- Lead
- 16,972
- Total
- 61,716
- vs nation
- D+29.0
Wisconsin 3rd State Senate District
President margin by year
Place winner margin
President results by year
Modeled candidate-vote estimate on current district boundaries
- Lead
- 20,548
- Total
- 60,901
- vs nation
- D+29.3
- Lead
- 19,947
- Total
- 58,757
- vs nation
- D+31.9
- Lead
- 21,622
- Total
- 65,784
- vs nation
- D+29.0
- Lead
- 20,646
- Total
- 63,517
- vs nation
- D+25.2
- Lead
- 13,456
- Total
- 64,557
- vs nation
- D+23.3
- Lead
- 9,968
- Total
- 58,123
- vs nation
- D+16.6
- Lead
- 11,449
- Total
- 49,654
- vs nation
- D+14.5
Key facts
- 2024 presidential margin
- D+27.5MIT Election Lab
- Population
- 178,0332024 5-year
- Population density
- 7,179 / sq mi2024 5-year · TIGER/Line
- Land area
- 24.8 sq miTIGER/Line
- Median household income
- $56,1722024 5-year
- White (non-Hispanic)
- 33.1%2024 5-year
- Black
- 7.8%2024 5-year
- Hispanic / Latino
- 50.6%2024 5-year
- Peak Democratic margin
- D+53.5 in 1936MIT Election Lab
- Peak Republican margin
- R+36.2 in 1920MIT Election Lab
- Most similar
- State Senate District 2, IL · twin score 86.3
presidential history
Party record book
Wisconsin 3rd State Senate District · the strongest Democratic and Republican presidential performances recorded here, measured three ways.
1892–2024 (partial returns from 1876) · 38 presidential cycles · 38 with a vote-share denominator · 34 with a national benchmark
Highest vote share
Largest share of the presidential candidate vote cast here.
Democratic
Franklin D. Roosevelt1936
73.1%
28,850 votes · D+53.5 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · 66.1%
Republican
William McKinley1896
58.6%
5,068 votes · R+19.1 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · James A. Garfield, 1880 · 58.0%
Most votes
Largest number of votes cast for the party’s presidential nominee here.
Democratic
Barack Obama2012
43,305votes
65.8% of the vote · D+32.9 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Barack Obama, 2008 · 41,645 votes
Republican
Dwight D. Eisenhower1956
31,852votes
57.6% of the vote · R+15.9 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1952 · 30,666 votes
Best relative to the U.S.
This Place’s margin against the national margin in the same election — positive when it leaned toward the party more than the country did.
Democratic
Hillary Clinton2016
+31.9pts D vs U.S.
Place D+33.9 · U.S. D+2.1 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Joe Biden, 2020 · +29.3 pts
Republican
William McKinley1896
+13.0pts R vs U.S.
Place R+19.1 · U.S. R+6.1 · modeled estimate
Runner-up · Warren G. Harding, 1920 · +10.0 pts
Current officeholders
State legislative officeholder from OpenStates nightly current-legislator data.
Senate and governor results are in the Office selector at the top of this page.
U.S. House
Each row is a county-allocated estimate of U.S. House votes for this district — county returns apportioned onto its boundary, not precinct-counted. “Vote lead” is the estimated local lead here, not necessarily the winner of the full contest.
| Year | Vote lead | Democratic | Republican | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | D | 57.3%9,365 | 42.7%6,976 | 16,341 |
Wisconsin's 3rd Senate District leans modestly Democratic at the presidential level but sits well within swing range, making it a frequent target for both parties in legislative cycles.
Across the recorded series it reached a Democratic high of 53.5 points in 1936 and a Republican high of 36.2 points in 1920. Between 2020 and 2024 the district moved 6.2 points toward the Republican candidate; the 2024 margin was 27.5 points.
A population of 178,033, a 33% non-Hispanic-white share, and a median household income of $56,172 describe the district. The district's voting pattern over the last decade is most similar to that of State Senate District 2 and State Senate District 20.
The state-senate districts whose fingerprint — 2000–2024 trajectory, demographics, ancestry, religion — sits closest to this one, and why.
Twin score (0–100) = weighted cosine between tier-standardized fingerprints: presidential margins 2000–2024 with 12-yr trend and elasticity, ACS income, age, education, population and race, top reported ancestries, and religious adherence — chips name the closest-shared dimensions and the widest gap. Re-weight the groups in the twins explorer.
District research tools
Open the source-auditable district brief for electoral baseline, electorate, current-cycle coverage, geography, official dates, and methodology. Open campaign intelligence report → · Browse all comparisons →
Wisconsin 3rd State Senate District. Akashic. https://akashic.app/sld-upper/55003/. Accessed May 20, 2026. License: CC BY 4.0.