Zach Roper is the Democratic candidate for Wisconsin’s 84th Assembly District, a traditionally Republican area encompassing much of Muskego, Mukwonago and Waterford on the border of Waukesha and Racine County.
Roper grew up in Muskego and played high school football there. He is in his junior year of studying political science at Carthage College.
While the minimum age for candidacy in Wisconsin is 18, the average age for current members of the assembly is 50, with the youngest being 23. Roper is 21, but he has not let that deter him.
“It’s been a long time passion of mine, so I decided a long time ago that I was going to do this at some point,” Roper said. “And then after 2020 and 2022, I was like, you know, I’m just going to put my hat in the ring and see what happens.”
The two largest issues Roper said he wants to address in office are education and worker’s rights.
“My mom’s a teacher, so that one has always been a big one that I want to get working on right away,” he said.
“We have a lot of workers in our district,” said Roper. “So I want to get as many things passed for our workers and union members as I can so we can help them out.”
Roper is running against Republican Chuck Wichgers, a Muskego businessman who has served in the Wisconsin Assembly since 2016.
Wichgers is one of the many state legislators seeking reelection in a different or changed district this election following the state’s 2024 redistricting.
Wisconsin has largely been a purple state in recent elections. Donald Trump won the state in 2016 within a margin of 1%, and it flipped to Joe Biden in 2020 with a similar margin. In 2022, the state re-elected Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in the same election. Yet 22 of Wisconsin’s 33 state senators and 64 of the 99 assembly members are Republican.
After a lengthy political battle, new maps proposed by Governor Tony Evers were approved by the Republican-majority legislature in February.
Wichgers previously represented the 82nd district, which prior to redistricting encompassed much of Muskego and Franklin. He won reelection in 2022, gaining 56.7% of the vote. The new 84th district boundaries are shifted further west than his old district.
The new district leans 71.4% Republican, according to WisPolitics, yet Wichgers’ opponent said he still views the new boundaries optimistically.
“Before the maps were so forward in one direction and it wasn’t really good for anyone,” Roper said. “So I like that they were changed before this year and they’re getting implemented in this election instead of waiting another two years. It makes me feel good about where I am right now.”
On election night this Tuesday, Roper said he’ll be at a high school friend’s watch party in the district.