Scrutinel— 2026 midterms

UpdatedOct 10, 2026, 11:27 AM EDT
To election day24 days
Simulations200,000

Wisconsin 1st District

Currently held by a Republican · incumbent running

Democrat
Mitchell Berman
42%
Republican
Bryan Steil
58%
ForecastTilt R
Projected margin
R+1.3
80% range
R+9.6 to D+7.0
Partisan lean
R+3.6
Tipping-point chance
1.07%
Uncertainty multiplier
1.03×

The 80% range comes from 200,000 simulations in which this race’s error is correlated with every other race through the national, state and demographic layers.

How the estimate is built
Polls 21%Fundamentals 79%
Polling average
R+3.2
Fundamentals
R+0.6
Blended
R+1.1
Similar-race shift
+0.6
Poll–fundamentals gap
2.6 pts
PollingDR matchup
Polls in window
2
Distinct pollsters
2
Most recent
October 1, 2026
Democrat
46.1%
Republican
49.3%
Undecided / other
4.6%
Spread between polls
0.5 pts
Fundamentals
Partisan lean
R+3.6
Elasticity
0.93
Incumbency
−3.4
Candidate experience
0.0
Fundraising
−1.5
National environment
D+7.1
Expected margin
R+1.1
The polls behind this number2 most recent of 2 in the window
PollsterDatesSampleDRMargin
Impact ResearchDEMOctober 1, 2026500 LV4847D+1
DCCC Targeting and Analytics DepartmentDEMSeptember 23, 2026495 LV4848D+0

Each poll is weighted by recency, the square root of its sample size and its pollster rating, then adjusted for that firm’s house effect, its sampled population and any partisan sponsorship — so the average above is not the mean of this column.

How it voted for presidenttwo-party
2024 margin
R+4.6
2020 margin
R+2.0
Shift 2020 → 2024
R+2.6
Votes cast, 2024
404,230

Presidential results reaggregated onto the 2026 district lines. This is where the seat’s partisan lean comes from, and it carries most of the forecast in a race nobody has polled.

Who lives hereCensus ACS
Population
575,451
Median age
50.4
Median household income
$74,100
Bachelor’s degree or higher
30%
White
78%
Black
7%
Hispanic
10%
Asian
2%

Used to find demographically similar districts, so a race with no polling can borrow the polling error of races that look like it.

Campaign fundraisingFEC filings to Invalid Date
CandidatePartyRaisedCash on hand
Bryan George SteilREP$5.5M$6.3M
Mitchell BermanDEM$713k$152k

Receipts across the cycle, from FEC bulk filings. The model uses the ratio between the two sides rather than either total, and weights it lightly — money follows a competitive race at least as much as it causes one.

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