Wisconsin 3rd Congressional District (WI) — Elections 1876–2024

Wisconsin 3rd Congressional District, Wisconsin: Bellwether district. In 2024, voted R+7%. Republican peak: R+64 in 1920.

Key facts

2024 presidential margin: R+7MIT Election Lab
Political archetype: BellwetherAkashic typology
Population: 697,9342024 5-year
Median household income: $73,1362024 5-year
White (non-Hispanic): 90.0%2024 5-year
Black: 1.2%2024 5-year
Hispanic / Latino: 3.7%2024 5-year
Peak Democratic margin: D+26 in 1932MIT Election Lab
Peak Republican margin: R+64 in 1920MIT Election Lab

VAN ORDEN, DerrickCongress 119 · Republican

−1 liberal

+1 conservative

Predecessors: KIND, Ron (2021–2023), KIND, Ron (2019–2021), KIND, Ron (2017–2019), KIND, Ron (2015–2017)

Source · Voteview / Lewis, Poole, Rosenthal et al. (CC-BY).

2024 results by constituent county

19 counties · 3 D · 16 R

R+60

D+60

One cell per constituent county. Ordered by 2024 D-vs-R margin (bluest first). Hover for county-level numbers.

38 presidential elections

Source · MIT Election Lab · ICPSR · VEST (precinct-level 2024).
Year	Won	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Total
2024	R	−7.1%	182,223	210,521	399,601
2020	R	−4.4%	175,913	192,436	375,655
2016	R	−4.3%	153,695	168,412	346,193
2012	D	+10.9%	189,521	151,826	346,870
2008	D	+20.1%	205,794	135,821	347,621
2004	D	+6.2%	185,589	163,768	353,383
2000	D	+5.5%	152,959	136,134	306,220
1996	D	+16.3%	131,925	89,261	262,222
1992	D	+10.0%	130,750	100,371	302,460
1988	D	+5.7%	135,794	120,998	258,409
1984	R	−11.3%	115,533	145,193	262,446
1980	R	−4.4%	119,493	131,800	276,983
1976	D	+1.4%	124,404	120,833	250,804
1972	R	−14.4%	90,044	121,007	215,604
1968	R	−10.3%	79,270	98,901	191,448
1964	D	+22.6%	115,986	73,232	189,506
1960	R	−10.9%	90,542	112,806	203,623
1956	R	−22.4%	71,665	113,161	185,413
1952	R	−31.1%	67,827	129,193	197,456
1948	D	+4.8%	81,876	74,209	158,504
1944	R	−10.6%	75,571	93,486	169,795
1940	R	−8.7%	86,798	103,427	191,805
1936	D	+19.6%	99,986	65,643	174,954
1932	D	+25.5%	93,875	55,152	151,658
1928	R	−24.1%	56,904	93,475	151,621
1924	O	−27.3%	10,339	45,366	128,483
1920	R	−64.0%	16,208	83,572	105,197
1916	R	−10.5%	30,496	37,978	71,420
1912	R	−1.2%	25,623	26,422	66,358
1908	R	−27.1%	26,739	47,805	77,784
1904	R	−43.6%	20,279	53,987	77,370
1900	R	−32.4%	25,883	51,838	80,120
1896	R	−29.2%	28,778	53,521	84,862
1892	R	−9.4%	29,328	36,111	71,891
1888	—	No data	—	—	—
1884	—	No data	—	—	—
1880	—	No data	—	—	—
1876	—	No data	—	—	—

Congressional elections · 17 Senate races

U.S. Senate

Source · MIT Election Lab (MEDSL), Senate. CC-BY 4.0.
Year	Won	D %	R %	Total
2024	D	49.3%	48.5%	3,390,787
2022	R	49.4%	50.4%	2,652,477
2018	D	55.4%	44.6%	2,657,841
2016	R	46.8%	50.2%	2,948,741
2012	D	51.4%	45.9%	3,009,411
2010	R	47.0%	51.9%	2,171,331
2006	D	67.3%	29.5%	2,138,297
2004	D	55.4%	44.1%	2,949,743
2000	D	61.5%	37.0%	2,540,083
1998	D	50.5%	48.4%	1,760,836
1994	D	58.3%	40.7%	1,565,628
1992	D	52.6%	46.0%	2,455,124
1988	D	52.1%	47.5%	2,168,190
1986	R	47.4%	50.9%	1,483,174
1982	D	63.6%	34.1%	1,544,883
1980	R	48.3%	50.2%	2,204,202
1976	D	72.2%	27.0%	1,935,183

Demographics

Race, ethnicity, and ancestry

Click any group to see the ancestries typically reported within it.

German

37.7%

Irish

11.3%

Polish

7.8%

English

7.4%

American

3.6%

Italian

2.4%

French

2.4%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release. Hispanic/Latino is an ethnicity that overlaps the race categories, so these shares can total more than 100%. Ancestry is a self-reported, multiple-response item; ancestry percentages do not sum to the parent race percentage.

Age distribution by sex

Median age: 39.6 in this county, 39.1 nationally

Male

Age

Female

0.8%

85+

1.3%

2.6%

75–84

3.0%

5.7%

65–74

5.8%

6.8%

55–64

6.6%

5.7%

45–54

5.3%

6.2%

35–44

5.7%

6.2%

25–34

5.5%

6.1%

18–24

6.2%

7.9%

5–17

7.5%

2.7%

2.5%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Median household income

2024 inflation-adjusted dollars

$73,136

Congressional District 3 ranks near the middle of US counties.

Congressional District 3$73,136

Wisconsin$77,485

United States$80,734

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Poverty rate

All persons below federal poverty line

11.6%

Child poverty is below the national average.

Children under 1811.7%

Working age (18–64)11.7%

Seniors (65+)9.8%

Source · American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2024 release.

Language at home

Population aged 5 and older

94.0%

speak English only

Spanish2.2%

Other Indo-European2.0%

Asian & Pacific Islander1.6%

Other languages0.2%

Source · ACS 5-year estimates, 2024.

Religious adherents

Adherents per capita by tradition

Catholic & Orthodox

17.9%

Mainline Protestant

16.8%

Other Christian

6.7%

Methodist

1.8%

Pentecostal & Holiness

0.9%

Non-Christian

0.6%

Baptist

0.2%

Source · 2020 US Religion Census. Remaining 55.1% of residents not counted as adherents by any reporting body.

Wisconsin's 3rd stretches across the driftless hills and river valleys of the western and central parts of the state, a region that backed Obama twice before moving steadily toward Republican presidential margins, culminating in an R+7.4 result in 2024.

The Democratic margin in Wisconsin 3rd Congressional District has rarely exceeded twenty-six points in modern history; the Republican margin has rarely exceeded sixty-four points. 2024 delivered the district to the Republican candidate by seven points.

Its demographics resemble the country more than they resemble most districts. A 90% non-Hispanic-white share, a 12% poverty rate, and a median household income of $73,136 — all within the broad national range.

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Cite this page

All citations released under CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Akashic Intelligence.

Congressional District 3, Wisconsin. Akashic. https://akashic.app/cd/5503/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.

License: CC BY 4.0

Frequently asked questions

How did Congressional District 3, Wisconsin vote in 2024?

In 2024, Congressional District 3, Wisconsin voted Republican by 7.1 points (R+7), carried by the Republican candidate. Out of 399,601 votes cast, 182,223 went Democratic and 210,521 went Republican.

What is Congressional District 3, Wisconsin's political archetype?

Akashic classifies Congressional District 3, Wisconsin as a "Bellwether" district based on its long-arc presidential voting pattern. Across 38 elections in the dataset, the district has voted Democratic 12 times, Republican 21 times, and other 1 times.

When did Congressional District 3, Wisconsin last vote Democratic?

The most recent presidential election in which Congressional District 3, Wisconsin voted Democratic was 2012.

How many people live in Congressional District 3, Wisconsin?

Congressional District 3, Wisconsin has a population of 697,934 according to the 2024 American Community Survey 5-year estimates from the US Census Bureau.

What is the median household income in Congressional District 3, Wisconsin?

Median household income in Congressional District 3, Wisconsin is $73,136 — below the national median of $80,734. The Wisconsin state median is $77,485.

What is the political history of Congressional District 3, Wisconsin?

Akashic tracks 38 presidential elections in Congressional District 3, Wisconsin from 1876 to 2024. Of those, 12 went Democratic and 21 went Republican. The district's archetype — "Bellwether" — captures the overall trajectory of that voting record.

Wisconsin 3rd Congressional District votes the way the country votes.

Key facts

U.S. Senate

Demographics

Compare two places, side by side

Frequently asked questions