2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

← 2014 November 6, 2018 2022 →
Turnout61.2% (Increase 6.7%)
 
Nominee Tony Evers Scott Walker
Party Democratic Republican
Running mate Mandela Barnes Rebecca Kleefisch
Popular vote 1,324,307 1,295,080
Percentage 49.5% 48.4%

Evers:      30–40%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Walker:      20–30%      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90%      >90%
Tie:      40–50%      50%
     No data

Governor before election

Scott Walker
Republican

Elected Governor

Tony Evers
Democratic

The 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018. It occurred concurrently with a Senate election in the state, elections to the state's U.S. House seats, and various other elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker sought re-election to a third term, and was challenged by Democratic candidate and then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, as well as Libertarian Phil Anderson and independent Maggie Turnbull. Evers, along with his running mate Mandela Barnes, managed to defeat Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch in a closely fought and widely watched race, ending unified Republican control of the state.

The result was considered "too close to call" on election night, with Walker and Evers being separated by a mere few hundred votes for much of the night as counties reported their results. Shortly after midnight on November 7, Milwaukee County reported around 46,000 uncounted absentee ballots. From those ballots, Evers received 38,674 votes, or 84% of the total, and Walker 7,181, giving Evers a narrow lead. The race was called for him shortly after.[1]

Wisconsin was the only state in the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle to elect a Democratic governor while voting more Republican than the national average.[a] With a margin of 1.1%, this election was also the second-closest race of the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in Florida. Walker was one of two Republican incumbent governors to be defeated for re-election in 2018, the other being Bruce Rauner in neighboring Illinois, who had lost decisively to J. B. Pritzker.

Republican primary

Governor

Candidates

Nominated
Eliminated in primary
  • Robert Meyer, businessman and candidate for mayor of Sun Prairie in 2007[5]

Endorsements

Scott Walker
Federal officials
Statewide officials
Organizations

Results

Republican primary results[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Scott Walker (incumbent) 417,619 91.6%
Republican Robert Meyer 38,347 8.4%
Total votes 455,966 100.0%

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Nominated

Results

Republican primary results
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Rebecca Kleefisch (incumbent) 407,420 100.00%
Total votes 407,420 100.00%

Democratic primary

Governor

The primary election for the Democratic nomination featured a crowded field of candidates. The race was ultimately won by Tony Evers with around 40% of the vote.

Candidates

Nominated
  • Tony Evers, Wisconsin state superintendent of public instruction[13][14][15]
Eliminated in primary
Withdrew
  • Mike Crute, liberal talk radio broadcaster[31] (endorsed Mike McCabe)
  • Michele Doolan, businesswoman[32] (endorsed Matt Flynn)
  • Andy Gronik, businessman[33][34] (still on ballot; endorsed Kelda Roys)
  • Bob Harlow, candidate for CA-18 in 2016[35] (endorsed Matt Flynn)
  • Kurt Kober, businessman[36][37][16] (running for lieutenant governor)
  • Jeff Rumbaugh, disability rights activist.[31] (endorsed Mike McCabe)
  • Dana Wachs, state representative[38] (still on ballot; endorsed Tony Evers)
Declined

Endorsements

Tony Evers
U.S. senators
U.S. representatives
  • Steve Kagen, Wisconsin's 8th congressional district (former)[63]
  • Dave Obey, Wisconsin's 7th congressional district (former)
State officials
State legislators
  • Dana Wachs, state representative[65]
  • Mark Miller, state senator[63]
  • John Lehman, former state senator[63]
  • Sondy Pope, state representative[63]
  • Bob Turner, former state representative[63]
  • Spencer Black, former state representative[63]
  • Mandy Wright, former state representative[63]
  • Fred Clark, former state representative[63]
  • Calvin Potter, former state senator[63]
Municipal elected officials
Labor unions
Matt Flynn
State elected officials
County elected officials
Individuals
Mike McCabe
Individuals
  • Tim Canova, candidate for Florida's 23rd congressional district (Independent)
Mahlon Mitchell
U.S. Senators
U.S. Representatives
Labor unions
Kelda Roys
U.S. senators
National organizations
State legislators
Individuals
Dana Wachs (withdrew)
U.S. representatives
State legislators

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Tony
Evers
Matt
Flynn
Andy
Gronik*
Mike
McCabe
Mahlon
Mitchell
Josh
Pade
Kelda
Roys
Paul
Soglin
Kathleen
Vinehout
Dana
Wachs*
Other Undecided
Emerson College Archived 2018-08-18 at the Wayback Machine July 26–28, 2018 282 ± 6.3% 30% 5% 5% 5% 7% 5% 10% 33%
Marist College July 15–19, 2018 466 ± 5.3% 25% 3% 2% 7% 3% 1% 3% 6% 7% 2% <1% 41%
Marquette University Archived 2020-03-05 at the Wayback Machine July 11–15, 2018 305 ± 6.6% 31% 5% 3% 6% 0% 3% 4% 6% 0% 38%
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 278 ± 6.4% 25% 7% 4% 7% 4% 1% 2% 7% 5% 2% 1% 34%
FM3 Research (D-Soglin) Archived 2018-04-19 at the Wayback Machine March 16–19, 2018 601 ± 4.0% 30% 6% 2% 4% 6% 3% 17% 12% 3% 16%
Marquette University February 25 – March 1, 2018 318 ± 7.1% 18% 7% 3% 6% 4% 0% 9% 5% 4% 1% 44%
Public Policy Polling (D-Evers) January 8–10, 2018 747 ± 3.6% 29% 5% 2% 5% 5% 2% 10% 11% 4% 28%

An asterisk (*) denotes that a candidate withdrew before the primary but remains on the ballot.

Results

Results by county:
  Evers—50–60%
  Evers—40–50%
  Evers—30–40%
  Mitchell—30–40%
  Vinehout—30–40%
  Vinehout—40–50%
  Vinehout—50–60%
Democratic primary results[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tony Evers 224,502 41.8%
Democratic Mahlon Mitchell 88,077 16.4%
Democratic Kelda Roys 68,952 12.8%
Democratic Kathleen Vinehout 43,975 8.2%
Democratic Mike McCabe 39,745 7.4%
Democratic Matt Flynn 31,539 5.9%
Democratic Paul Soglin 28,128 5.2%
Democratic Josh Pade 1,929 0.4%
Democratic Others 10,872 2.0%
Total votes 537,719 100.0%

Lieutenant governor

Mandela Barnes, a former state representative from Milwaukee, defeated opponent Kurt Kober by a 2 to 1 margin for the nomination, becoming the first African American to be nominated by a major party for a Wisconsin gubernatorial ticket.

Candidates

Nominated
  • Mandela Barnes, former state representative, and candidate for state senate in 2016[81][82][83]
Eliminated in primary
  • Kurt Kober, businessman[84]

Results

Results by county:
  Barnes—70–80%
  Barnes—60–70%
  Barnes—50–60%
  Kober—60–70%
Democratic primary results[11]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Mandela Barnes 326,051 68.0%
Democratic Kurt Kober 153,698 32.0%
Total votes 479,749 100.0%

Libertarian convention

Governor

Nominee

Endorsements

Phil Anderson
State officials
  • William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts (1991–1997)[86]

Lieutenant governor

Nominee

  • Patrick Baird, U.S. Navy veteran[87]

Green Party primary

Governor

Candidates

Nominated
  • Michael White
Withdrew
  • Nick De Leon, pastor (endorsed Matt Flynn)[88]

Results

Green primary results [89]
Party Candidate Votes %
Green Michael White 817 95.8%
Green Others 36 4.2%
Total votes 853 100.0%

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Nominated
  • Tiffany Anderson

Results

Green primary results [89]
Party Candidate Votes %
Green Tiffany Anderson 793 98.0%
Green Others 16 2.0%
Total votes 809 100.0%

Independent candidates

Governor

Lieutenant governor

  • Wil Losch, Turnbull's running mate

General election

Despite the fact that Scott Walker had won three prior races for governor in 2010, 2012, and 2014 by fairly comfortable margins, his bid for a third term was complicated by rising unpopularity due to his policies concerning public education[91] and infrastructure. Walker also faced backlash for a deal his administration made with Taiwanese company Foxconn in 2017 to create jobs in the state in exchange for around $4.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies.[92] In 2018, the deal resulted in around $90 million of funding for roads being diverted to a stretch of I-94 that was set to be near a future Foxconn plant from the rest of state.[93] The poor condition of many roads around the state[94] as well as the lack of work being done to redo them prompted a campaign where potholes were being labeled as “Scott”-holes.[95]

Walker's approval ratings were hobbled further by the unpopularity of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in Wisconsin.[96] Walker himself sounded the alarm on this several times in early 2018 after Democrats won two special elections to the Wisconsin State Senate in typically Republican districts[97][98] and an election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In April 2018, Walker warned that Wisconsin was “at risk of a blue wave“ in November.[99] The Walker campaign generally focused on promoting the popular parts of his record, such as a freeze on tuition at public universities and record low unemployment.[100]

The result was expected to be close, with a record $93 million spent on the race by the two major campaigns and special interest groups from in and out of the state.[101] In the end, Walker was ultimately defeated by Democrat Tony Evers, who garnered a slightly more than 1% margin of victory, as Democrats swept every statewide race up for election.

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[102] Tossup October 26, 2018
The Washington Post[103] Tossup November 5, 2018
FiveThirtyEight[104] Lean D (flip) November 5, 2018
Rothenberg Political Report[105] Tossup November 1, 2018
Sabato's Crystal Ball[106] Lean D (flip) November 5, 2018
RealClearPolitics[107] Tossup November 4, 2018
Daily Kos[108] Tossup November 5, 2018
Fox News[109][b] Lean D (flip) November 5, 2018
Politico[110] Tossup November 5, 2018
Governing[111] Tossup November 5, 2018
Notes
  1. ^ Democrats won the popular vote in Wisconsin by 1.1 points, and won it 3.1 points nationally.
  2. ^ The Fox News Midterm Power Rankings uniquely does not contain a category for Safe/Solid races

Polling

Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Tony
Evers (D)
Phil
Anderson (L)
Other Undecided
Research Co. November 1–3, 2018 450 ± 4.6% 44% 45% 3% 9%
Emerson College October 29–31, 2018 604 ± 4.1% 46% 51% 2% 1%
Marquette University October 24–28, 2018 1,154 LV ± 3.2% 47% 47% 3% 0%
1,400 RV ± 3.0% 47% 44% 5% 2%
Ipsos October 12–18, 2018 1,193 ± 3.0% 45% 48% 2% 5%
Marquette University October 3–7, 2018 799 LV ± 3.9% 47% 46% 5% 1%
1,000 RV ± 3.6% 47% 43% 7% 2%
Marist College September 30 – October 3, 2018 571 LV ± 4.8% 42% 50% 3% 2%[112] 3%
43% 53% 1% 3%
781 RV ± 4.1% 42% 49% 3% 3%[113] 4%
43% 52% 1% 3%
Ipsos September 14–24, 2018 1,109 ± 3.0% 43% 50% 3% 4%
Marquette University September 12–16, 2018 614 LV ± 4.4% 44% 49% 6% 1%
800 RV ± 4.0% 43% 47% 7% 2%
Public Policy Polling (D-High Ground Action Fund) September 4–5, 2018 726 ± 4.0% 45% 49% 6%
Suffolk University Archived 2018-11-07 at the Wayback Machine August 18–24, 2018 500 ± 4.4% 44% 46% 2% 1%[114] 7%
Marquette University August 15–19, 2018 601 LV ± 4.5% 46% 46% 6% 2%
800 RV ± 4.0% 46% 44% 7% 3%
Public Policy Polling August 15–16, 2018 596 ± 4.0% 44% 49% 7%
Emerson College Archived 2018-08-18 at the Wayback Machine July 26–28, 2018 632 ± 4.2% 41% 48% 5% 7%
Marist College July 15–19, 2018 906 ± 3.8% 41% 54% <1% 5%
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 800 ± 4.0% 48% 44% 5%
Public Policy Polling (D-Evers) May 9–10, 2018 644 ± 3.9% 45% 49% 6%
Hypothetical polling
with Kelda Roys
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Kelda
Roys (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 800 ± 4.0% 48% 40% 7%
with Matt Flynn
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Matt
Flynn (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 46% 42% 10%
with Mike McCabe
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Mike
McCabe (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 44% 42% 9%
with Mahlon Mitchell
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Mahlon
Mitchell (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 45% 41% 11%
with Josh Pade
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Josh
Pade (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 49% 36% 11%
with Paul Soglin
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Paul
Soglin (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 48% 39% 8%
with Kathleen Vinehout
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Kathleen
Vinehout (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 48% 39% 9%
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Generic
Democrat
Undecided
Public Policy Polling October 17–18, 2017 1,116 ± 2.9% 43% 48% 8%
with Andy Gronik
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Andy
Gronik (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 46% 41% 11%
with Dana Wachs
Poll source Date(s)
administered
Sample
size
Margin
of error
Scott
Walker (R)
Dana
Wachs (D)
Undecided
Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 49% 38% 9%

Results

Results by precinct
Evers
  •      30-40%
  •      40-50%
  •      50-60%
  •      60-70%
  •      70-80%
  •      80-90%
  •      90-100%
Tie
  •      40–50%
  •      50%
  •      No data
Walker
  •      20-30%
  •      40-50%
  •      50-60%
  •      60-70%
  •      70-80%
  •      80-90%
  •      90-100%
Results by municipality
Evers
  •      40-50%
  •      50-60%
  •      60-70%
  •      70-80%
  •      80-90%
  •      90-100%
Tie
  •      
Walker
  •      40-50%
  •      50-60%
  •      60-70%
  •      70-80%
  •      80-90%
  •      90-100%
No Vote
  •      

Evers won the election by a 1.09% margin.[115]

Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2018[116]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Democratic Tony Evers 1,324,307 49.54% +2.95%
Republican Scott Walker (incumbent) 1,295,080 48.44% -3.82%
Libertarian Phil Anderson 20,225 0.76%
Independent Maggie Turnbull 18,884 0.71%
Green Michael White 11,087 0.41%
Independent Arnie Enz 2,745 0.10%
Write-in 980 0.04%
Plurality 29,227 1.09% -4.58%
Total votes 2,673,308 100.00%
Democratic gain from Republican

Results by county

Evers
Democratic
Walker
Republican
Others Margin County Total[117]
County # % # % # % # % #
Adams 3,892 41.89% 5,209 56.07% 190 2.04% 1,317 14.08% 9,291
Ashland 4,168 60.23% 2,584 37.34% 168 2.43% 1,584 22.89% 6,920
Barron 7,623 41.05% 10,655 57.38% 290 1.56% 3,032 16.33% 18,568
Bayfield 5,152 58.57% 3,458 39.31% 187 2.13% 1,694 19.26% 8,797
Brown 51,724 44.72% 61,424 53.10% 2,521 2.18% 9,700 8.39% 115,669
Buffalo 2,385 39.91% 3,463 57.95% 128 2.14% 1,078 18.04% 5,976
Burnett 2,742 36.14% 4,664 61.47% 182 2.40% 1,922 25.33% 7,588
Calumet 8,992 37.94% 14,313 60.38% 398 1.68% 5,321 22.45% 23,703
Chippewa 11,739 42.26% 15,499 55.80% 537 1.93% 3,760 13.54% 27,775
Clark 4,015 34.28% 7,469 63.76% 230 1.96% 3,454 29.49% 11,714
Columbia 14,124 52.25% 12,363 45.73% 547 2.02% 1,761 6.51% 27,034
Crawford 3,354 50.79% 3,117 47.20% 133 2.01% 237 3.59% 6,604
Dane 220,052 74.69% 69,206 23.49% 5,365 1.82% 150,846 51.20% 294,623
Dodge 13,552 35.84% 23,516 62.20% 742 1.96% 9,964 26.35% 37,810
Door 8,151 48.01% 8,536 50.27% 292 1.72% 385 2.27% 16,979
Douglas 11,034 58.82% 7,251 38.65% 474 2.53% 3,783 20.17% 18,759
Dunn 8,667 46.96% 9,255 50.14% 535 2.90% 588 3.19% 18,457
Eau Claire 26,768 54.82% 20,855 42.71% 1,210 2.48% 5,913 12.11% 48,833
Florence 643 29.48% 1,503 68.91% 35 1.60% 860 39.43% 2,181
Fond du Lac 16,439 36.38% 27,941 61.84% 806 1.78% 11,502 25.45% 45,186
Forest 1,486 37.32% 2,421 60.80% 75 1.88% 935 23.48% 3,982
Grant 9,665 49.32% 9,502 48.49% 430 2.19% 163 0.83% 19,597
Green 9,378 54.87% 7,333 42.91% 379 2.22% 2,045 11.97% 17,090
Green Lake 2,633 32.17% 5,411 66.12% 140 1.71% 2,778 33.94% 8,184
Iowa 6,674 59.72% 4,289 38.38% 213 1.91% 2,385 21.34% 11,176
Iron 1,264 40.88% 1,785 57.73% 43 1.39% 521 16.85% 3,092
Jackson 3,713 46.32% 4,129 51.51% 174 2.17% 416 5.19% 8,016
Jefferson 16,018 41.98% 21,475 56.28% 664 1.74% 5,457 14.30% 38,157
Juneau 4,247 41.92% 5,689 56.15% 195 1.92% 1,442 14.23% 10,131
Kenosha 34,481 50.65% 31,512 46.29% 2,081 3.06% 2,969 4.36% 68,074
Kewaunee 3,572 37.60% 5,792 60.97% 135 1.42% 2,220 23.37% 9,499
La Crosse 32,103 56.24% 23,537 41.23% 1,441 2.52% 8,566 15.01% 57,081
Lafayette 3,135 47.76% 3,324 50.64% 105 1.60% 189 2.88% 6,564
Langlade 2,825 30.49% 5,712 61.65% 728 7.86% 2,887 31.16% 9,265
Lincoln 5,335 39.49% 7,865 58.22% 310 2.29% 2,530 18.73% 13,510
Manitowoc 13,513 38.00% 21,360 60.07% 683 1.92% 7,847 22.07% 35,556
Marathon 24,057 38.71% 36,886 59.36% 1,201 1.93% 12,829 20.64% 62,144
Marinette 6,193 35.58% 10,916 62.72% 296 1.70% 4,723 27.14% 17,405
Marquette 2,911 40.46% 4,143 57.58% 141 1.96% 1,232 17.12% 7,195
Menominee 866 76.50% 233 20.58% 33 2.92% 633 55.92% 1,132
Milwaukee 262,124 66.55% 124,055 31.50% 7,698 1.95% 138,069 35.05% 393,877
Monroe 6,969 41.48% 9,464 56.34% 366 2.18% 2,495 14.85% 16,799
Oconto 5,858 33.30% 11,490 65.32% 243 1.38% 5,632 32.02% 17,591
Oneida 7,850 40.05% 11,248 57.39% 502 2.56% 3,398 17.34% 19,600
Outagamie 36,290 43.51% 45,359 54.38% 1,765 2.12% 9,069 10.87% 83,414
Ozaukee 18,394 35.94% 32,069 62.66% 713 1.39% 13,675 26.72% 51,176
Pepin 1,333 42.52% 1,745 55.66% 57 1.82% 412 13.14% 3,135
Pierce 8,193 46.81% 8,740 49.94% 568 3.25% 547 3.13% 17,501
Polk 7,333 39.42% 10,866 58.41% 404 2.17% 3,533 18.99% 18,603
Portage 18,007 51.64% 15,958 45.76% 906 2.60% 2,049 5.88% 34,871
Price 2,585 38.70% 3,996 59.83% 98 1.47% 1,411 21.13% 6,679
Racine 40,498 46.45% 44,770 51.35% 1,922 2.20% 4,272 4.90% 87,190
Richland 3,623 51.37% 3,285 46.58% 145 2.06% 338 4.79% 7,053
Rock 39,680 58.04% 26,904 39.35% 1,782 2.61% 12,776 18.69% 68,366
Rusk 2,184 35.81% 3,797 62.26% 118 1.93% 169 14.47% 6,099
Sauk 15,630 54.02% 12,615 43.60% 687 2.37% 3,015 10.42% 28,932
Sawyer 3,484 42.50% 4,542 55.41% 171 2.09% 1,058 12.91% 8,197
Shawano 6,121 34.01% 11,478 63.77% 401 2.23% 5,357 29.76% 18,000
Sheboygan 20,801 39.07% 31,520 59.20% 926 1.74% 10,719 20.13% 53,247
St. Croix 16,690 41.65% 22,108 55.17% 1,272 3.17% 5,418 13.52% 40,070
Taylor 2,269 28.05% 5,690 70.35% 129 1.59% 3,421 42.30% 8,088
Trempealeau 5,393 44.01% 6,623 54.04% 239 1.95% 1,230 10.04% 12,255
Vernon 6,550 50.13% 6,276 48.03% 240 1.84% 274 2.10% 13,066
Vilas 4,510 36.03% 7,814 62.42% 195 1.56% 3,304 26.39% 12,519
Walworth 17,394 38.26% 27,088 59.59% 977 2.15% 9,694 21.32% 45,459
Washburn 3,292 41.59% 4,461 56.35% 163 2.06% 1,169 14.77% 7,916
Washington 18,703 26.51% 50,958 72.23% 884 1.25% 32,255 45.72% 70,545
Waukesha 72,131 32.52% 146,699 66.14% 2,977 1.34% 74,568 33.62% 221,807
Waupaca 8,143 36.23% 13,909 61.89% 421 1.87% 5,766 25.66% 22,473
Waushara 3,742 35.21% 6,719 63.21% 168 1.58% 2,977 28.01% 10,629
Winnebago 35,610 47.01% 38,368 50.65% 1,775 2.34% 2,758 3.64% 75,753
Wood 13,638 41.23% 18,871 57.04% 572 1.73% 5,233 15.82% 33,081
Totals 1,324,307 49.54% 1,295,080 48.44% 53,921 2.02% 29,227 1.09% 2,673,308

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic

By congressional districts

Despite losing the state, Walker won 5 of the 8 congressional districts.[118]

District Walker Evers Representative
1st 54.13% 43.75% Paul Ryan
2nd 28.11% 69.99% Mark Pocan
3rd 47.87% 49.78% Ron Kind
4th 23.6% 74.48% Gwen Moore
5th 61.47% 37.0% Jim Sensenbrenner
6th 57.17% 40.98% Glenn Grothman
7th 57.09% 40.63% Sean Duffy
8th 56.47% 41.56% Mike Gallagher

Aftermath

Despite the close result, Scott Walker was unable to request a recount due to a law he had signed himself two years prior, which requires the margin of difference to be within 1%.[119]

Lame duck legislative session

Early in December 2018, a special legislative session was called by Walker to pass a series of bills to limit the powers of Governor-elect Evers, as well as incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, who had defeated incumbent Brad Schimel in the concurrent Attorney General election.[120]

Other bills being considered included restrictions on early voting and the passage of Medicaid work requirements, which Walker had previously held off on due to the election.[121] A similar law restricting early voting that was passed several years prior had been ruled as unconstitutional.[122]

The bills were widely denounced by Democrats and others as a “power grab.” Congresswoman Gwen Moore described the move as a “coup” that “hijacked the voters’ will.” [123] Walker and other Republicans meanwhile argued that the bills were necessary ”checks on power” and that they did not actually strip any real powers from the executive.[124] Lawsuits were filed by Evers and various labor unions almost immediately after Walker signed the bills into law.[125]

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ "With Governor's race deadlocked, Milwaukee delivered for Evers with late absentee ballots". journal sentinel. November 7, 2018. Retrieved July 31, 2019.
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  112. ^ Michael White (G) with 2%, other with <1%
  113. ^ Michael White (G) with 3%, other with <1%
  114. ^ Arnie Enz (WP) with 1%, Maggie Turnbull (I) and Michael White (G) with 0%
  115. ^ The race was very close. It wasn't until about 3 A.M. that most major news networks declared Evers the winner. Evers did well in large urban areas such as Milwaukee County and Dane County, home to Milwaukee and Madison respectively. Walker did well in most rural areas of the state. However Evers huge margins coming from Milwaukee County proved to be too much for Walker to overcome."Wisconsin election results: Governor, Senate and other seats up for grabs".
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External links

Official campaign websites
  • Phil Anderson (L) for Governor
  • Arnie Enz (WI Party) for Governor
  • Tony Evers (D) for Governor
  • Robbie Hoffman (I) for Governor
  • Maggie Turnbull (I) for Governor
  • Scott Walker (R) for Governor
  • Michael White (G) for Governor
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=2018_Wisconsin_gubernatorial_election&oldid=1203067014"