Meet Collin McNamara

Hello! My name is Collin McNamara, and I am running to be your Secretary of State. 

You may be asking yourself, “why am I running?” The answer is simple. I was raised in Iola, Wisconsin where I was taught two lessons early on:

1) Community is everything.

2) Be willing to take it on the chin for what you believe in.

Where I grew up, it didn’t matter who you voted for in the last election, or who you are; what mattered most was that you were neighbors. 

Now, that doesn’t mean we always agreed, far from it. That’s where lesson two came in. You have to be willing to take it on the chin if you are going to have strong opinions. I joined the Democratic Party when I was 14 years old (the youngest age you can join) and that put me in the center of a lot of strong opinions. I wasn’t always the popular one. But instead of just learning how to fight back, I learned how to listen and understand. 

I brought these lessons with me to the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point where I graduated with my degree in Political Science. But it wasn’t just my classes that solidified these lessons. I spent my entire time in university in the Student Government. While serving in a variety of roles, I spent time fighting for the students every day. I was President in 2020, in the face of a budget crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and social and political unrest. I stood strong for what I believed was the best course of action. In every position I held, I earned a reputation for asking tough questions, challenging the status quo to achieve results, and collaborating with diverse individuals. 

It was my commitment to helping real people with real problems that led me to run for the State Senate in 2024. 

I knew that many folks were feeling overlooked by Madison, so I committed early on to show up early and often. Not just in areas that were going to agree with me, but in areas where I knew a hell of a lot of people disagree with me. The first thing I would say was, “tell me what I need to know.” When I was told to quit, or that the race was hard, or even that I was giving people “false hope,” I said no; I am going to keep showing up–because there is nothing false about hope. 

What stood out to me was how rarely political parties came up in conversations; because when the economy is bad, we all feel it; when you can’t afford health care, we all feel it; when we can't afford a home, we all feel it. 

While we didn’t achieve an electoral win, we showed that every part of the state is competitive if you are willing to fight for it.

I never thought I would run for statewide office, but looking around at the world right now, how could I not? I love Wisconsin, and I don’t want to see us slip backwards. We are at a crossroads as a state and as a nation, and we all must decide to stand up for our communities, or not. 

I’m running for Secretary of State because we need a strong advocate for free and fair elections, and someone who knows that this state is about all 72 counties. 

I hope you’ll join me on this journey. 

Yours in service,

Collin