Meet the 8th Assembly District candidates in the Democratic primary in Tuesday's election

Two candidates are running in the Democratic primary for the 8th Assembly District seat of the state Legislature in the Aug. 13 primary election.

Incumbent Sylvia Ortiz-Velez faces challenger Enrique Murguia. There's no Republican candidate in the race so the primary winner will win the Nov. 5 general election.

The 8th Assembly District includes neighborhoods south of downtown Milwaukee, with the Menomonee River as the northern boundary.

See the new state Assembly districts

This map shows Wisconsin state Assembly districts under the previous 2022 map on the left, and the new 2024 map on the right. Each district is colored according to whether itleans Democrat, leans Republican, or is acompetitive district (within 5%).

Old maps (2022)

New maps (2024)

Note: The partisan lean of districts is calculated based on voting data from national and local elections from 2016 to 2022. Districts with less than 5% difference in Republican and Democratic votes are considered competitive districts.

Map by Andrew Hahn and Eva Wen / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Here's what to know about the candidates:

Enrique Murguia

• Residence: Milwaukee

• Political experience: None

• Occupation: Small business owner and community organizer

• Policies: On his campaign Instagram and Facebook pages, Murguia's key issues include supporting LGBTQ+ rights, working with unions and raising the minimum wage, expanding access to affordable housing and creating pathways to citizenship for undocumented immigrants.

Sylvia Ortiz-Velez

• Residence: Milwaukee

• Political experience: Represented 8th Assembly District since 2021, served on Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors from 2018 to 2022

• Occupation: Real estate broker

• Policies: On her campaign Facebook page, she notes her support for fair-maps legislation. She opposed loosening gun restrictions and co-authored legislation to provide grants for infrastructure repairs. She supports abortion rights and expanding health care in Wisconsin.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Meet 8th Assembly District candidates in Democratic primary election