2012Final resultsIncumbent defeated
2012 election for Wisconsin Assembly District 44
Wisconsin State Assembly · Wisconsin
Debra Kolste (D) won with 61.5% of the vote, defeating Joe Knilans (R) by 23.2 points.
Debra KolsteDemocrat · winner
61.5%16,983
Joe KnilansRepublican · incumbent
38.3%10,571
27,597 votes
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET
The seat over time
D − R margin in this seat's races around 2012
Races before and after
Source: Harvard Dataverse / Carl KlarnerUpdated Sep 30, 2026, 7:29 AM ET