schemes since 1972, with the exception of the 1982 court-ordered plan which temporarily moved the district to eastern Waupaca County. The 2011 redistricting act was the most significant change to the boundaries of the district since 1982, maintaining Wausau and Schofield in the district, but shifting away from the north-central towns of Marathon County to encompass more of the rural eastern half of the county.
The 2024 redistricting swapped out Schofield and a number of towns in favor of the neighboring village of Weston. Under the new map, the 85th district is projected to be one of the most competitive districts in the state legislature.
Notable former representatives of the 85th district include Tony Earl, who was later elected the 41st Governor of Wisconsin, and Gregory Huber, who was later appointed as a Wisconsin circuit court judge by Governor Jim Doyle and is now the current chief judge for the 9th judicial administrative district of Wisconsin.
List of past representatives +List of representatives to the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 85th districtMemberPartyResidenceCounties representedTerm startTerm endRef.District sreated Tony Earl Dem. Wausau Marathon Edward F. McClain Dem. January 5, 1981 John H. Robinson Dem. January 5, 1981 January 3, 1983 Rep. Clintonville Outagamie, Waupaca, Winnebago January 3, 1983 January 7, 1985 John H. Robinson Dem. Wausau Marathon January 7, 1985 May 23, 1988 --Vacant-- May 23, 1988 January 2, 1989 Gregory Huber Dem. Wausau January 2, 1989 May 31, 2004 --Vacant-- Marathon, Shawano May 31, 2004 January 3, 2005 Donna J. Seidel Dem. Wausau January 3, 2005 January 7, 2013 Mandy Wright Dem. Marathon January 7, 2013 January 5, 2015 David Heaton Rep. January 5, 2015 January 3, 2017 Patrick Snyder Rep. Schofield January 3, 2017 Current
Electoral history
Year Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality Other primary candidates 1972 Democratic 14,432 100.0% 14,432 14,432 1974 Democratic 7,038 50.01% Rep. 7,034 49.99% 14,072 4 1976 Democratic 12,553 62.83% Rep. 7,427 37.17% 19,980 5,126 1978 Democratic 9,241 54.91% Rep. 7,588 45.09% 16,829 1,653 1980 Democratic 11,026 51.49% Rep. 10,387 48.51% 21,413 639 1982 Francis R. Byers Republican 9,213 70.76% Dem. 3,807 29.24% 13,020 5,406 1984 Democratic 13,452 60.79% Rep. 8,678 39.21% 22,130 4,774 1986 Democratic 10,868 63.39% Rep. 6,278 36.61% 17,146 4,590 1988 Democratic 10,595 50.48% Rep. 10,392 49.52% 20,987 203 1990 Democratic 9,785 57.30% Rep. 7,291 42.70% 17,076 2,494 1992 Democratic 16,211 100.0% 16,211 16,211 1994 Democratic 10,446 65.23% Rep. 5,568 34.77% 16,014 4,878 1996 Democratic 14,628 70.44% Rep. 6,139 29.56% 20,767 8,489 1998 Democratic 9,873 59.22% Rep. 6,800 40.78% 16,673 3,073 2000 Democratic 13,692 62.26% Rep. 8,297 37.73% 21,992 5,395 2002 Democratic 14,079 99.78% 14,110 14,048 2004 Democratic 15,666 57.29% Rep. 11,667 42.67% 27,345 3,999 2006 Democratic 12,802 64.55% Rep. 7,025 35.42% 19,832 5,777 2008 Democratic 16,975 64.08% Rep. 9,487 35.81% 26,489 7,488 2010 Democratic 10,298 52.53% Rep. 8,460 43.15% 19,604 1,838 Lib. 830 4.23% 2012 Democratic 13,930 49.70% Rep. 13,025 46.47% 28,026 905 Jeff Johnson (Dem.) Ind. 1,047 3.74% 2014 Republican 11,167 50.19% Dem. 11,082 49.81% 22,249 85 2016 Republican 14,722 53.35% Dem. 12,837 46.52% 27,594 1,885 2018 Republican 13,791 55.25% Dem. 11,150 44.67% 24,962 2,641 2020 Republican 16,599 55.09% Dem. 13,515 44.85% 30,132 3,084 2022 Republican 13,689 56.2% Dem. 10,659 43.76% 24,358 3,030
References