TheWisconsin Senate is theupper house of theWisconsin State Legislature. Together with theWisconsin State Assembly they constitute thelegislative branch of the state ofWisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those of theU.S. Senate. The Wisconsin Senate is controlled by theRepublican Party, as it has been for 20 of the past 22 years (only2009-2010 are exceptions).

Wisconsin Senate
Wisconsin State Legislature
Type
Type	Upper house
Term limits	None
History
New session started	January 6, 2025
Leadership
President	Mary Felzkowski (R) since January 6, 2025
President pro tempore	Patrick Testin (R) since January 4, 2021
Majority Leader	Devin LeMahieu (R) since January 4, 2021
Minority Leader	Dianne Hesselbein (D) since December 1, 2023
Structure
Seats	33
Political groups	Majority   Republican (18) Minority   Democratic (15)
Length of term	4 years
Authority	Article IV,Wisconsin Constitution
Salary	$57,408/year + $115 per diem[1]
Elections
Last election	November 5, 2024 (16 seats)
Next election	November 3, 2026 (17 seats)
Meeting place
State Senate Chamber Wisconsin State Capitol Madison, Wisconsin
Website
Wisconsin State Senate

TheWisconsin Constitution ties the size of the State Senate to that of the Assembly, by limiting its size to no less than 1/4, nor more than 1/3, of the size of the Assembly. Currently, Wisconsin is divided into 33 Senate Districts (1/3 of the current Assembly membership of 99) apportioned throughout the state based on population as determined by the decennialcensus, for a total of 33 senators. A Senate district is formed by combining three Assembly districts. Similar to the U.S. Senate, in addition to its duty of reviewing and voting on all legislation passed through the legislature, the State Senate has the exclusive responsibility of confirming certaingubernatorial appointments, particularly cabinet secretaries and members of boards and commissions. Senators are elected for four-year terms, staggered so that approximately half of the Senate is up for election every two years. If a vacancy occurs in a Senate seat between elections, it may be filled only by a special election. The Senate chamber is in the south wing of theWisconsin State Capitol, inMadison. In February 2024, the legislative maps of the Senate, along with the State Assembly, were redrawn following a court decision that found them to be unconstitutionally gerrymandered in favor of Republicans.^[2]

The salary of all legislators serving in the 2023 Wisconsin Legislature is $57,408, which is an increase of 4% from the previous biennium. In addition to salaries, senators outsideDane County may receive a per diem up to $115 to cover living expenses while they are inDane County on state business. Members of the Dane County delegation may receive a per diem of half the amount to cover expenses.

• C. Latham Sholes (1848–1850; 1856–1858), invented theQWERTY keyboard
• Angus Cameron (1863–1864; 1871–1872), formerU.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1875–1885)
• Gaylord Nelson (1949–1958), formerGovernor of Wisconsin (1959–1963) andU.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1963–1981)
• Henry Maier (1951–1960), formerMayor of Milwaukee (1960–1988)
• James B. Brennan (1959–1962), former U.S. Attorney for theEastern District of Wisconsin (1962–1969) and Milwaukee City Attorney (1972–1984)
• William Bablitch (1972–1983), former Justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court (1983–2003)
• Tom Petri (1973–1979), formerU.S. House Representative (1979–2015)
• Jim Sensenbrenner (1975–1979), formerU.S. House Representative (1979–2021)
• Russ Feingold (1983–1993), formerU.S. Senator from Wisconsin (1993–2011)
• John Norquist (1983–1988), formerMayor of Milwaukee (1988–2004)
• Tom Barrett (1989–1993), formerU.S. House Representative (1993–2003) and formerMayor of Milwaukee (2004–2021)
• Gwen Moore (1993–2005), currentU.S. House Representative (2005–present)
• Glenn Grothman (2005–2015), currentU.S. House Representative (2015–present)
• Tom Tiffany (2012–2020), currentU.S. House Representative (2020–present)
• Fred Risser (1962-2021), longest-serving state legislator in American history
• Scott Fitzgerald (1995–2021), currentU.S. House Representative (2021–present)

• Wisconsin Legislature
• Wisconsin State Assembly
• Impeachment in Wisconsin

• Wisconsin State SenateArchived April 18, 2012, at theWayback Machineofficial government website
• State Senate of Wisconsin atProject Vote Smart
• Wisconsin Senate atBallotpedia
• Legislature Salary

43°04′27.5″N89°23′03.0″W / 43.074306°N 89.384167°W /43.074306; -89.384167