David Benjamin "Ben" DeSmidt is an American educator, small business owner, and Democratic politician from Kenosha, Wisconsin. He is a member-elect of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and will represent Wisconsin's 65th Assembly district in the 107th Wisconsin Legislature (2025–2026).
Ben DeSmidt | |
|---|---|
| Member-elect of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 65th district | |
| Assuming office January 6, 2025 | |
| Succeeding | Tod Ohnstad |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Wisconsin |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence | Kenosha, Wisconsin |
| Education | |
| Profession | Educator, business owner |
| Website | Campaign website |
Biography
editBorn in Wisconsin, DeSmidt earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago, and obtained his M.A., M.Phil., and Ph.D. from Columbia University in New York.[1]
Ben DeSmidt is associate professor emeritus of classics and great ideas at Carthage College, and has been a trustee of Gateway Technical College since 2022.[2]. He is also the owner of two bars in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Union Park Tavern and Pavle's Lounge.[3]
After Kenosha's south side state representative Tod Ohnstad announced he would not run for re-election in 2024, DeSmidt entered the race and received Ohnstad's endorsement. He faced a primary against former Kenosha Unified School District board member Kyle Flood,[3] but won the Democratic nomination with nearly 70% of the primary vote.[4] He went on to win the general election, receiving about 53% of the vote against Republican Brian Gonzales, a former Kenosha police officer.[3][5]
Electoral history
editWisconsin Assembly (2024)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Primary, August 13, 2024[4] | |||||
| Democratic | Ben DeSmidt | 3,738 | 69.51% | ||
| Democratic | Kyle Flood | 1,637 | 30.44% | ||
| Scattering | 3 | 0.06% | |||
| Plurality | 2,101 | 39.07% | |||
| Total votes | 5,378 | 100.0% | |||
| General Election, November 5, 2024 (unofficial results)[5] | |||||
| Democratic | Ben DeSmidt | 15,065 | 53.36% | −8.41pp | |
| Republican | Brian Gonzales | 13,166 | 46.64% | +8.55pp | |
| Plurality | 1,899 | 6.73% | -16.96pp | ||
| Total votes | 28,231 | 100.0% | +58.04% | ||
| Democratic hold | |||||
References
edit- ^ "Board of Trustees". Gateway Technical College. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20241114192115/https://theorg.com/org/gateway-technical-college/org-chart/d-benjamin-desmidt
- ^ a b c Wattles, Stuart J. (April 23, 2024). "Former School Board Member, Police Officer, and Local Businessman vie for 65th State Assembly District seat". WRJN. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ a b County by County Report - 2024 Partisan Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2024. p. 65. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ a b "2024 Wisconsin General Elections Results - State Assembly District 65". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.