Democratic Wisconsin Rep. Ron Kind Retiring; GOP Well-Positioned to Flip District in 2022

Democratic Rep. Ron Kind, the senior member of the Wisconsin congressional delegation, won't seek reelection next year. Kind narrowly won a 13th term in 2020, beating Republican Derrick Van Orden by less than 3%.  This represented quite a shift:  Kind had won by 20% in 2018, and actually ran unopposed in 2016.

The Wisconsin 3rd district was one of just seven nationally that voted for Donald Trump in 2020, while electing a Democratic representative.  Trump won here by about 5%. 

Absent the incumbent and with Van Orden running again, the district becomes an even stronger pick-up opportunity for the GOP next year.

Kind's district covers the southwestern part of the state, bordering Minnesota, Iowa and a small portion of Illinois. These boundaries may change in the upcoming redistricting, although a significant shift is not anticipated.

16 current members of the House - 8 from each party - have announced they are retiring or running for another office in 2022.