U.S. House, Wisconsin 1st Congressional District · Election November 3, 2026 · Updated
Who should I vote for in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District?
Bryan Steil has the strongest record in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District. Bryan Steil scores 71 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 6, 2026. Bryan Steil's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Mitchell Berman (7 of 15 criteria) has too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Democratic
Mitchell Berman
Not enough public record for a score
Public evidence on 7 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 50
- Qualifications
- 50
- Performance
- NR
Republican · incumbent
Strongest record
Bryan Steil
71 / 100
Public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria
- Character
- 60
- Qualifications
- 80
- Performance
- 75
The good, the bad and the unresolved
The record
The notable facts of each candidate's public life, each tied to a source and confirmed to be this person. Unresolved matters are labeled with where they stand and do not move a score.
Mitchell Berman
No notable items confirmed in news archives or public documents.
Bryan Steil
- On the record2026-07-22
His Stop Insider Trading Act, limiting stock trading by members of Congress and amended to add a voter ID provision, passed the House 232 to 198 on July 22, 2026.
Sources: CBS News, July 22, 2026, Spectrum News 1, July 23, 2026
- On the record2024-04-20
Voted against the Ukraine Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024, which passed with Speaker Mike Johnson voting Yea.
- On the record2021-01-06
Voted Nay on the objections to Arizona's and Pennsylvania's certified electors on Jan. 6 and 7, 2021, when his party's leader and whip voted Yea.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021
- Credit2025-01-04
Sponsored H.R. 9487, the House Office of Legislative Counsel Modernization Act, signed into law Jan. 4, 2025; GovTrack lists five enacted bills he sponsored.
- Credit2025-07-31
Held an open in-person town hall at Elkhorn Area High School on July 31, 2025, attended by more than 300 people, many of them critical.
Sources: CBS 58, July 31, 2025, CNN, July 31, 2025
Who they are
Character
Integrity
Tells the truth, keeps their word, and takes no private gain from public office.
Mitchell Berman. Campaign reports are on file with the FEC through July 22, 2026, and a House candidate financial disclosure was filed May 14, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, House Clerk candidate financial disclosure, Filing ID 10078297, FEC administrative fines search
Bryan Steil. Annual financial disclosure for 2025 filed May 12, 2026; his two 2019 periodic transaction reports were filed within days of the trades. No House Ethics Committee matter or FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: House Clerk financial disclosure, Filing ID 10075925, House Clerk periodic transaction report, Filing ID 20012039, House Committee on Ethics site search for Steil, FEC administrative fines search
Courage
Takes a stand that costs them something, including telling their own side no.
Mitchell Berman. No public record found.
Bryan Steil. Voted Nay on both January 2021 objections to Arizona and Pennsylvania electors when Leader McCarthy and Whip Scalise voted Yea. Voted against the April 2024 Ukraine supplemental and the December 2024 Social Security Fairness Act, both backed by Speaker Johnson.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 151, April 20, 2024, House Clerk Roll Call 456, 2024
Accountability
Owns mistakes, answers hard questions, and works in the open.
Mitchell Berman. No public record found.
Bryan Steil. Held an open in-person town hall at Elkhorn Area High School on July 31, 2025, attended by more than 300 people, and said he would keep holding in-person events. No 2026 general election debate record found.
Sources: CBS 58, July 31, 2025, WISN 12, Aug. 10, 2025
Temperament and judgment
Steady under pressure, decides on evidence, and treats opponents and staff with respect.
Mitchell Berman. No public record found.
Bryan Steil. In the U.S. House since 2019, chairing the Committee on House Administration; earlier a UW Board of Regents member. No censure, reprimand or House Ethics Committee matter found.
Sources: GovTrack, committee membership, Campaign site, About, House Committee on Ethics site search for Steil
Fidelity to the oath
Uses power inside its limits: accepts certified results, obeys court rulings, follows the rules of the office.
Mitchell Berman. Worked as a nurse at the Department of Veterans Affairs for about a decade, federal civil service. No official finding of misuse of a position found.
Sources: Civic Media, Sept. 17, 2026, Spectrum News 1, Aug. 11, 2025
Bryan Steil. Voted Nay on the January 2021 objections to Arizona's and Pennsylvania's certified electors and is not among the House signers of the Texas v. Pennsylvania amicus brief. No misuse-of-office finding found.
Sources: House Clerk Roll Call 10, Jan. 6, 2021, House Clerk Roll Call 11, Jan. 7, 2021
What they bring
Qualifications
Relevant experience
Has done work that prepares them for this specific office.
Mitchell Berman. Registered and board certified emergency nurse with more than 20 years in health care, including about a decade at the VA. Has not held public office.
Sources: Spectrum News 1, Aug. 11, 2025, Campaign site, home page
Bryan Steil. In the U.S. House since January 2019, now seeking a fifth term; earlier served on the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents.
Sources: GovTrack, Bryan Steil, Campaign site, About
Command of the job
Knows the issues and knows what the office can and cannot do.
Mitchell Berman. Publishes a priorities page with positions on wages, housing, child care and health care, mostly in general terms.
Source: Campaign site, Priorities
Bryan Steil. Chairs the House Committee on House Administration and the Financial Services subcommittee on digital assets, financial technology and artificial intelligence, and publishes issue positions.
Sources: GovTrack, committee membership, Campaign site, Issues
Communication
Explains plainly, persuades, and listens.
Mitchell Berman. Publishes a plain-language priorities page. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey; no debate or newsletter record found.
Sources: Campaign site, Priorities, Ballotpedia, Mitchell Berman
Bryan Steil. Offers an e-newsletter, in-person town halls and published issue pages. Has not completed Ballotpedia's 2026 survey.
Sources: Office site, home page, CBS 58, July 31, 2025, Campaign site, Issues, Ballotpedia, Bryan Steil
Roots in the constituency
Lives there, knows the people, and is funded by them.
Mitchell Berman. Lives in Raymond, in Racine County, which lies wholly in the district. In-state share of contributions not obtained.
Sources: WPR, Sept. 16, 2026, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Aug. 11, 2026
Bryan Steil. A Janesville native who lives in Janesville, in the district. FEC in-state share of itemized contributions not obtained.
Sources: Campaign site, About, WPR, Aug. 11, 2026
Management
Can build and run an organization.
Mitchell Berman. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 22, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
Bryan Steil. Campaign committee reports are on file with the FEC through July 22, 2026. No FEC administrative fine found.
Sources: FEC candidate page, FEC administrative fines search
What they deliver
Performance
Results
Turns ideas into outcomes.
Mitchell Berman. No public record found.
Bryan Steil. Legislative Effectiveness Score of 2.369 in the 118th Congress against a benchmark of 2.421, meets expectations. Five bills he sponsored were enacted, including the House Office of Legislative Counsel Modernization Act, signed Jan. 4, 2025.
Sources: Center for Effective Lawmaking House dataset, 93rd to 118th Congress, GovTrack, enacted legislation, GovTrack, H.R. 9487 (118th Congress)
Showing up
Does the basic work of the job.
Mitchell Berman. No public record found.
Bryan Steil. Missed 25 of 3,869 roll call votes, 0.6 percent, from January 2019 to September 2026.
Source: GovTrack, missed votes
Constituent service
Solves problems for the people they represent.
Mitchell Berman. No public record found.
Bryan Steil. Runs a Janesville district office with walk-in hours, posts regular office hours in Beloit, Bristol, Racine and Elkhorn, and offers help with federal agencies. No published casework totals found.
Sources: Office site, About (office locations), Office site, home page
Coalition building
Wins support beyond their own faction.
Mitchell Berman. No public record found.
Bryan Steil. Lugar Center Bipartisan Index score of -0.67884 in the latest posted House scores (118th Congress, 2023), ranked 260 of 436.
Source: Lugar Center and McCourt School Bipartisan Index, House Scores
Stewardship of public money
Treats tax dollars as someone else's money.
Mitchell Berman. No public record found.
Bryan Steil. No public record found.
How to read this
Each criterion is scored 0 to 4 against the written rubric in the Ballot Standard. NR means no record: there is no reliable public evidence either way, so the criterion is left out and never counts against the candidate. A total is published when at least 8 of 15 criteria have evidence.
A sitting officeholder has a longer public record than a first-time candidate, so the two totals rest on different amounts of evidence. Read the count of criteria beside each score. Low marks require an official finding or a primary record. Allegations and opinion are not used.
No policy position is scored. Evidence checked October 6, 2026. Campaigns and readers can send a correction with a public source to tpg@thepoliticalgroup.com.
Questions
Who should I vote for in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District?
Bryan Steil has the strongest record in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District. Bryan Steil scores 71 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, as of October 6, 2026. Bryan Steil's highest marks are relevant experience and command of the job. Mitchell Berman (7 of 15 criteria) has too little public record to score. Every score comes from public records on character, qualifications and performance, the same way for every party.
Who is running in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District in 2026?
Mitchell Berman (Democratic), Bryan Steil (Republican, incumbent). The general election is November 3, 2026.
Is Mitchell Berman a good candidate for Congress?
Mitchell Berman has public evidence on 7 of the 15 Ballot Standard criteria, short of the 8 needed for a score. The evidence that exists is shown on the scorecard. No record never counts against a candidate.
Is Bryan Steil a good candidate for Congress?
Bryan Steil scores 71 out of 100 on the Ballot Standard, with public evidence on 14 of 15 criteria: character 60 of 100, qualifications 80 of 100, performance 75 of 100. The standard measures character, qualifications and performance, not policy positions.
How is the strongest record decided?
The candidate with the highest Ballot Standard score has the strongest record. Each of 15 criteria on character, qualifications and performance is scored 0 to 4 from public records and established reporting, the same way for every party. No policy position is scored, and unresolved accusations never move a score.
More on this race: every Wisconsin race scored, and the Wisconsin 2026 election guide. Independent scorecard by The Political Group, not affiliated with any candidate or party.