DeMain May Run For Legislature Again To End Tribal Shutout in Madison

Northern Wisconsin Tribal Leader Unsuccessfully Ran For Senate This Year

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Paul DeMain. Image courtesy of Paul DeMain.

Northern Wisconsin tribal leader Paul DeMain says he is considering another run for the state Legislature.

“I’ve been asked by a lot of people to keep the options open,” said DeMain, the CEO of Indian Country Communications. “We’ve got Assembly races coming up in two years. We have the Senate races every four years.”

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DeMain unsuccessfully ran for the state Senate seat held by Republican Jerry Petrowski this year. He predicts that a growing number of tribal members and other racial minorities will eventually contribute to the election of a Native American representative from north-central Wisconsin.

“(There’s) a growing population of Ojibwe people in Sawyer County,” he said. “Over in Marathon County, you have members of the Ho Chunk Nation. You have a very strong Hmong population.”

There are currently no tribal members serving in either the state Senate or the Assembly.