Election preview: Madison, Wisconsin


The primary for Madison, Wisconsin is on Feb. 21, 2023. Candidates are competing to advance to the general election scheduled for April 4. The filing deadline to run was on Jan. 3.

Candidates filed for Madison Common Council Districts 1-20. The primaries for districts 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19 were canceled after fewer than three candidates filed for each election. 

Candidates also filed for mayor of Madison. Incumbent Satya Rhodes-Conway, Scott Kerr, and Gloria Reyes are running in the nonpartisan primary. While most mayoral elections in the 100 largest cities are nonpartisan, most officeholders are affiliated with a political party. Madison has a Democratic mayor. As of February 2023, 62 mayors in the largest 100 cities by population are affiliated with the Democratic Party, 26 are affiliated with the Republican Party, three are independents, seven identify as nonpartisan or unaffiliated, and two mayors’ affiliations are unknown.

Madison is the second-largest city in Wisconsin and the 79th-largest city in the U.S. by population.

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