The 88th Assembly district of Wisconsin is one of 99 districts in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Located in Northeastern Wisconsin, the district comprises parts of central Brown County. It includes the city of De Pere, the villages of Allouez and Bellevue, and a small part of the city of Green Bay. The district also contains landmarks such as St. Norbert College and the De Pere Lock and Dam Historic District. The district is represented by Ben Franklin, since January 2025.
The 88th Assembly district is located within Wisconsin's 30th Senate district, along with the 89th and 90th 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. Under the 1972 plan, the 88th district did not closely resemble any of the districts under the previous maps, it comprised parts of eastern Marinette and Oconto counties.
Under the 1982 court-ordered redistricting plan, the district was briefly moved to east-central Wisconsin, comprising much of southern Winnebago County and central County. The 1983 redistricting reverted the 88th district back to its prior location, but added parts of Shawano County. The 1992 court-ordered redistricting plan moved the 88th district into the east side of the city of Green Bay, with the 89th district taking over much of what had been the 88th district. The district remained in that area with only slight boundary changes in the 2002 redistricting. The 2011 redistricting plan (2011 Wisc. Act 43) removed most of central Green Bay from the district in order to pack Democratic votes into the 90th district. The 88th district shifted into the neighboring village of Bellevue, the towns of Ledgeview and Glenmore, and part of the city of De Pere. The 2022 court-ordered redistricting mostly preserved this configuration, giving the district a mostly rural character.
The 2024 redistricting moved the 88th district closer into the Green Bay metro area, adding all of the city of De Pere, all the territory of the villages of Allouez and Bellevue, and part of the city of Green Bay, itself. Rural towns were mostly removed from the district. Under the new map configuration, the 88th Assembly district is projected to be one of the most competitive districts in the state legislature.
List of past representatives +List of representatives to the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 88th districtMemberPartyResidenceCounties representedTerm startTerm endRef.District created Richard P. Matty Rep. Stephenson Marinette, Oconto January 3, 1983 Rep. Horicon Dodge, Fond du Lac, Washington January 3, 1983 January 7, 1985 Rep. Stephenson Marinette, Oconto, Shawano January 7, 1985 August 4, 1987 --Vacant-- August 4, 1987 John Gard Rep. Peshtigo January 4, 1993 Dem. Green Bay Brown January 4, 1993 January 2, 1995 Rep. January 2, 1995 January 1, 2001 Rep. January 1, 2001 January 3, 2007 Dem. January 3, 2007 January 3, 2011 John Klenke Rep. January 3, 2011 January 5, 2015 John Macco Rep. Ledgeview January 5, 2015 January 6, 2025 Ben Franklin Rep. De Pere January 6, 2025 Current
Electoral history
Year Date Elected Defeated Total Plurality Other primary candidates 1972 Republican 10,720 59.19% Dem. 7,390 40.81% 18,110 3,330 1974 Republican 9,769 67.70% Dem. 4,661 32.30% 14,430 5,108 1976 Republican 14,344 70.60% Dem. 5,974 29.40% 20,318 8,370 1978 Republican 10,876 69.11% Dem. 4,861 30.89% 15,737 6,015 1980 Republican 15,891 73.14% Dem. 5,835 26.86% 21,726 10,056 1982 Esther Doughty Luckhardt Republican 6,946 49.71% Dem. 6,869 49.16% 13,973 77 Con. 6,869 49.16% 1984 Republican 11,791 58.18% Dem. 8,475 41.82% 20,266 3,316 1986 Republican 10,827 100.0% 10,827 10,827 1987 Republican 5,037 51.59% Dem. 4,726 48.41% 9,763 311 1988 Republican 11,624 59.71% Dem. 7,843 40.29% 19,467 3,781 1990 Republican 6,991 50.16% Dem. 6,946 49.84% 13,937 45 1992 Democratic 12,246 58.38% Rep. 8,731 41.62% 20,977 3,515 1994 Republican 8,223 56.39% Dem. 6,360 43.61% 14,583 1,863 1996 Republican 11,067 100.0% 11,067 11,067 1998 Republican 8,783 56.93% Dem. 6,646 43.07% 15,429 2,137 2000 Republican 11,078 50.32% Dem. 10,898 49.50% 22,015 180 2002 Republican 8,157 60.41% Dem. 4,794 35.50% 13,503 3,363 Lib. 541 4.01% 2004 Republican 13,174 54.24% Dem. 11,093 45.67% 24,290 2,081 2006 Democratic 8,927 50.15% Rep. 8,851 49.72% 17,800 76 2008 Democratic 13,155 55.86% Rep. 10,368 44.03% 23,548 2,787 2010 Republican 8,224 50.74% Dem. 7,957 49.09% 16,209 267 2012 Republican 14,445 52.40% Dem. 13,085 47.47% 27,566 1,360 2014 Republican 12,915 56.20% Dem. 10,046 43.72% 22,980 2,869 2016 Republican 17,742 60.99% Dem. 11,312 38.88% 29,091 6,430 2018 Republican 14,628 53.31% Dem. 12,793 46.62% 27,440 1,835 2020 Republican 17,214 52.31% Dem. 15,673 47.63% 32,906 1,541 2022 Republican 14,451 58.14% Dem. 10,384 41.78% 24,854 4,067 2024 Republican 17,008 50.29% Dem. 16,788 49.64% 33,818 220
References