2016 Wisconsin Senate election
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November 8, 2016
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16 of 33 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate 17 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Results of the elections: Republican hold Republican gain Democratic hold No election | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in Wisconsin |
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The 2016 Wisconsin Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 8, 2016, at the Fall general election in Wisconsin. Sixteen of the 33 seats in the Wisconsin Senate were up for election—the even-numbered districts. Before the election, Republicans held 18 seats, Democrats held 14 seats, and 1 seat was vacant. Of the seats up for election, 8 were held by Democrats, 7 were held by Republicans, and 1 was vacant due to the recent death of a Republican member. The primary election was held on August 9, 2016.
Republicans consolidated their control of the Senate, flipping one Democrat-held seat, and entered the 103rd Wisconsin Legislature with 20 of 33 Senate seats.[1]
Results summary
[edit]Statewide results of the 2016 Wisconsin State Senate election:[2]
| Seats | Party (majority caucus shading) |
Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | |||
| Last election (2014) | 6 | 11 | 17 | |
| Total after last election (2014) | 14 | 19 | 33 | |
| Total before this election | 14 | 18 | 32 | |
| Up for election | 8 | 8 | 16 | |
| of which: | Incumbent retiring | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Vacated | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Unopposed | 5 | 3 | 8 | |
| This election | 7 | 9 | 16 | |
| Change from last election |  1 |
 1 |
||
| Total after this election | 13 | 20 | 33 | |
| Change in total | 1 |
2 |
||
| Party | Candi- dates | Votes | Seats | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | % | No. | +/– | % | |||
| Republican Party | 11 | 618,589 | 48.62% | 9 | 1 | 56.25% | |
| Democratic Party | 13 | 639,545 | 50.26% | 7 | 1 | 43.75% | |
| Integrity Party | 1 | 2,093 | 0.16% | 0 |  | 0.00% | |
| Scattering | 12,126 | 0.95% | 0 | | 0.00% | ||
| Total | 25 | 1,272,353 | 100.00% | 16 | | 100.00% | |
Close races
[edit]Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:
- State Senate district 32, 0.07%
- State Senate district 30, 2.60%
- State Senate district 24, 4.69% (gain)
Outgoing incumbents
[edit]Retiring
[edit]- Nikiya Harris Dodd (D–Milwaukee), representing District 6 since 2013, did not run for re-election.
Vacated
[edit]- Rick Gudex (R–Fond du Lac), representing District 18 since 2013, did not run for re-election, then died by suicide before the election on October 12, 2016.
Predictions
[edit]| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Governing[3] | Lean R | October 12, 2016 |
Candidates and results
[edit]| Dist. | Incumbent | This race[a][2] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | First elected |
Status | Candidates | |
| 02 | Robert Cowles | Rep. | 1987 (special) |
Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 04 | Lena Taylor | Dem. | 2004 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 06 | Nikiya Harris Dodd | Dem. | 2012 | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold. |
|
| 08 | Alberta Darling | Rep. | 1992 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 10 | Sheila Harsdorf | Rep. | 2000 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 12 | Tom Tiffany | Rep. | 2012 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 14 | Luther Olsen | Rep. | 2004 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 16 | Mark Miller | Dem. | 2004 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 18 | Vacant[b] | Incumbent died. New member elected. Republican hold. |
| ||
| 20 | Glenn Grothman | Rep. | 2004 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 22 | Robert Wirch | Dem. | 1996 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 24 | Julie Lassa | Dem. | 2003 (special) | Incumbent defeated. New member elected. Republican gain |
|
| 26 | Fred Risser | Dem. | 1962 (special) | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 28 | Mary Lazich | Rep. | 1998 (special) | Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican hold. |
|
| 30 | Dave Hansen | Dem. | 2000 | Incumbent re-elected |
|
| 32 | Jennifer Shilling | Dem. | 2011 (recall) | Incumbent re-elected |
|
Detailed results
[edit]District 18
[edit]Incumbent Republican Rick Gudex died on October 12, 2016, but had previously declined to seek re-election, leaving the district open. Within minutes of Gudex announcing his retirement, Fond du Lac county Republican chair Dan Feyen announced a campaign to succeed him. Two months later, Republican pastor Mark Elliott also announced a campaign. Despite what was expected to be a competitive primary, Feyen defeated Elliott by a 12-point margin.[6][7]
In the Democratic primary, Winnebago County county executive Mark Harris announced a campaign to unseat Gudex, and was later followed by Oshkosh educator John Lemberger.[8][9] The two candidates ran on two ends of the ideological spectrum,[10] with Harris campaigning as a fiscally conservative democrat,[11] while Lemberger was described as a progressive candidate similar to 2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.[12] Harris defeated Lemberger by a wide margin.
In February, the Republican-controlled legislature passed a bill which would bar state lawmakers from simultaneously serving as county executives.[13] The bill was criticized on partisan grounds as the only political candidate this would have applied to, Harris, was a Democrat. Despite the bill's passage, Harris vowed to stay in the race.[14]
Following the primaries, the race was expected to be competitive, despite the district's historical Republican lean. During his campaign, Harris touted his record as county executive, while Feyen campaigned on bringing jobs to the district.[15] Throughout much of the campaign, Harris held a cash advantage over Feyen.[16] Feyen defeated Harris by an 11-point margin.[17]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Feyen | 5,225 | 55.97 | |
| Republican | Mark Elliott | 4,108 | 44.00 | |
| Write-in | 3 | 0.03 | ||
| Total votes | 9,336 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mark L. Harris | 5,165 | 74.58 | |
| Democratic | John Lemberger | 1,758 | 25.39 | |
| Write-in | 2 | 0.03 | ||
| Total votes | 6,925 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Feyen | 46,076 | 55.83 | |
| Democratic | Mark L. Harris | 36,366 | 44.06 | |
| Write-in | 87 | 0.11 | ||
| Total votes | 82,529 | 100.0 | ||
| Republican hold | ||||
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ↑ Not all totals add up to 100% due to scattering
- ↑ Incumbent Rick Gudex (Rep.) died on October 12, 2016
References
[edit]- ↑ Marley, Patrick; Stein, Jason (November 9, 2016). "GOP strengthens hold on Legislature". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, U.S.A. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- 1 2 Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
- ↑ Cournoyer, Caroline (October 12, 2016). "November Likely to Lessen GOP's Advantage in Legislatures". Governing. Retrieved June 24, 2024.
- 1 2 3 "Canvass Results for 2016 Partisan Primary - 8/9/2016" (PDF). Wisconsin Elections Commission. September 30, 2016.
- 1 2 "Canvass Results for 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016" (PDF). Wisconsin Elections Commission. December 22, 2016.
- ↑ Beck, Nate (August 5, 2016). "Republican Senate candidates expect tight primary". Fond du Lac Reporter. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Beck, Nate (August 9, 2016). "Feyen bests Elliott in 18th GOP primary". Fond du Lac Reporter. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Shuda, Nathaniel (September 18, 2015). "Mark Harris to challenge Sen. Rick Gudex". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Shuda, Nathaniel (January 7, 2016). "Oshkosh school board member to run for Senate". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Shuda, Nathaniel (August 6, 2016). "Democrats vie for 18th Senate District". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved June 9, 2026.
- ↑ Shuda, Nathaniel (August 9, 2016). "Harris wins Democratic Senate Primary". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Palmeri, Tony (June 17, 2016). "Letter: Lemberger a 'Blue Jeans Democrat'". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved July 9, 2026.
- ↑ Talaga, Alan (March 9, 2016). "Scott Walker hands a state Senate seat to Mark Harris". Isthmus. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ White, Laurel (February 19, 2016). "Mark Harris Says He Won't Be 'Bullied Out Of' State Senate Race". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ Murray, Patty (September 28, 2016). "Political Scientist: 18th State Senate District Could Flip To Democrats This November". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ Beck, Nate (September 29, 2016). "As he leads in cash, pro-Harris ads emerge". Fond du Lac Reporter. Retrieved July 10, 2026.
- ↑ Shuda, Nathaniel; Beck, Nate (November 8, 2016). "Feyen defeats Harris in Senate battle". Oshkosh Northwestern. Retrieved July 10, 2026.