Samba Baldeh

Samba Baldeh (Democratic Party) is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 48. He assumed office on January 4, 2021. His current term ends on January 6, 2025.

Baldeh (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Wisconsin State Senate to represent District 16. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 13, 2024.

Baldeh served on the Madison Common Council, representing District 17 from 2015 to 2021.^[1]

Biography

Samba Baldeh's career experience includes working in international youth development, as a partner in an IT consulting business, and as an IT project manager with American Family Insurance.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Committee assignments

2023-2024

Baldeh was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Baldeh was assigned to the following committees:

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Senate District 16

Melissa Ratcliff is running in the general election for Wisconsin State Senate District 16 on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate
		Melissa Ratcliff (D)

	There are no incumbents in this race.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 16

Melissa Ratcliff defeated Jimmy Anderson and Samba Baldeh in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 16 on August 13, 2024.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Melissa Ratcliff	52.1	17,144
	Jimmy Anderson	31.1	10,234
	Samba Baldeh	16.9	5,556

	There were no incumbents in this race. Source	Total votes: 32,934
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Campaign finance

Endorsements

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2022

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Incumbent Samba Baldeh won election in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48 on November 8, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Samba Baldeh (D)	98.4	27,089
	Other/Write-in votes	1.6	429

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 27,518
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Incumbent Samba Baldeh advanced from the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48 on August 9, 2022.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Samba Baldeh	99.7	11,217
	Other/Write-in votes	0.3	37

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 11,254
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Campaign finance

2020

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Samba Baldeh defeated Samuel Anderson in the general election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48 on November 3, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Samba Baldeh (D)	79.6	30,074
	Samuel Anderson (R)	20.3	7,650
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	45

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 37,769
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Samba Baldeh defeated Lindsay Lemmer, Walt Stewart, and Jason Vangalis in the Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48 on August 11, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Samba Baldeh	49.4	7,305
	Lindsay Lemmer	35.3	5,215
	Walt Stewart	10.7	1,578
	Jason Vangalis	4.5	665
	Other/Write-in votes	0.1	17

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 14,780
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Samuel Anderson advanced from the Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48 on August 11, 2020.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Samuel Anderson	99.8	1,184
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	2

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 1,186
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Campaign finance

2019

General election

General election for Madison Common Council District 17

Incumbent Samba Baldeh defeated James Creighton Mitchell Jr. in the general election for Madison Common Council District 17 on April 2, 2019.

	Candidate	%	Votes
✔	Samba Baldeh (Nonpartisan)	75.3	1,898
	James Creighton Mitchell Jr. (Nonpartisan)	24.6	620
	Other/Write-in votes	0.2	4

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 2,522
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2017

See also: Municipal elections in Madison, Wisconsin (2017)

The city of Madison, Wisconsin, held an election for common council on April 4, 2017. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was January 3, 2017.

All 20 common council seats were up for election in 2017. Incumbents ran for re-election in 19 of the 20 districts. They were unopposed in 15 of those races. Incumbent Samba Baldeh ran unopposed in the general election for the District 17 seat on the Madison Common Council.^[5]

Madison Common Council, District 17 General Election, 2017
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Samba Baldeh Incumbent (unopposed)	98.17%	1,179
Write-in votes	1.83%	22
Total Votes		1,201
Source: Dane County Clerk, "2017 Spring Election," accessed May 4, 2017

2015

See also: Madison, Wisconsin municipal elections, 2015

The city of Madison, Wisconsin, held elections for mayor and city council on April 7, 2015. A primary took place on February 17, 2015. The filing deadline for candidates who wished to run in this election was January 6, 2015.^[6]^[7]

In the general election for District 17, Samba Baldeh defeated incumbent Joseph R. Clausius.^[8]^[9]

Madison Common Council, District 17, 2015
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Samba Baldeh	50.6%	1,004
Joseph R. Clausius Incumbent	49%	972
Write-in	0.5%	9
Total Votes		1,985
Source: Dane County Clerk's Office, "Official general election results," accessed July 30, 2015

Endorsements

In 2015, Baldeh received endorsements from the following:

Democratic Party of Dane County^[10]
Progressive Dane^[11]

Campaign themes

2024

2017

Baldeh's campaign website highlighted the following issues:^[3]

"

Openness and Communication
I will regularly communicate with you, ask for your opinions, ask what is important to you. I will hold neighborhood forums.

Strong Neighborhoods, Strong Families and Schools, Respect for Elders
We should: invest in public and community space, libraries – including 'express' or smaller scale libraries where it is not feasible to build a full service branch; expand neighborhood response team locations and resources; support city initiatives on early childhood care/education and after school programs and care. We must make sure there are educational and economic options for older youth and young adults. We must also: make sure older adults have the necessary community resources; maintain parks and open spaces; make sure the community has a say in the management of parks.

Community Policing
I will promote respectful relationships and trust between police and neighborhoods and encourage investment in neighborhood officers.

Public Safety
I will address traffic issues, resident and pedestrian safety – especially around schools and partner with the county to address addiction – much crime is related to drug (heroin) use. We should promote community in our neighborhoods, so that people know each other. A strong community is protective and healthy.

Community for All
I will work to make sure our resources are invested in an equitable way and a way that improves circumstances for people who are targeted by racism and/or struggling the most. The new equity impact review process should be thoroughly applied to the budget so that our investments match our values and we make sure we are investing in only what we really need.

Transit
Bus routes and times of service have to be expanded and fares adjusted to help low-income workers get to work. Routes and times of service have to be expanded so that riding the bus is an option for more people – and the bus must be affordable. I will support Bus Rapid Transit with routes that appear to be feasible for the investment.

Affordable Housing
Too many people cannot afford to buy a house, or rent the many market rate and luxury apartments that have been built in the last few years. We need to attract, and pay for, if necessary, affordable apartment homes and/or expand programs to make single home ownership possible for more people.

Homelessness
The city must partner with the county – or if necessary take the lead, to provide shelter for all, including a day center where people have access to resources such as showers, lockers, bus passes, job information, basic medical and mental health care. We must make sure our city ordinances are not criminalizing homelessness and poverty. We should be a leader in this area for other cities. Our current situation is unacceptable.

Economic Development and Jobs
As a partner in a small IT consulting business, I know the importance of small local businesses to our community. It is tempting to want to invest in the biggest corporations but we also have to look at sustainability. Small and local has a lot of value. Zoning that allows for businesses people can walk and bike to should be considered. We should not subsidize development that brings low wage jobs. We should not invest in private development projects unless they bring very substantial public benefit and cannot occur otherwise.

Environment
We need to pay attention to our air and our water and protect these important indicators of health. We need to pay attention to the impact of new development on our natural environment. For example, as development occurs on the north edge of the district, we will want to protect the sensitive ecosystem of Token Creek.^[12]

”

Campaign finance summary

Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.

Samba Baldeh campaign contribution history
Year	Office	Status	Contributions	Expenditures
2024*	Wisconsin State Senate District 16	Lost primary	$0	$0
2022	Wisconsin State Assembly District 48	Won general	$10,393	$10,917
2020	Wisconsin State Assembly District 48	Won general	$54,576	N/A**
Grand total			$64,969	$10,917
Sources: OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission *This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* Data from this year may not be complete
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only availabale data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Wisconsin

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of Wisconsin scorecards, email suggestions to [email protected].

2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].

In 2023, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 3 to December 31.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].

In 2022, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 18 to March 8.

Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce: Senate and House

Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against MMAC's position.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their stances on conservation issues.

Wisconsin Family Action

Legislators are scored by the Wisconsin Family Action on their votes on legislation related to "marriage, family, the sanctity of human life, or religious freedom."

Wisconsin Grocers Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on industry-specific legislation.

Wisconsin Professional Police Association

Legislators are scored on their votes by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association on legislation related to Wisconsin's law enforcement community.

Wisconsin Sierra Club

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].

In 2021, the Wisconsin State Legislature was in session from January 4 to December 31.

Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce: Senate and House

Legislators are scored on whether they voted for or against MMAC's position.

National Federation of Independent Business

Legislators are scored on their votes on small business issues.

The American Conservative Union

Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.

Wisconsin Conservation Voters

Legislators are scored on their stances on conservation issues.

Wisconsin Family Action

Legislators are scored by the Wisconsin Family Action on their votes on legislation related to "marriage, family, the sanctity of human life, or religious freedom."

Wisconsin Grocers Association

Legislators are scored on their votes on industry-specific legislation.

Wisconsin Professional Police Association

Legislators are scored on their votes by the Wisconsin Professional Police Association on legislation related to Wisconsin's law enforcement community.

Wisconsin Sierra Club

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental issues.

External links

Search Google News for this topic

Candidate

Wisconsin State Senate District 16

Officeholder

Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Personal

Footnotes

↑ The Capital Times, "Madison City Council Elects Marsha Rummel as President, Samba Baldeh Vice President," April 18, 2017
↑ Samba Baldeh - Common Council District 17," accessed February 6, 2017
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Samba Baldeh - Common Council District 17, "Samba's Platform," accessed February 6, 2017
↑ Samba for State Assembly, "About," accessed April 8, 2021
↑ City of Madison City Clerk's Office, "Candidate Filings," accessed January 26, 2017
↑ City of Madison, "Election Schedule," accessed September 19, 2014
↑ City of Madison, "Campaign Finance and Candidate Information for 2015," accessed October 17, 2014
↑ County of Dane Elections, "Unofficial election results," accessed April 7, 2015
↑ City of Madison Elections, "Filings-Spring 2015," accessed January 7, 2015
↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named dcdp
↑ Progressive Dane, "Our Endorsed 2015 Candidates," accessed February 6, 2017
↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

Political offices
Preceded by Melissa Agard (D)	Wisconsin State Assembly District 48 2021-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Madison Common Council District 17 2015-2021	Succeeded by Gary Halverson

[show]

Current members of the Wisconsin State Senate

Leadership

Senate President:Chris Kapenga

Majority Leader:Devin LeMahieu

Minority Leader:Dianne Hesselbein

Senators

District 1

André Jacque (R)

District 2

Robert Cowles (R)

District 3

Tim Carpenter (D)

District 4

Vacant

District 5

Rob Hutton (R)

District 6

LaTonya Johnson (D)

District 7

Chris Larson (D)

District 8

Daniel Knodl (R)

District 9

Devin LeMahieu (R)

District 10

Rob Stafsholt (R)

District 11

Stephen Nass (R)

District 12

Mary Felzkowski (R)

District 13

John Jagler (R)

District 14

Joan Ballweg (R)

District 15

Mark Spreitzer (D)

District 16

Melissa Agard (D)

District 17

Howard Marklein (R)

District 18

Dan Feyen (R)

District 19

Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R)

District 20

Duey Stroebel (R)

District 21

Van Wanggaard (R)

District 22

Robert Wirch (D)

District 23

Jesse James (R)

District 24

Patrick Testin (R)

District 25

Romaine Quinn (R)

District 26

Kelda Roys (D)

District 27

Dianne Hesselbein (D)

District 28

Julian Bradley (R)

District 29

Cory Tomczyk (R)

District 30

Eric Wimberger (R)

District 31

Jeff Smith (D)

District 32

Brad Pfaff (D)

District 33

Chris Kapenga (R)

Republican Party (22)

Democratic Party (10)

Vacancies (1)

[1] The Capital Times, "Madison City Council Elects Marsha Rummel as President, Samba Baldeh Vice President," April 18, 2017

[campaignbio-2] Samba Baldeh - Common Council District 17," accessed February 6, 2017

[issues-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Samba Baldeh - Common Council District 17, "Samba's Platform," accessed February 6, 2017

[bio-4] Samba for State Assembly, "About," accessed April 8, 2021

[5] City of Madison City Clerk's Office, "Candidate Filings," accessed January 26, 2017

[6] City of Madison, "Election Schedule," accessed September 19, 2014

[7] City of Madison, "Campaign Finance and Candidate Information for 2015," accessed October 17, 2014

[8] County of Dane Elections, "Unofficial election results," accessed April 7, 2015

[9] City of Madison Elections, "Filings-Spring 2015," accessed January 7, 2015

[dcdp-10] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named dcdp

[11] Progressive Dane, "Our Endorsed 2015 Candidates," accessed February 6, 2017

[quotedisclaimer-12] Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.

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Samba Baldeh

Biography

Committee assignments

2023-2024

2021-2022

Sponsored legislation

Elections

2024

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Senate District 16

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Senate District 16

Campaign finance

Endorsements

2022

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Campaign finance

2020

General election

General election for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Wisconsin State Assembly District 48

Campaign finance

2019

General election

General election for Madison Common Council District 17

2017

2015

Endorsements

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

2022

2020

2017

Campaign finance summary

Scorecards

2023

2022

2021

See also

External links

Footnotes

Information about voting

2024 Elections

2025 Elections

Analysis

Public Policy

Information for candidates

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