RACINE – Lorenzo Santos of Racine has thrown his hat into the ring as a Democratic Party candidate for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional seat. He announced his plans via a news release on Monday and filed a Statement of Candidacy with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC) on Aug. 12.
An official candidacy announcement will be made at “a meet-and-greet” campaign event Saturday (Aug. 19) from 4 to 6 p.m. at Littleport Brewing Co., 214 Third St.
Santos is Racine County’s deputy emergency coordinator. He is also a US Navy Reserve intelligence officer.
Santos graduated from the US Naval Academy in 2013 with a degree in International Relations and Affairs. He spent three years active duty with the Navy, according to his LinkedIn profile. He is currently chair of the Young Democrats of Wisconsin.
Why Santos is running
“I’m running because we’ve seen fundamental and human rights systematically taken away these past few years and I’m not going to stand by and let that continue to happen,” Santos said in a statement. “I believe in a woman’s right to choose; that in the richest country on earth, anyone that wants healthcare should have it; that voters should choose their elected officials, not the other way around; that we should pay workers a fair wage; provide our children with a quality education and keep them safe while they’re getting one. I look forward to talking about these issues and more as I get to meet the people of the 1st Congressional District of Wisconsin.
The 1st Congressional District includes all of Racine and Kenosha counties, most of Walworth County and portions of Rock and Milwaukee counties.
The incumbent, Rep. Bryan Steil, R-Janesville, was first elected to the 1st CD House seat in 2018 and easily re-elected in 2020 and 2022. Steil currently serves as chairman of the Committee on House Administration and sits on the House Financial Services Committee.
Online FEC records show that Steil’s campaign account had $2.85 million on hand as of June 30.
Republicans have held the 1st CD House seat continuously since the 1994 election. Political analysts have cited the district as “one of two competitive seats in Wisconsin,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel recently reported. The other competitive district is 3rd CD in western Wisconsin.
Santos is the first Democrat to formally declare a candidacy for the 1st CD House seat. Anthony Hammes, a Caledonia village board member, filed a Statement of Candidacy with the FEC in May of this year and created a campaign website, but has done no campaigning.
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