2016 Wisconsin elections

The 2016 Wisconsin Fall General Election was 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 were up for election, as well as half of the Wisconsin Senate seats and all 99 Wisconsin State Assembly seats. Voters also chose ten electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then participated in selecting the 45th president of the United States. The 2016 Fall Partisan Primary was held on August 9, 2016.^[2]

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]

The 2016 Wisconsin Spring Election was held April 5, 2016. This election featured a contested race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, with Republicans' preferred candidate, recently appointed justice Rebecca Bradley, winning a ten-year term. The Spring election also saw various other judicial and local elections, including contested county executive and mayoral races in Wisconsin's largest city and county, Milwaukee. The 2016 Wisconsin Spring Primary was held February 17, 2016.^[8]

Federal

President

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.

State

Legislature

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.

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]

Judiciary

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 the election did not need to be scheduled any earlier than it was already set to be held before Crooks's death.^[13]

Though Wisconsin's judicial elections are officially nonpartisan, Bradley's victory was seen as a win for the Republican Party, as she supported a judicial philosophy in line with that of federal conservative judges like Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas. During the election her primary backers were Republican-aligned interest groups such as the NRA Political Victory Fund and Wisconsin Right to Life.^[14] Justice Crooks, her predecessor, was seen as a swing vote on the court, so his replacement by the conservative Bradley was seen as a net gain for the conservative bloc on the court.

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 2016. 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.

Local

Kenosha

• John Antaramian was elected to a four-year term as Mayor of Kenosha.^[15] He was returning to office after having previously served four four-year terms as mayor from 1992 through 2008.

Milwaukee

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

References

1. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2016-06-17. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
2. ^ "Fall 2016 Partisan Primary | Government Accountability Board". Archived from the original on 2016-07-14. Retrieved 2016-07-12.
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. Archived November 26, 2016 at the Wayback Machine. 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". State of Wisconsin. November 8, 2016. Archived from the original on December 14, 2016. Retrieved December 20, 2016.
11. ^ "Candidate List for the August 9, 2016 Primary Election". Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. Archived from the original on July 7, 2016. Retrieved July 12, 2016.
12. ^ "County by County Report - State Senate". 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. Archived November 19, 2020 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved April 18, 2020. (subscription required)
14. ^ "NRA Endorses Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley". Fairfax, Virginia: NRA-PVF. March 29, 2016. Retrieved April 18, 2020. – via The Wheeler Report The National Rifle Association's Political Victory Fund (NRA-PVF) today announced the endorsement of the Honorable Rebecca G. Bradley for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
15. ^ Spring General Election. Office of the Clerk of Kenosha County, Wisconsin. April 6, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2021.