JANESVILLE, Wis. — Democrat Mitchell Berman won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District early Wednesday, scoring an upset victory over Republican incumbent Bryan Steil.
The Associated Press declared Berman the winner at 12:48 a.m. EST.
Berman, a nurse, campaigned on addressing voter economic frustrations across the southeastern Wisconsin district. His campaign targeted working-class communities to build support in the historically Republican-leaning area.
Steil, of Janesville, was seeking a fifth term in Congress after first taking office in 2019.
The battle for the district, which spans Kenosha, Racine, and Walworth counties along with parts of Milwaukee and Rock counties, emerged as a key Midwestern contest in the national fight for control of the House.
Democrats will now be in full control of the next Congress.