Ryan Spaude
Ryan Matthew Spaude is an American lawyer and Democratic politician from Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing Wisconsin's 89th Assembly district since 2025. He previously worked as an assistant district attorney in Brown County, Wisconsin.
Early life and career
Ryan Spaude was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, in March 1994. He was raised by his parents in the town of Little Suamico, Wisconsin and graduated from Oconto Falls High School in 2012. He went on to earn his bachelor's degree from Princeton University in 2016.After graduating from college, he interned for Congressman Reid Ribble and worked as a staff assistant for U.S. Senator Joni Ernst. In the fall of 2017, he went to work as a researcher for Public Opinion Strategies.
In 2019, he returned to school, attending the University of Wisconsin Law School in Madison. He earned his J.D. in 2022 and was hired as an assistant district attorney in Brown County, Wisconsin. His personal focus was on prosecuting drunk drivers.
Political career
In 2024, the Wisconsin Legislature adopted a new redistricting act which replaced the decade-old Republican gerrymander. The Green Bay area was significantly affected by the changes, and Spaude's home, the politically competitive Green Bay suburb of Ashwaubenon, was moved into a new district—the 89th Assembly district. No incumbent legislator lived within the boundaries of the new 89th Assembly district, and in April 2024, Spaude announced that he would run for the seat as a Democrat. He was unopposed for the Democratic Party nomination, but faced a serious matchup in the general election against Brown County board chair Patrick Buckley. The new 89th Assembly district was projected to be one of the most politically competitive districts in the state and received heavy investment from both parties. Spaude prevailed by 826 votes.Spaude was inaugurated on January 6, 2025.
During the 2025–27 budget-writing process, Governor Tony Evers proposed giving $2 million to continue funding the state Veteran Housing and Recovery Program, with its three sites in Chippewa Falls, Green Bay, and Union Grove. Republicans stripped the proposed $2 million from Evers' proposed budget. Spaude, as well as senator Jamie Wall and representative Amaad Rivera-Wagner proposed reinserting those funds back into the budget to fund the program and its three facilities.
In August 2025, Spaude and senator Kelda Roys proposed legislation to regulate cryptocurrency ATMs which would require ATM operators to provide warnings about fraud, refund money to victims of cryptocurrency scams, and require operators to provide contact information to authorities. The legislation would additionally provide $1,000 limits to transactions from cryptocurrency ATMs and give authorities the ability to track transactions.