Kroll Defeats Snyder in Wisconsin 85th District
Democrat John Kroll wins the Wisconsin 85th Assembly District seat, unseating Republican incumbent Pat Snyder.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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Democrat John Kroll defeated incumbent Republican Pat Snyder in the Wisconsin 85th Assembly District, flipping the seat from Republican to Democratic control. Kroll received 12,377 votes, or 54%, to Snyder's 10,512 votes, or 45.9%.
Why it matters
The result changes party control of an Assembly seat that Snyder had held since 2016 and had won by about 6.5 percentage points in 2024. Kroll campaigned on lowering costs for working families, increasing public school funding, expanding health care access, and addressing rising utility bills.
Kroll's 1,865-vote margin came from 12,377 votes to Snyder's 10,512 across all 29 precincts in the district, according to unofficial Marathon County results. The figures remain unofficial until certification.
The players
John Kroll
A Democrat and former Marathon County Board supervisor who works in energy efficiency and lives in Wausau.
Pat Snyder
A Republican who was first elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2016 and was seeking a sixth term.
The details
The 85th Assembly District includes Wausau and Weston, and Kroll, a 43-year-old Wausau resident and former Marathon County Board supervisor who works in energy efficiency, defeated Snyder, who was seeking a sixth term. Kroll's campaign focused on lowering costs for working families, increasing public school funding, expanding health care access, and addressing rising utility bills.
Timeline
Snyder won reelection in 2024 by about 6.5 percentage points.
The election was held on November 3, 2026, and Kroll defeated Snyder.
Political Context
Snyder had won the 85th District in 2024 by roughly 6.5 percentage points, so Kroll's 8.1-point win represents a substantial swing against the incumbent's prior margin. The result reflects voter concerns over costs and utility bills that Kroll emphasized throughout his campaign.
The seat's party control shift affects which party drafts Assembly legislation on utility costs, school funding, and health care access that Kroll campaigned on. Residents of Wausau and Weston will see representation change in the Assembly based on the certified outcome.
The takeaway
Local legislative races can shift control on issues like utility bills and school funding, so following certification and the final district results offers the clearest picture of how representation changes.
Further reading
For more on how state legislative seats are contested, see Elections coverage across Wisconsin.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Wausau Pilot & Review.
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