WISCONSIN — Democrat Mitchell Berman has defeated Republican Rep. Bryan Steil in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, the Associated Press called early Wednesday, flipping a southeastern Wisconsin seat that Republicans had held for more than 30 years.
The AP called the race at 12:48 a.m. ET. With nearly all of the vote counted, Berman led by about 52 percent to 48 percent — 158,839 votes to 146,885. The results are unofficial until the state finishes its canvass.
Berman will be the first Democrat to represent the district since 1995. Paul Ryan, the former House speaker, held the seat for 20 years, and Steil, his successor, won it four times. The flip leaves Wisconsin’s eight-member House delegation split evenly, four Democrats and four Republicans, and it adds a seat to the Democratic majority in the new House.
In a statement declaring victory, Berman said the results prove “that when working people stand together, we can make a difference.”
Steil conceded on election night at his watch party in Sturtevant. “It was a difficult night tonight; it was not our night,” he told supporters.
Who are the candidates?
Mitchell Berman, 40, is an emergency room nurse from Raymond who still works hospital shifts. Raised near Peshtigo, where his father ran a small roofing company, he worked as a nurse at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital, and he has said that an email from Elon Musk’s government cost-cutting team asking him to justify his job helped push him into the race. His mother died of colon cancer, and he says Medicaid gave his family more time with her — one reason he campaigned on health care and the cost of living. He won a four-way Democratic primary in August with 44 percent of the vote.
Bryan Steil of Janesville was first elected in 2018 to succeed Paul Ryan and was re-elected three times, most recently with 54 percent of the vote in 2024. He conceded the race to Berman on election night.
Berman takes office with the new Congress in January. See how every state voted in our Election 2026 winners roundup and on the election results page.
