Roys announces bid to succeed Risser in Wisconsin Senate

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A former state representative who ran for both Congress and governor is now seeking to replace retiring state Sen. Fred Risser in the Wisconsin Senate.

Kelda Roys announced Friday that she is running for the Senate seat representing the heart of Madison. Risser announced Thursday that he would not seek reelection in November to the seat he has held since 1962. Risser has been in the Legislature for 64 years. He had already been in office for 24 years when Roys, 40, was born.

Roys served in the state Assembly from 2009 until 2013. She ran for Congress in 2012 and for governor in 2018 but lost in the primaries both times.

Roys becomes the fourth candidate to announce they are running for the seat and the first since Risser announced his retirement. The others are William Henry Davis III, a 2018 write-in candidate for lieutenant governor; Nada Elmikashfi, a University of Wisconsin-Madison student and activist; and Aisha Moe, a Democratic staffer in the Capitol.

Others considering running are Scot Ross, the former leader of the liberal group One Wisconsin Now, and state Rep. Sheila Stubbs.