Christian Phelps

{{infobox officeholder

| name = Christian Phelps

| state = Wisconsin

| state_assembly = Wisconsin

| district = 93rd

| term_start = January 6, 2025

| term_end =

| predecessor = Warren Petryk

| successor =

| party = Democratic

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1993|10|13}}

| birth_place = Eau Claire, Wisconsin, U.S.

| residence = Eau Claire, Wisconsin

| education = {{unbulleted list

| Vassar College (A.B.)

| Cardiff University (M.A.)

}}

| occupation = Educator, journalist

| website = [https://phelpscampaign.com/ Campaign website]

}}

Christian Phelps (born October 13, 1993) is an American educator, journalist, and Democratic politician from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 93rd Assembly district since 2025.

Early life and career

Christian Phelps was born and raised in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, graduating from Memorial High School in 2012. He competed in cross country running and tennis, twice earning First Team All-State honors in tennis.{{Cite web |title=Boys Tennis - Records & Results {{!}} Boys Tennis {{!}} Sports {{!}} Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association |url=https://www.wiaawi.org/Sports/Spring/Boys-Tennis/State-Results-Archive |access-date=2024-11-22 |website=www.wiaawi.org}} He became active in politics while in high school, participating in demonstrations against 2011 Wisconsin Act 10—the signature law pushed by then-governor Scott Walker.{{cite web|url= https://phelpscampaign.com/meet-christian/ |title= Meet Christian |website = Christian Phelps State Assembly |accessdate= November 20, 2024 }}

After graduating from high school, he attended Vassar College and earned his bachelor's degree in urban studies in 2016. He competed in tennis for three years and was awarded numerous honors.{{Cite web |title=Christian Phelps - 2014-15 - Men's Tennis |url=https://www.vassarathletics.com/sports/mens-tennis/roster/christian-phelps/5334 |access-date=2024-11-22 |website=Vassar College Athletics |language=en}} After college he returned to Wisconsin, working for two years in Madison, Wisconsin, as a special education paraprofessional in the Madison public schools. During that time, he was a member of the Madison teachers' union, Madison Teachers Incorporated. He then continued his education through Cardiff University, completing his master's degree in international journalism in 2020.

After completing his master's degree, Phelps returned to Eau Claire, and began working as a digital organizing and communications director for the Wisconsin Public Education Network, a non-profit which promotes policies supporting public school education in Wisconsin. During these years, Phelps has also worked as a freelance journalist, contributing content to platforms such as the Leader-Telegram, UpNorthNews, the Wisconsin Examiner, Nation.Cymru, and WORT.

Political career

On April 3, 2024, Phelps announced his first bid for public office, running for Wisconsin State Assembly in the 93rd Assembly district as a Democrat.{{Cite news|url= https://www.weau.com/2024/04/03/christian-phelps-announces-candidacy-state-assembly/ |title= Christian Phelps announces candidacy for state assembly |first= Heather |last= Knox |work= WEAU |date= April 3, 2024 |accessdate= November 20, 2024 }}{{cite news|url= https://www.leadertelegram.com/townnews/crime/ec-man-announces-candidacy-for-93rd-district-assembly-seat/article_8d5021ca-f212-11ee-8e13-9bea70ab9486.html |title= EC man announces candidacy for 93rd District Assembly seat |first= Chris |last= Vetter |newspaper= Leader-Telegram |date= April 4, 2024 |accessdate= November 20, 2024 }} Earlier that year, Wisconsin had undergone a major redistricting after the Wisconsin Supreme Court struck down the decade-old Republican legislative gerrymander. The 93rd Assembly district was significantly affected by the redistricting. The district had previously stretched from the outskirts of Eau Claire 75 miles west to Prescott, Wisconsin, on the western border of the state; the new distrtict comprised more of the south side of the city of Eau Claire, including the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire, but still contained wide rural areas of Dunn, Eau Claire, and Trempealeau counties. The district was projected to be highly competitive in the 2024 election, and the incumbent Republican representative, Warren Petryk, announced he would not run for an eighth term.

Before reaching the general election, however, Phelps faced a difficult Democratic Party primary against author Nickolas Butler.{{Cite news|url= https://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/plot-twist-author-nickolas-butler-announces-run-for-wisconsin-state-assembly/article_2c1d245e-1466-11ef-ae6f-b37594baa21c.html |title= Plot Twist: Author Nickolas Butler announces run for Wisconsin State Assembly |work= Madison Magazine |date= May 20, 2024 |first= Maggie |last= Ginsberg |accessdate= November 20, 2024 |via= WISC-TV }} After an active primary, Phelps prevailed by just 313 votes.{{cite report|url= https://elections.wi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/County%20by%20County%20Report_Assembly%20Contests.pdf |title= County by County Report - 2024 Partisan Primary |page= 93 |publisher= Wisconsin Elections Commission |date= August 26, 2024 |accessdate= November 20, 2024 }} In the general election, Phelps defeated Republican James Rolbiecki, a real estate developer and member of the town board of Washington, taking 52.8% of the vote.{{cite news|url= https://www.jsonline.com/elections/results/2024-11-05/race/50450/wisconsin |title= 2024 Wisconsin General Elections Results - State Assembly District 93 |work= Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |date= November 6, 2024 |accessdate= November 20, 2024 }} Phelps took office in January, 2025.

Following his election, Phelps joined the Socialist Caucus.{{Cite news |last=Nichols |first=John |date=January 28, 2025 |title=Opinion {{!}} Wisconsin's Legislature has a growing Socialist Caucus |url=https://captimes.com/opinion/john-nichols/opinion-wisconsin-s-legislature-has-a-growing-socialist-caucus/article_2fe2b8f2-dd05-11ef-9c34-43e8c9aa3c5d.html |access-date=January 28, 2025 |work=The Cap Times}}

Electoral history

=Wisconsin Assembly (2024)=

{{Election box begin | title= Wisconsin Assembly, 93rd District Election, 2024}}

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Democratic Primary, August 13, 2024

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Christian Phelps

|votes = 4,580

|percentage = 51.74%

|change =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Nickolas Butler

|votes = 4,267

|percentage = 48.20%

|change =

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party =

|candidate = Scattering

|votes = 5

|percentage = 0.06%

|change =

}}

{{Election box plurality

|votes = 313

|percentage = 3.54%

|change =

}}

{{Election box total

|votes = 8,852

|percentage = 100.0%

|change =

}}

| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, November 5, 2024{{cite report|url= https://elections.wi.gov/sites/default/files/documents/County%20by%20County%20Report_Assembly.pdf |title= County by County Report - 2024 General Election |date= November 27, 2024 |publisher= Wisconsin Elections Commission |page= 93 |accessdate= November 30, 2024 }}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Christian Phelps

|votes = 18,474

|percentage = 52.72%

|change = +12.49pp

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = James Rolbiecki

|votes = 16,527

|percentage = 47.16%