Christian Phelps (born October 13, 1993) is an American educator, journalist, and Democratic politician from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He is a member-elect of the Wisconsin State Assembly, and will represent Wisconsin's 93rd Assembly district in the 2025–2026 term.
Christian Phelps | |
|---|---|
| Member-elect of the Wisconsin State Assembly from the 93rd district | |
| Assuming office January 6, 2025 | |
| Succeeding | Warren Petryk |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 13, 1993 Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | Eau Claire, Wisconsin |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Educator, journalist |
| Website | Campaign website |
Early life and career
editChristian Phelps was born and raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, graduating from Memorial High School in 2012. He competed in cross country running and tennis, twice earning First Team All-State honors in tennis.[1] He became active in politics while in high school, participating in demonstrations against 2011 Wisconsin Act 10—the signature law pushed by then-governor Scott Walker.[2]
After graduating from high school, he attended Vassar College and earned his bachelor's degree in urban studies in 2016. He competed in tennis for three years and was awarded numerous honors.[3] After college he returned to Wisconsin, working for two years in Madison, Wisconsin, as a special education paraprofessional in the Madison public schools. During that time, he was a member of the Madison teacher's union, Madison Teachers Incorporated.[2] He then continued his education through Cardiff University, completing his master's degree in international journalism in 2020.[2]
After completing his master's degree, Phelps returned to Eau Claire, and began working as a digital organizing and communications director for the Wisconsin Public Education Network, a non-profit which promotes policies supporting public school education in Wisconsin. During these years, Phelps has also worked as a freelance journalist, contributing content to platforms such as the Leader-Telegram, UpNorthNews, the Wisconsin Examiner, Nation.Cymru, and WORT.[2]
Political career
editOn April 3, 2024, Phelps announced his first bid for public office, running for Wisconsin State Assembly in the 93rd Assembly district as a Democrat.[4][5] Earlier that year, Wisconsin had undergone a major redistricting after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the decade-old Republican legislative gerrymander. The 93rd Assembly district was significantly affected by the redistricting. The district had previously stretched from the outskirts of Eau Claire 75 miles west to Prescott, Wisconsin, on the western border of the state; the new distrtict comprised more of the south side of the city of Eau Claire, including the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, but still contained wide rural areas of Dunn, Eau Claire, and Trempealeau counties. The district was projected to be highly competitive in the 2024 election, and the incumbent Republican representative, Warren Petryk, announced he would not run for an eighth term.
Before reaching the general election, however, Phelps faced a difficult Democratic Party primary against author Nickolas Butler.[6] After an active primary, Phelps prevailed by just 313 votes.[7] In the general election, Phelps defeated Republican James Rolbiecki, a real estate developer and member of the town board of Washington, taking 52.8% of the vote.[8] Phelps is set to take office in January 2025.
Electoral history
editWisconsin Assembly (2024)
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic Primary, August 13, 2024[7] | |||||
| Democratic | Christian Phelps | 4,580 | 51.74% | ||
| Democratic | Nickolas Butler | 4,267 | 48.20% | ||
| Scattering | 5 | 0.06% | |||
| Plurality | 313 | 3.54% | |||
| Total votes | 8,852 | 100.0% | |||
| General Election, November 5, 2024[9] | |||||
| Democratic | Christian Phelps | 18,474 | 52.72% | +12.49pp | |
| Republican | James Rolbiecki | 16,527 | 47.16% | −12.58pp | |
| Scattering | 43 | 0.12% | |||
| Plurality | 1,947 | 5.56% | -13.96pp | ||
| Total votes | 35,044 | 100.0% | +30.83% | ||
| Democratic gain from Republican | |||||
References
edit- ^ "Boys Tennis - Records & Results | Boys Tennis | Sports | Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association". www.wiaawi.org. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ a b c d "Meet Christian". Christian Phelps State Assembly. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "Christian Phelps - 2014-15 - Men's Tennis". Vassar College Athletics. Retrieved 2024-11-22.
- ^ Knox, Heather (April 3, 2024). "Christian Phelps announces candidacy for state assembly". WEAU. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ Vetter, Chris (April 4, 2024). "EC man announces candidacy for 93rd District Assembly seat". Leader-Telegram. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ Ginsberg, Maggie (May 20, 2024). "Plot Twist: Author Nickolas Butler announces run for Wisconsin State Assembly". Madison Magazine. Retrieved November 20, 2024 – via WISC-TV.
- ^ a b County by County Report - 2024 Partisan Primary (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 26, 2024. p. 93. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Wisconsin General Elections Results - State Assembly District 93". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 20, 2024.
- ^ County by County Report - 2024 General Election (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 27, 2024. p. 93. Retrieved November 30, 2024.