Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin is the latest incumbent Democrat to announce a 2024 reelection campaign.
The Democratic National Committee is tasked with defending 20 of the 33 United States Senate seats that are on the ballot in the upcoming election.
“I’m committed to making sure that working people, not just the big corporations and ultra-wealthy, have a fighter on their side,” Baldwin said in her announcement, per NBC News. “With so much at stake, from families struggling with rising costs to a ban on reproductive freedom, Wisconsinites need someone who can fight and win.”
The two-term Democrat won her 2018 reelection bid by 11 points. During the same year, Democrat Tony Evers won reelection in the state’s gubernatorial race while then-Senator Ron Johnson, a Republican, defeated Democrat Mandela Barnes in the lieutenant governor race.
Baldwin was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and previously served in the U.S. House of Representatives. She was celebrated as the first woman and first gay person to hold the seat. She led an effort to codify protections for same-sex marriage in 2022.
“I didn’t run to make history,” Baldwin said after her first Senate win. “I ran to make a difference.”
Balwin currently serves on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and the Senate Appropriations Committee. She is the chairwoman of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change, and Manufacturing and of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies.
No Republicans have announced plans to challenge Baldwin. According to some reports, there is speculation that Congressman Mike Gallagher may enter the race. The Marine Corps veteran was elected to represent Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District in 2017. His office has told the media that Gallagher is too focused on his current work to consider the 2024 election.
So far, two Democrats – Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and Dianne Feinstein of California – have announced they will retire at the end of their current term rather than seek reelection.
Montana Senator Jon Tester announced his reelection campaign in February.
“Montanans need a fighter that will hold our government accountable and demand Washington stand up for veterans and lower costs for families,” Tester wrote on Twitter.
“Montana is 2024’s most important Senate race. We cannot afford to lose,” he added. “I’m the most vulnerable Democratic Senator up in 2024—which means I’m gonna need your help.”
The DNC will also need to consider the fate of the three of the seats that are held by independents who caucus with Democrats – Angus King of Maine, Bernie Sanders of Vermont, and Krysten Sinema of Arizona – that will be up for challenges in 2024.
