2016 Wisconsin elections

The Wisconsin general elections, 2016 were held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 8, 2016.[1] One of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats and all eight seats in the United States House of Representatives are up for election, as well as half of the Wisconsin Senate seats and all of the Wisconsin Assembly seats. Primary elections were held on August 9, 2016.[2]

2016 Wisconsin elections

The Wisconsin Republican Party made large gains in the 2016 election. Businessman and Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump won Wisconsin in an upset, becoming the first Republican to win the state since 1984.[3][4] Additionally, the state GOP had a strong showing in the State Legislature, building their largest majorities since 1957,[3][5] and Republican Senator Ron Johnson defeated Russ Feingold a second time for a second term.[3][6] This put Walker and the Wisconsin GOP in a strong position.[7]

Wisconsin Republicans also celebrated the victory of Justice Rebecca Bradley in the April election for Wisconsin Supreme Court. Bradley had been appointed to the court in 2015 after the death of Justice N. Patrick Crooks, who had been seen as a swing vote on the court.[8]

Federal

Senate

In a rematch of the 2010 election, first term incumbent Republican Ron Johnson ran against former Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold.[9] Johnson defeated Feingold in the general election with 50.2% of the vote.[10]

House of Representatives

All of Wisconsin's eight United States House of Representatives seats were up for election in 2016. Party composition remained unchanged after the general election.

District	Incumbent		Elected		Defeated	Democratic		Republican		Others		Total		Result
						Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%	Votes	%
District 1	Paul Ryan		Paul Ryan		Ryan Solen (D) Jason Lebeck (Lib)	107,003	30.21%	230,072	64.95%	17,170	4.85%	354,245	12.77%	Republican Hold
District 2	Mark Pocan		Mark Pocan		Peter Theron (R)	273,537	68.72%	124,044	31.16%	479	0.12%	398,060	14.35%	Democratic Hold
District 3	Ron Kind		Ron Kind		Ryan Peterson (Ind)	257,401	98.86%	0	0.0%	2,969	1.14%	260,370	9.39%	Democratic Hold
District 4	Gwen Moore		Gwen Moore		Andy Craig (Lib) Robert R. Raymond (Ind)	220,181	76.74%	0	0.0%	66,728	23.26%	286,909	10.34%	Democratic Hold
District 5	Jim Sensenbrenner		Jim Sensenbrenner		Khary Penebaker (D) John Arndt (Lib)	114,477	29.29%	260,706	66.70%	15,661	4.01%	390,844	14.09%	Republican Hold
District 6	Glenn Grothman		Glenn Grothman		Sarah Lloyd (D) Jeff Dahlke (Ind)	133,072	37.26%	204,147	57.15%	19,964	5.59%	357,183	12.88%	Republican Hold
District 7	Sean Duffy		Sean Duffy		Mary Hoeft (D)	138,643	38.27%	223,418	61.67%	210	0.06%	362,271	13.06%	Republican Hold
District 8	Reid Ribble		Mike Gallagher		Tom Nelson (D) Wendy Gribben (Green)	135,682	37.30%	227,892	62.65%	206	0.06%	363,780	13.12%	Republican Hold
Total						1,379,996	49.75%	1,270,279	45.80%	123,387	4.45%	2,773,662	100.00%

State

State Senate

The 16 even-numbered districts out of 33 seats in the Wisconsin Senate were up for election in 2016. Nine of these seats were held by Republicans and seven were held by Democrats. Prior to the election, Republicans controlled the chamber with a 19 to 14 majority, but they gained a seat in the election.

Senatorial district	Incumbent			This race		Results
District	Senator	Party	First elected	Incumbent Status	Candidates[11]	Winner[12]
2	Robert Cowles	Republican	1987	Running	Robert Cowles (Republican) John Powers (Democratic)	Robert Cowles 65%
4	Lena Taylor	Democrat	2005	Running	Lena Taylor (Democrat)	Lena Taylor 100%
6	Nikiya Harris	Democrat	2013	Not Running	La Tonya Johnson (Democrat)	LaTonya Johnson 100%
8	Alberta Darling	Republican	1993	Running	Alberta Darling (Republican)	Alberta Darling 100%
10	Sheila Harsdorf	Republican	2001	Running	Sheila Harsdorf (Republican) Diane Odeen (Democrat)	Sheila Harsdorf 63%
12	Tom Tiffany	Republican	2013	Running	Tom Tiffany (Republican) Bryan Van Stippen (Democrat)	Tom Tiffany 63%
14	Luther Olsen	Republican	2004	Running	Luther Olsen (Republican) Brian Smith (Democrat)	Luther Olsen 57%
16	Mark F. Miller	Democrat	2005	Running	Mark Miller (Democrat)	Mark Miller 100%
18	Rick Gudex	Republican	2013	Not Running	Dan Feyen (Republican) Mark Harris (Democrat)	Dan Feyen 56%
20	Duey Stroebel	Republican	2015	Running	Duey Stroebel (Republican)	Duey Stroebel 100%
22	Robert Wirch	Democrat	1997	Running	Robert Wirch (Democrat)	Robert Wirch 100%
24	Julie Lassa	Democrat	2003	Running	Patrick Testin (Republican) Julie Lassa (Democrat)	Patrick Testin 52%
26	Fred Risser	Democrat	1962	Running	Fred Risser (Democrat)	Fred Risser 100%
28	Mary Lazich	Republican	1998	Not Running	Dave Craig (Republican)	Dave Craig 100%
30	Dave Hansen	Democrat	2001	Running	Dave Hansen (Democratic) Eric Wimberger (Republican)	Dave Hansen 51%
32	Jennifer Shilling	Democrat	2011	Running	Jennifer Shilling (Democrat) Dan Kapanke (Republican) Chip DeNure (Independent)	Jennifer Shilling 49%

State Assembly

All 99 seats of the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election in November. Nine Assemblymen (6 Republicans, 3 Democrats) did not seek re-election.[11]

Affiliation	Party (Shading indicates majority caucus)		Total
	Republican	Democratic		Vacant
Before 2016 elections	63	36	99	0
Latest voting share	64%	36%
After 2016 elections	64	35	99	0
Latest voting share	65%	35%

State Supreme Court

Incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley defeated Judge JoAnne Kloppenburg of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals in the April general election. Justice Bradley had been appointed to the court in 2015 by Governor Scott Walker, to replace Justice N. Patrick Crooks, who had died in office. Justice Crooks' term was already set to expire in 2016, thus no special election needed to be scheduled.[13]

Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge M. Joseph "Joe" Donald was also a candidate in this election, but did not advance from the February primary election.

Though Wisconsin judicial elections are nonpartisan, Justice Bradley's victory was seen as an important win for the Republican party, as she claims a judicial philosophy aligned with conservative judges like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, and she had been endorsed by Republican-aligned interest groups such as the National Rifle Association and Wisconsin Right to Life.[14] Justice Crooks, who she was replacing, was seen as a swing vote on the court, so this was a net gain for the conservative bloc on the court.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 2016[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Primary Election, February 16, 2016
	Nonpartisan	Rebecca Bradley (incumbent)	251,823	44.61%
	Nonpartisan	JoAnne Kloppenburg	243,190	43.16%
	Nonpartisan	M. Joseph Donald	68,373	12.12%
		Scattering	631	0.11%
Total votes			'567,038'	'100.0%'
General Election, April 5, 2016
	Nonpartisan	Rebecca Bradley (incumbent)	1,020,092	52.23%
	Nonpartisan	JoAnne Kloppenburg	928,377	47.53%
		Scattering	4,678	0.24%
Total votes			'1,953,147'	'100.0%'

State Court of Appeals

All four districts of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals had a seat up for election in 2016. None of the races were contested.

• In District I, Judge Joan F. Kessler was elected to her third term without opposition.
• In District II, Judge Paul F. Reilly was elected to his second term without opposition.
• In District III, Judge Thomas Hruz was elected to his first full term, after being appointed to the court by Governor Scott Walker in 2014.
• In District IV, Judge Brian Blanchard was elected to his second term without opposition.

State Circuit Courts

Forty of the state's 249 circuit court seats were up for election in 2020. Ten of those seats were contested. Three incumbent judges were defeated—Milwaukee County judges Paul Rifelj and Michelle Ackerman Havas, and Eau Claire County judge Brian H. Wright. All three defeated judges had been appointed by Governor Scott Walker.

Circuit	Branch	Incumbent	Elected			Defeated			Defeated in Primary
			Name	Votes	%	Name	Votes	%	Name(s)
Barron	1	James C. Babler	James C. Babler	12,364	99.66%
Crawford		James P. Czajkowski	Lynn Marie Rider	4,327	99.63%
Dane	3	Jim Troupis	Valerie L. Bailey-Rihn	132,270	99.10%
	4	Amy Smith	Everett Mitchell	132,939	99.14%
	5	Nicholas J. McNamara	Nicholas J. McNamara	131,068	99.19%
	14	C. William Foust	John D. Hyland	130,198	99.23%
	15	Stephen Ehlke	Stephen Ehlke	130,754	99.27%
	17	Peter C. Anderson	Peter C. Anderson	129,643	99.23%
Eau Claire	1	Brian H. Wright	John F. Manydeeds	18,850	55.35%	Brian H. Wright	15,132	44.43%
Fond du Lac	2	Peter L. Grimm	Peter L. Grimm	25,290	100.00%
	4	Gary R. Sharpe	Gary R. Sharpe	25,020	100.00%
Iowa		William D. Dyke	Margaret M. Koehler	4,546	51.21%	Timothy B. McKinley	4,315	48.61%	Larry Nelson Tim Angel
Juneau	1	John Pier Roemer	John Pier Roemer	6,384	99.72%
Kewaunee		Dennis J. Mleziva	Keith A. Mehn	4,096	51.66%	Jeffrey Ronald Wisnicky	3,832	48.34%	Andrew Naze
Lincoln	1	Jay R. Tlusty	Jay R. Tlusty	7,844	99.27%
Marathon	2	Greg Huber	Greg Huber	37,240	99.56%
Milwaukee	5	Mary M. Kuhnmuench	Mary M. Kuhnmuench	171,093	98.72%
	14	Christopher R. Foley	Christopher R. Foley	175,825	98.91%
	25	Stephanie Rothstein	Stephanie Rothstein	168,070	98.83%
	31	Paul Rifelj	Hannah C. Dugan	132,461	64.90%	Paul Rifelj	70,098	34.35%
	34	Glenn H. Yamahiro	Glenn H. Yamahiro	167,132	98.83%
	44	Daniel L. Konkol	Gwen Connolly	167,479	98.93%
	45	Michelle Ackerman Havas	Jean Marie Kies	100,409	49.86%	Michelle Ackerman Havas	99,225	49.28%
Monroe	2	Mark L. Goodman	Mark L. Goodman	11,260	99.68%
	3	J. David Rice	J. David Rice	11,100	99.61%
Oconto	2	Jay Conley	Jay Conley	11,890	100.00%
Pierce		Joseph D. Boles	Joseph D. Boles	10,309	100.00%
Portage	2	Robert J. Shannon	Robert J. Shannon	12,551	54.22%	Trish Baker	10,515	45.42%	David R. Knaapen Jared Redfield
Racine	2	Eugene A. Gasiorkiewicz	Eugene A. Gasiorkiewicz	40,407	100.00%
	4	John S. Jude	Mark Nielsen	34,573	71.84%	Joseph W. Seifert	13,554	28.16%
Rock	2	Alan Bates	Alan Bates	35,354	99.29%
Rusk	2	Steven P. Anderson	Steven P. Anderson	2,542	52.29%	Richard J. Summerfield	2,319	47.71%
St. Croix	4	R. Michael Waterman	R. Michael Waterman	18,333	99.34%
Sauk	1	Michael Screnock	Michael Screnock	15,773	100.00%
	2	James Evenson	Wendy J. N. Klicko	10,757	53.36%	Kevin R. Calkins	9,403	46.64%
Vilas		Neal A. Nielsen III	Neal A. Nielsen III	7,354	99.27%
Walworth	2	James L. Carlson	Daniel S. Johnson	16,420	54.80%	Dan Necci	13,385	44.67%	Shannon Wynn
	4	David M. Reddy	David M. Reddy	24,024	99.14%
Winnebago	3	Barbara Hart Key	Barbara Hart Key	41,909	99.23%
	5	John A. Jorgensen	John A. Jorgensen	40,795	99.29%

Local

Milwaukee

• Tom Barrett was re-elected to his fourth term as Mayor of Milwaukee, defeating alderman Bob Donovan.
• County Executive Chris Abele was re-elected, defeating state senator Chris Larson.

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-07-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2016-07-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. Bauer, Scott (November 9, 2016). "Republicans Build Majorities in Legislature". The Charlotte Observer (from the Associated Press). Archived from the original on November 10, 2016. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
4. Kueppers, Courtney (November 8, 2016). "Trump Becomes First Republican Presidential Candidate Since 1984 To Win Wisconsin". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
5. Marley, Patrick; Stein, Jason (November 9, 2016). "GOP Strengthens Hold on Legislature". Sheboygan Press. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
6. Schleifer, Theodore (November 8, 2016). "Ron Johnson Earns Surprise GOP Win in Wisconsin Senate Race". CNN. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
7. Litke, Eric (November 10, 2016). "5 Wisconsin Winners in Trump Tidal Wave". The Post-Crescent. Retrieved November 25, 2016.
8. DeFour, Matthew (October 10, 2015). "Scott Walker appoints Rebecca Bradley to Supreme Court". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
9. Mikkelson, Marti (July 5, 2016). "Candidates Ramp up the Rhetoric in Wisconsin Senate Race". WUWM.
10. "2016 General Election" (PDF). State of Wisconsin. November 8, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
11. "Candidate List for the August 9, 2016 Primary Election" (PDF). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
12. "County by County Report - State Senate" (PDF). Wisconsin Elections Commission. November 29, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2016.
13. Beck, Molly (April 6, 2016). "Rebecca Bradley elected to state Supreme Court". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2020.
14. "NRA Endorses Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley" (PDF) (Press release). Fairfax, Virginia: National Rifle Association. March 29, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2020 – via The Wheeler Report.
15. "Elections Results". Wisconsin Blue Book 2017-2018 (Report). Madison, Wisconsin: State of Wisconsin. 2017. pp. 508, 511. Retrieved January 1, 2020.