Wisconsin's 2nd Senate district

Wisconsin's 2nd
State Senate district
Wisconsin's 2nd; State Senate district
	2024 map defined in 2023 Wisc. Act 94; 2022 map defined in Johnson v. Wisconsin Elections Commission; 2011 map was defined in 2011 Wisc. Act 43; composed of Assembly districts 4, 5, and 6
Senator
	Robert Cowles; R–Allouez
	since April 21, 1987 (37 years)
Demographics	87.74% White; 0.86% Black; 2.27% Hispanic; 1.24% Asian; 7.52% Native American; 0.07% Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
Population (2020); • Voting age	178,360; 137,053
Website	Official website
Notes	Northeast Wisconsin

The 2nd Senate district of Wisconsin is one of 33 districts in the Wisconsin Senate.^[1] Located in northeast Wisconsin, the district comprises all of Menominee County along with th southern half of Oconto County, the eastern half of Shawano County, and much of eastern Outagamie County and northwest Brown County. It includes the cities of Oconto, Oconto Falls, Clintonville, and Shawano, and the villages of Bonduel, Howard, Little Chute, Seymour, and Suamico, along with parts of the cities of Green Bay, Appleton, and Kaukauna. The district also contains the entirety of the Oneida and Menominee Indian reservations.^[2]

Current elected officials

Robert Cowles is the senator representing the 2nd district. He was first elected in a 1987 special election, and is now serving his 9th term. Before his election as senator, he was a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1983 to 1987.^[3]

Each Wisconsin State Senate district is composed of three Wisconsin State Assembly districts. The 2nd Senate district comprises the 4th, 5th, and 6th Assembly districts. The current representatives of those districts are:^[4]

Assembly District 4: David Steffen (R–Howard)
Assembly District 5: Joy Goeben (R–Hobart)
Assembly District 6: Peter Schmidt (R–Bonduel)

The district is located within Wisconsin's 8th congressional district, which is represented by U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher.^[5]

Oconto County courthouse in Oconto
Oconto River in Oconto Falls
St. John Catholic Church and Island Park in Little Chute
Seymour, Wisconsin
Keshena, in the Menominee Indian Reservation
Downtown Clintonville
Shawano Lake

Past senators

Note: the boundaries of districts have changed over history. Previous politicians of a specific numbered district have represented a completely different geographic area, due to redistricting.

The district has previously been represented by:^[6]

Senator	Party	Notes	Session	Years	District Definition
District created				1848	Columbia, Marquette, Portage, and Sauk counties
Henry Merrill	Whig		1st	1848
Henry Merrill	Whig		2nd	1849
George DeGraw Moore	Whig		3rd	1850
George DeGraw Moore	Whig		4th	1851
James S. Alban	Whig		5th	1852
James S. Alban	Whig		6th	1853	Brown, Door, Outagamie, Oconto, Waupaca, Marathon, and Portage counties
Joseph F. Loy	Dem.		7th	1854
Joseph F. Loy	Dem.		8th	1855
Perry H. Smith	Dem.		9th	1856
Perry H. Smith	Dem.		10th	1857	Brown, Door, Kewaunee, Oconto, Outagamie, and Shawano counties
Morgan Lewis Martin	Dem.		11th	1858
Morgan Lewis Martin	Dem.		12th	1859
Edward Decker	Dem.		13th	1860
Edward Decker	Dem.		14th	1861
Edward Hicks	Dem.		15th	1862	Brown and Kewaunee counties
Edward Hicks	Dem.		16th	1863
Frederick S. Ellis	Dem.		17th	1864
Frederick S. Ellis	Dem.		18th	1865
Matthew J. Meade	Dem.		19th	1866
Matthew J. Meade	Dem.		20th	1867	1866–1871 1871–1875 Brown, Door, and Kewaunee counties
William J. Abrams	Dem.		21st	1868
William J. Abrams	Dem.		22nd	1869
Lyman Walker	Dem.		23rd	1870
Lyman Walker	Dem.		24th	1871
Myron P. Lindsley	Dem.		25th	1872
Myron P. Lindsley	Dem.		26th	1873
John Milton Read	Dem.		27th	1874
John Milton Read	Dem.		28th	1875
Thomas R. Hudd	Dem.		29th	1876
			30th	1877	1876–1881 1882–1887 Brown County
			31st	1878
			32nd	1879
David M. Kelly	Rep.		33rd	1880
David M. Kelly	Rep.		34th	1881
Thomas R. Hudd	Dem.	Resigned after election to U.S. House in 1886 special election.	35th	1882
			36th	1883–1884
			37th	1885–1886
--Vacant--			37th	1885–1886
Charles W. Day	Rep.		38th	1887–1888
Enos Warren Persons	Dem.		39th	1889–1890	Brown and Calumet counties
Enos Warren Persons	Dem.		40th	1891–1892	Brown and Calumet counties
Robert J. McGeehan	Dem.		41st	1893–1894	1892–1895 1896–1901 1902–1911 1912–1921 1922–1953 Brown and Oconto counties
Robert J. McGeehan	Dem.		42nd	1895–1896
Andrew Caldwell Mailer	Rep.		43rd	1897–1898
Andrew Caldwell Mailer	Rep.		44th	1899–1900
Henry F. Hagemeister	Rep.		45th	1901–1902
			46th	1903–1904
			47th	1905–1906
			48th	1907–1908
Timothy Burke	Rep.		49th	1909–1910
			50th	1911–1912
			51st	1913–1914
			52nd	1915–1916
			53rd	1917–1918
			54th	1919–1920
			55th	1921–1922
			56th	1923–1924
John B. Chase	Rep.		57th	1925–1926
John B. Chase	Rep.		58th	1927–1928
Elmer Hall	Rep.	Previously elected Wisconsin Secretary of State.	59th	1929–1930
Elmer Hall	Rep.	Previously elected Wisconsin Secretary of State.	60th	1931–1932
E. F. Brunette	Dem.		61st	1933–1934
E. F. Brunette	Dem.		62nd	1935–1936
Michael F. Kresky Jr.	Prog.		63rd	1937–1938
Michael F. Kresky Jr.	Prog.		64th	1939–1940
John W. Byrnes	Rep.	Elected to U.S. House in 1944.	65th	1941–1942
John W. Byrnes	Rep.	Elected to U.S. House in 1944.	66th	1943–1944
Harold A. Lytie	Dem.		67th	1945–1946
Harold A. Lytie	Dem.		68th	1947–1948
Fred F. Kaftan	Rep.		69th	1949–1950
Fred F. Kaftan	Rep.		70th	1951–1952
Leo P. O'Brien	Rep.		71st	1953–1954
			72nd	1955–1956	Brown County
			73rd	1957–1958
			74th	1959–1960
			75th	1961–1962
			76th	1963–1964
Robert W. Warren	Rep.		77th	1965–1966	Calumet County, parts of Brown County Town of Allouez, Wisconsin, Allouez Town of Bellevue Town of De Pere Town of Eaton Town of Glenmore Town of Green Bay Town of Holland Town of Humboldt Town of Morrison Town of New Denmark Town of Rockland Town of Wrightstown Village of Denmark Village of Wrightstown City of De Pere Wards 1-8, 10-15, 17-21, City of Green Bay
Robert W. Warren	Rep.		78th	1967–1968
Myron P. Lotto	Rep.		79th	1969–1970
Myron P. Lotto	Rep.		80th	1971–1972
Tom Petri	Rep.	Resigned after election to U.S. House in 1979 special election.	81st	1973–1974	Calumet County, parts of Brown County Town of Allouez, Wisconsin, Allouez Town of Bellevue Town of De Pere Town of Lawrence Town of Wrightstown Village of Allouez Village of Wrightstown City of De Pere Southern Wards, City of Green Bay eastern of Fond du Lac County Town of Auburn Town of Calumet Town of Eden Town of Empire Town of Forest Town of Marshfield Town of Osceola Town of Taycheedah Village of Campbellsport Village of Eden Village of Mount Calvary Village of Saint Cloud part of Outagamie County Town of Kaukauna Town of Buchanan Village of Combined Locks Village of Kimberly Village of Little Chute City of Kaukauna part of Sheboygan County Town of Greenbush Town of Russell part of Washington County Town of Kewaskum Village of Kewaskum
			82nd	1975–1976
			83rd	1977–1978
			84th	1979–1980
Don Hanaway	Rep.	Won 1979 special election. Re-elected 1980, 1984. Elected Attorney General in 1986.	84th	1979–1980
			85th	1981–1982
			86th	1983–1984	Part of Brown, Calumet, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano
			87th	1985–1986	Part of Brown, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano
--Vacant--			88th	1987–1988
Robert Cowles	Rep.	Won 1987 special election. Re-elected 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008. Survived 2011 recall election. Re-elected 2012, 2016, 2020.	88th	1987–1988
			89th	1989–1990
			90th	1991–1992
			91st	1993–1994	Part of Brown, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano
			92nd	1995–1996
			93rd	1997–1998
			94th	1999–2000
			95th	2001–2002
			96th	2003–2004	Part of Brown, Oconto, Outagamie, Shawano
			97th	2005–2006
			98th	2007–2008
			99th	2009–2010
			100th	2011–2012
			101st	2013–2014	Part of Brown, Outagamie, Shawano, Waupaca
			102nd	2015–2016
			103rd	2017–2018
			104th	2019–2020
			105th	2021–2022
			106th	2023–2024	Northwest Brown County Most of Outagamie County Most of Shawano County Part of Wauapaca County