A campaign ad accusing Republican State Senator Howard Marklein of profiting from Chinese investments while voting against American-made products has turned Wisconsin's 17th Senate District into one of the most contentious battlegrounds in the state, with control of the entire Senate potentially riding on the outcome. The ad, produced by the campaign of Democratic challenger Jenna Jacobson, displays Marklein's face beside the Chinese flag and features a narrator claiming the senator was making money from Chinese investments and stealing money from American workers.
The 17th District race pits Marklein, a Spring Green Republican first elected to the Senate in 2014, against Jacobson, a two-term Democratic state representative from Oregon, in a contest that could help decide whether Republicans keep their narrow grip on the chamber, according to Urban Milwaukee. Republicans currently hold an 18-15 Senate majority, meaning Democrats need to flip just two seats to take control, according to Wikipedia. The district's boundaries were redrawn after Governor Tony Evers signed a replacement legislative map into law on February 19, 2024, following a state Supreme Court ruling that struck down the prior lines.
An Ad That Sparked a Press Conference
The Jacobson campaign's advertisement links Marklein's investment history to his opposition to a 2013 Democratic bill that would have required state and local contracts to prefer American-manufactured materials. Marklein's 2022 statement of economic interests listed more than $50,000 in the WisdomTree Emerging Markets Fund and between $5,000 and $50,000 in the JPMorgan Emerging Markets Fund, funds that include companies from India, Brazil, South Africa, and China, though the seed reporting notes his most recent economic statement includes no emerging market funds.
Republican State Senator Patrick Testin, head of the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate, called a press conference on September 15 to defend Marklein, branding the ad deceptive and a sick smear campaign. Testin countered that Jacobson voted no on legislation meant to protect Wisconsin from Chinese influence and accused her of trying to look tough on foreign adversaries for political benefit, per the Urban Milwaukee report.
Foreign Land Bills and Vetoes
Testin and Marklein had proposed bills restricting Wisconsin's dealings with China, including one barring state agencies from contracting with certain foreign businesses. Two 2025 bills would have prohibited China from buying Wisconsin land and blocked the University of Wisconsin System from conducting study abroad programs or research there; Jacobson voted against both measures, which passed the Assembly but were vetoed by Evers. Republican Congressman Tom Tiffany said he would have signed at least one of the bills.
Will Karcz, spokesperson for the state Senate Democratic campaign committee, said the ad was meant to inform voters about Marklein's foreign investment history, telling Urban Milwaukee that Marklein voted against protecting Wisconsin manufacturing while investing tens of thousands of dollars in Chinese-owned corporations.
An Unusual Issue for a State Legislative Race
Barry Burden, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Elections Research Center, said China is an unusual campaign issue for a state legislative seat and suggested the focus on the country functions as a proxy for broader voter concerns about unethical enrichment and data centers. A November 2025 Marquette Law School poll found 65% of Americans viewed China and President Xi Jinping unfavorably, while just 19% viewed China favorably, numbers both campaigns appear eager to tap into.
Todd Allbaugh, a former Republican who formerly worked for Senator Dale Schulz, called the Jacobson ad baffling, saying he had seen it roughly 20 times and used the AI chatbot Claude, developed by Anthropic, to help him make sense of it. Allbaugh also said the new district maps had made the race far more competitive for Democrats than in past cycles — Marklein won his 2022 race with 60% of the vote under the old boundaries.
Local Stakes Beyond the China Debate
Beyond the foreign-investment fight, the 17th District carries its own local baggage tied to Marklein's tenure as Joint Finance Committee co-chair, a role he has held for the last two sessions overseeing the drafting of the state budget. The UW-Platteville Richland Center branch campus was among the branch campuses affected by closures. The UW-Platteville Baraboo Sauk County campus is set to end operations at the close of the spring 2026 semester, the eighth branch campus closure or downsizing statewide since 2023, according to the Cap Times.
Marklein has pointed to other wins during his committee leadership, including the Joint Finance Committee's unanimous 2024 approval of $20 million in Campus Community Transition Grants, legislation he co-authored that steered $2 million directly to Richland County to redevelop its shuttered campus. The district also saw the completion of the WIS 130 Lone Rock Bridge replacement over the Wisconsin River in November 2024, a two-year construction project connecting Iowa, Richland, and Sauk counties. A recent Marklein campaign ad has sought to position him as a bipartisan bridge builder and the man in the middle of the race, per Urban Milwaukee's reporting.
The redrawn 17th District now covers Iowa, Lafayette, Green, Crawford, and Grant counties along with parts of Dane County, reshaping a seat Democrats see as newly winnable. As previously reported by Hoodline in its coverage of the Eau Claire ballot fight, the 17th District is one of four battlegrounds that will determine which party controls the Wisconsin Senate come November.
