Wisconsin’s Sixth District congressional incumbent is happy to go back to Washington, but is focused on how things will look in the U.S. House.
Representative Glenn Grothman won the district with 52% of the vote in the 2026 midterms.
But Republicans lost the majority in both chambers of Congress after Democrats picked up 43 seats.
Rep. Grothman says he thinks the Iran War played a big part in Republicans losing seats, but also thinks President Trump had a part in it too.
“Donald Trump, who has done so many wonderful things, his style has kind of worn out a little bit,” he stated. “And as I talked to people, a lot of people were frustrated with his style and voted against Republicans for that reason.”
The Glenbeulah Republican adds that over the next couple of weeks, the party will work on a leadership change after House Speaker Mike Johnson announced he will not run again.
He hopes that when the next Congress is sworn in, Republicans should focus again on the difference between the two parties on issues like immigration and federal spending.
“I think the Republicans spent too much money,” he admitted. “But as much as they spent, the Democrats want to spend more. We have to educate the public on the downside of overspending, the fact that that’s another cause for inflation.”
Grothman also wants to keep focusing on “issues within programs like SNAP and unemployment insurance.”
He also called it very sad to see some of his fellow Republicans leave Congress, including Bryan Steil and Dereck Van Orden.
“Bryan Steil, who is as good as a congressman as you’re going to find, managed to lose,” he stated. “And of course Derek, you’re never going to find a more passionate guy.”
One thing Rep. Grothman thinks he can get done with his Democratic colleagues is a bill making it easier to get oral chemotherapy, which he previously reintroduced in Congress.
But he’s still concerned about how many seats Republicans lost in Congress, and what policies Democrats want to bring back, specifically Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives.
Grothman added, “I think the public is with us on those issues. We did a poor job of explaining them.”
Wisconsin will now have four Republican and four Democrat representatives in Congress, with Mitchell Berman and Rebecca Cooke taking the seats of Bryan Steil and Derek Van Orden, respectively.
Democrats are poised to win even more seats in Congress since votes are still being counted in some states.
