Election results under new state voting districts in Wisconsin mean more legislators now represent rural communities, a new analysis shows. That could have effects on policymaking in 2025.
The Rural Policy Institute is a project of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, the Wisconsin Towns Association, the Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association and the lobbying firm The Welch Group.
It was established this year as a way of promoting rural interests in Madison. In a new policy paper, “The Rural/Urban Balance in Wisconsin,” researchers classify Wisconsin communities as urban, suburban, rural or rural-adjacent to draw conclusions about the make-up of the state and representation in the Capitol.
“If you look at the (U.S.) Census and the way they calculate rural communities, it doesn’t take into consideration cultural demographics or the ways in which people identify themselves,” said Jason Mugnaini, the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation’s executive director of government relations.
For example, Mugnaini notes that New Berlin and Rhinelander have the same population density — but the former is a Milwaukee suburb and the latter a Northwoods hub that is culturally closer to the rural populations that surround it.