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2016 Wisconsin Assembly Elections | |
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Primary | August 9, 2016 |
General | November 8, 2016 |
2016 Election Results | |
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2016 Elections | |
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All 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election in 2016. Republicans gained one seat in the November 2016 general election.
Elections for the Wisconsin State Assembly took place in 2016. The primary election took place on August 9, 2016, and the general election was held on November 8, 2016. The candidate filing deadline was June 1, 2016.
Heading into the election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Wisconsin State Assembly:
Wisconsin State Assembly | |||
---|---|---|---|
Party | As of November 7, 2016 | After November 8, 2016 | |
Democratic Party | 36 | 35 | |
Republican Party | 63 | 64 | |
Total | 99 | 99 |
Ten incumbents did not run for re-election in 2016. Those incumbents were:
Name | Party | Current Office |
---|---|---|
Alvin Ott | Republican | Assembly District 3 |
Mandela Barnes | Democratic | Assembly District 11 |
LaTonya Johnson | Democratic | Assembly District 17 |
John Murtha | Republican | Assembly District 29 |
Dean Knudson | Republican | Assembly District 30 |
Andy Jorgensen | Democratic | Assembly District 43 |
Robb Kahl | Democratic | Assembly District 47 |
Tom Larson | Republican | Assembly District 67 |
Dave Craig | Republican | Assembly District 83 |
Dave Heaton | Republican | Assembly District 85 |
Wisconsin saw a drop in electoral competitiveness.
Ballotpedia conducts a yearly study of electoral competitiveness in state legislative elections. Details on how well Wisconsin performed in the study are provided in the image below. Click here for the full 2016 Competitiveness Analysis »
Ballotpedia identified six notable Wisconsin state legislative races in 2016, two of which were state Assembly contests.
Click here to read more about Ballotpedia's coverage of notable Wisconsin races »
2016 Wisconsin Assembly general election candidates | |||
---|---|---|---|
District | Democrat | Republican | Other |
1 | Lynn Utesch: 13,289 | Joel Kitchens: 20,044 (I) | |
2 | No candidate | Andre Jacque: 20,039 (I) | Mark Grams: 8,837 (Ind.) |
3 | Sharon Wasileski: 11,969 | Ron Tusler: 18,361 | |
4 | Tony Lee: 12,016 | David Steffen: 17,817 (I) | |
5 | Sam Kelly: 10,933 | Jim Steineke: 19,941 (I) | |
6 | William Switalla: 7,944 | Gary Tauchen: 18,690 (I) | |
7 | Daniel Riemer: 13,514 (I) | Zachary Marshall: 9,212 | Matthew Bughman: 1,303 (L) |
8 | JoCasta Zamarripa: 8,528 (I) | No candidate | |
9 | Josh Zepnick: 12,142 (I) | No candidate | |
10 | David Bowen: 21,228 (I) | No candidate | |
11 | Jason Fields: 18,418 | No candidate | |
12 | Frederick Kessler: 18,642 (I) | No candidate | |
13 | No candidate | Rob Hutton: 23,904 (I) | |
14 | Chris Rockwood: 14,934 | Dale Kooyenga: 20,001 (I) | |
15 | No candidate | Joe Sanfelippo: 21,525 (I) | |
16 | Leon Young: 18,019 (I) | No candidate | |
17 | David Crowley: 21,715 | No candidate | |
18 | Evan Goyke: 18,006 (I) | No candidate | |
19 | Jonathan Brostoff: 26,732 (I) | No candidate | |
20 | Christine Sinicki: 21,222 (I) | No candidate | |
21 | John F. Redmond: 11,338 | Jessie Rodriguez: 16,589 (I) | |
22 | No candidate | Janel Brandtjen: 26,131 (I) | |
23 | No candidate | Jim Ott: 25,670 (I) | |
24 | No candidate | Daniel Knodl: 24,047 (I) | |
25 | Ronald Kossik: 9,305 | Paul Tittl: 17,325 (I) | |
26 | Rebecca Clarke: 11,283 | Terry Katsma: 16,583 (I) | |
27 | Nanette Bulebosh: 11,501 | Tyler Vorpagel: 18,644 (I) | |
28 | Jeff Peterson: 9,837 | Adam Jarchow: 17,612 (I) | Vincent Zilka: 1,580 (Veterans Party of America) |
29 | Scottie Ard: 10,661 | Rob Stafsholt: 16,774 | |
30 | Scott Nelson: 12,358 | Shannon Zimmerman: 17,790 | Aaron Taylor: 1,574 (Ind.) |
31 | Clinton Anderson: 10,348 | Amy Loudenbeck: 18,465 (I) | |
32 | Christine Welcher: 10,090 | Tyler August: 16,862 (I) | |
33 | Brandon White: 11,246 | Cody Horlacher: 18,851 (I) | |
34 | Matthew Michalsen: 12,715 | Rob Swearingen: 21,686 (I) | |
35 | Renea Frederick: 9,564 | Mary Czaja: 18,622 (I) | |
36 | No candidate | Jeffrey Mursau: 22,899 (I) | |
37 | Jordan Turner: 10,990 | John Jagler: 17,821 (I) | |
38 | Scott Michalak: 12,288 | Joel Kleefisch: 20,708 (I) | |
39 | Jim Zahn: 9,192 | Mark Born: 19,028 (I) | |
40 | Dmitri Martin: 9,801 | Kevin Petersen: 17,866 (I) | |
41 | No candidate | Joan Ballweg: 17,711 (I) | Bradley Pearson: 7,382 (Ind.) |
42 | George Ferriter: 11,867 | Keith Ripp: 16,842 (I) | |
43 | Don Vruwink: 16,179 | Allison Hetz: 13,427 | |
44 | Debra Kolste: 19,948 (I) | No candidate | |
45 | Mark Spreitzer: 17,867 (I) | No candidate | |
46 | Gary Hebl: 24,678 (I) | No candidate | |
47 | Jimmy Anderson: 19,154 | No candidate | Adam Dahl: 8,596 (Bernie Sanders Ind.) |
48 | Melissa Sargent: 26,534 (I) | No candidate | |
49 | Jesse Bennett: 11,344 | Travis Tranel: 15,056 (I) | |
50 | Art Shrader: 10,762 | Ed Brooks: 14,774 (I) | |
51 | Jeff Wright: 13,189 | Todd Novak: 13,912 (I) | |
52 | Paul Czisny: 9,829 | Jeremy Thiesfeldt: 17,293 (I) | |
53 | No candidate | Michael Schraa: 21,641 (I) | |
54 | Gordon Hintz: 17,923 (I) | No candidate | Jordan Hansen: 7,682 (L) |
55 | Bob Baker: 11,523 | Mike Rohrkaste: 18,393 (I) | |
56 | Mariana Stout: 11,551 | Dave Murphy: 21,022 (I) | |
57 | Amanda Stuck: 19,048 (I) | No candidate | |
58 | No candidate | Bob Gannon: 25,457 (I) | |
59 | No candidate | Jesse Kremer: 25,847 (I) | |
60 | No candidate | Robert Brooks: 23,806 (I) | David Pelikan: 7,895 (Ind.) |
61 | Amee Janus: 9,792 | Samantha Kerkman: 19,622 (I) | |
62 | No candidate | Tom Weatherston: 22,523 (I) | |
63 | Andy Mitchell: 10,487 | Robin Vos: 18,771 (I) | |
64 | Peter Barca: 18,799 (I) | No candidate | |
65 | Tod Ohnstad: 16,112 (I) | No candidate | |
66 | Cory Mason: 13,526 (I) | No candidate | George Meyers: 3,107 (L) |
67 | Dennis Hunt: 10,308 | Rob Summerfield: 18,574 | |
68 | Howard White: 11,263 | Kathy Bernier: 15,628 (I) | |
69 | No candidate | Bob Kulp: 21,443 (I) | |
70 | Mark Holbrook: 10,266 | Nancy VanderMeer: 16,963 (I) | |
71 | Katrina Shankland: 21,834 (I) | No candidate | |
72 | David Gorski: 12,279 | Scott Krug: 15,972 (I) | |
73 | Nick Milroy: 22,107 (I) | No candidate | |
74 | Beth Meyers: 22,624 (I) | No candidate | |
75 | Joe Huftel: 10,894 | Romaine Quinn: 17,786 (I) | |
76 | Chris Taylor: 33,628 (I) | Jon Rygiewicz: 6,877 | |
77 | Terese Berceau: 29,069 (I) | No candidate | |
78 | Lisa Subeck: 25,362 (I) | No candidate | Chris Fisher: 6,661 (Ind.) |
79 | Dianne Hesselbein: 23,211 (I) | Jordan Zadra: 13,105 | |
80 | Sondy Pope: 26,250 (I) | No candidate | |
81 | Dave Considine: 17,270 (I) | David Moore: 11,265 | |
82 | No candidate | Ken Skowronski: 21,080 (I) | |
83 | No candidate | Chuck Wichgers: 26,596 | |
84 | No candidate | Mike Kuglitsch: 21,987 (I) | |
85 | Mandy Wright: 12,837 | Patrick Snyder: 14,722 | |
86 | Nancy Stencil: 11,142 | John Spiros: 18,246 (I) | Michael Tauschek: 2,047 (Ind.) |
87 | Elizabeth Riley: 8,554 | James Edming: 18,179 (I) | |
88 | Noah Reif: 11,312 | John Macco: 17,742 (I) | |
89 | Heidi Fencl: 9,055 | John Nygren: 19,429 (I) | |
90 | Eric Genrich: 14,387 (I) | No candidate | |
91 | Dana Wachs: 17,780 (I) | Bill Ingram: 11,341 | |
92 | Chris Danou: 12,540 (I) | Treig Pronschinske: 13,605 | |
93 | No candidate | Warren Petryk: 24,298 (I) | |
94 | Steve Doyle: 16,721 (I) | Julian Bradley: 15,049 | |
95 | Jill Billings: 23,020 (I) | No candidate | |
96 | Alicia Leinberger: 10,186 | Lee Nerison: 16,000 (I) | |
97 | No candidate | Scott Allen: 21,611 (I) | |
98 | No candidate | Adam Neylon: 25,592 (I) | |
99 | No candidate | Cindi Duchow: 28,597 (I) | |
Notes | • An (I) denotes an incumbent. | ||
• Candidate lists can change frequently throughout an election season. Ballotpedia staff update this list monthly. To suggest changes, click here to email our State Legislature Project. |
The average margin of victory for contested races in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2016 was lower than the national average. Out of 99 races in the Wisconsin State Assembly in 2016, 57 were contested, meaning at least two candidates competed for that seat in the general election. The average margin of victory across these races was 26.3 percent. Across contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016, the average margin of victory was 29.01 percent.[2]
Democratic candidates in the Wisconsin State Assembly saw larger margins of victory than Republican candidates in 2016. Democrats won 35 races. In the 11 races where a winning Democrat faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 33.5 percent. Republicans won 64 races in 2016. In the 46 races where a winning Republican faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 24.6 percent. |
More Republican candidates than Democratic candidates saw margins of victory that were less than 10 percentage points. Five of the 57 contested races in 2016—8.8 percent—saw margins of victory that were 10 percent or less. Two races saw margins of victory that were 5 percent or less. Republicans won three races with margins of victory of 10 percent or less. |
Wisconsin State Assembly: 2016 Margins of Victory Less than 10 Percent | ||
---|---|---|
District | Winning Party | Margin of Victory |
District 43 | D | 9.3 percent |
District 51 | R | 2.7 percent |
District 85 | R | 6.8 percent |
District 92 | R | 4.1 percent |
District 94 | D | 5.3 percent |
The average margin of victory for incumbents in the Wisconsin State Assembly who ran for re-election and won in 2016 was lower than the national average. Eighty-eight incumbents who ran for re-election in 2016 won. The average margin of victory for the 49 winning Wisconsin State Assembly incumbents who faced a challenger in 2016 was 27.6 percent. The average margin of victory for all winning incumbents in contested single-winner state legislative elections in 2016 was 31.8 percent. |
Democratic incumbents in the Wisconsin State Assembly saw larger margins of victory than Republican incumbents. 31 Democratic incumbents won re-election. In the nine races where a winning Democratic incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 35.7 percent. 57 Republican incumbents won re-election. In the 40 races where a winning Republican incumbent faced a challenger, the average margin of victory was 25.8 percent. |
Wisconsin State Assembly: 2016 Margin of Victory Analysis | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Elections won | Average margin of victory[3] | Races with incumbent victories | Average margin of victory for incumbents[3] | Unopposed incumbents | Unopposed races | Percent unopposed |
Democratic | 35 | 33.5 percent | 31 | 35.7 percent | 22 | 24 | 68.6 percent |
Republican | 64 | 24.6 percent | 57 | 25.8 percent | 17 | 18 | 28.1 percent |
Total | 99 | 26.3 percent | 88 | 27.6 percent | 39 | 42 | 42.4 percent |
Click [show] on the tables below to see the margin of victory in Wisconsin State Assembly districts in 2016.
Wisconsin State Assembly: 2016 Margin of Victory by District | ||
---|---|---|
District | Winning Party | Margin of Victory |
District 1 | R | 20.3 percent |
District 2 | R | 38.8 percent |
District 3 | R | 21.1 percent |
District 4 | R | 19.4 percent |
District 5 | R | 29.2 percent |
District 6 | R | 40.4 percent |
District 7 | D | 17.9 percent |
District 8 | D | Unopposed |
District 9 | D | Unopposed |
District 10 | D | Unopposed |
District 11 | D | Unopposed |
District 12 | D | Unopposed |
District 13 | R | Unopposed |
District 14 | R | 14.5 percent |
District 15 | R | Unopposed |
District 16 | D | Unopposed |
District 17 | D | Unopposed |
District 18 | D | Unopposed |
District 19 | D | Unopposed |
District 20 | D | Unopposed |
District 21 | R | 18.8 percent |
District 22 | R | Unopposed |
District 23 | R | Unopposed |
District 24 | R | Unopposed |
District 25 | R | 30.1 percent |
District 26 | R | 19.0 percent |
District 27 | R | 23.7 percent |
District 28 | R | 26.8 percent |
District 29 | R | 22.3 percent |
District 30 | R | 17.1 percent |
District 31 | R | 28.2 percent |
District 32 | R | 25.1 percent |
District 33 | R | 25.3 percent |
District 34 | R | 26.1 percent |
District 35 | R | 32.1 percent |
District 36 | R | Unopposed |
District 37 | R | 23.7 percent |
District 38 | R | 25.5 percent |
District 39 | R | 34.9 percent |
District 40 | R | 29.2 percent |
District 41 | R | 41.2 percent |
District 42 | R | 17.3 percent |
District 43 | D | 9.3 percent |
District 44 | D | Unopposed |
District 45 | D | Unopposed |
District 46 | D | Unopposed |
District 47 | D | 38.1 percent |
District 48 | D | Unopposed |
District 49 | R | 14.1 percent |
District 50 | R | 15.7 percent |
District 51 | R | 2.7 percent |
District 52 | R | 27.5 percent |
District 53 | R | Unopposed |
District 54 | D | 40.0 percent |
District 55 | R | 23.0 percent |
District 56 | R | 29.1 percent |
District 57 | D | Unopposed |
District 58 | R | Unopposed |
District 59 | R | Unopposed |
District 60 | R | 50.2 percent |
District 61 | R | 33.4 percent |
District 62 | R | Unopposed |
District 63 | R | 28.3 percent |
District 64 | D | Unopposed |
District 65 | D | Unopposed |
District 66 | D | 62.6 percent |
District 67 | R | 28.6 percent |
District 68 | R | 16.2 percent |
District 69 | R | Unopposed |
District 70 | R | 24.6 percent |
District 71 | D | Unopposed |
District 72 | R | 13.1 percent |
District 73 | D | Unopposed |
District 74 | D | Unopposed |
District 75 | R | 24.0 percent |
District 76 | D | 66.0 percent |
District 77 | D | Unopposed |
District 78 | D | 58.4 percent |
District 79 | D | 27.8 percent |
District 80 | D | Unopposed |
District 81 | D | 21.0 percent |
District 82 | R | Unopposed |
District 83 | R | Unopposed |
District 84 | R | Unopposed |
District 85 | R | 6.8 percent |
District 86 | R | 22.6 percent |
District 87 | R | 36.0 percent |
District 88 | R | 22.1 percent |
District 89 | R | 36.4 percent |
District 90 | D | Unopposed |
District 91 | D | 22.1 percent |
District 92 | R | 4.1 percent |
District 93 | R | Unopposed |
District 94 | D | 5.3 percent |
District 95 | D | Unopposed |
District 96 | R | 22.2 percent |
District 97 | R | Unopposed |
District 98 | R | Unopposed |
District 99 | R | Unopposed |
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Wisconsin in 2016.
Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
---|---|---|---|
Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
January 5, 2016 | Ballot access | Last day for candidates to file nomination papers, declarations of candidacy and campaign registration statements for the spring election | |
January 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | January continuing report due | |
February 8, 2016 | Campaign finance | Spring pre-primary report due | |
March 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Spring pre-election report due | |
June 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Last day for candidates to file nomination papers, declarations of candidacy and campaign registration statements for the general election | |
July 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | July continuing report due | |
August 1, 2016 | Campaign finance | Fall partisan primary report due | |
August 9, 2016 | Election date | State partisan primary election | |
September 27, 2016 | Campaign finance | Fourth Tuesday in September report due | |
October 31, 2016 | Campaign finance | Fall general election report due | |
November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
Sources: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Calendar of Election and Campaign Events," accessed January 11, 2016 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "New Campaign Finance Laws Effective January 1, 2016," December 21, 2015 |
In 49 of the 99 seats up for election in 2016, there was only one major party candidate running for election. A total of 28 Democrats and 21 Republicans were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances.
Two major party candidates faced off in the general election in 50 (50.5%) of the 99 seats up for election.
Six incumbents faced primary competition on August 9. Ten incumbents did not seek re-election and another 83 incumbents advanced past the primary without opposition.
Ten incumbents did not run for re-election, while 89 (89.8%) ran for re-election. A list of those incumbents, four Democrats and six Republicans can be found above.
There were 6,057 seats in 87 chambers with elections in 2014. All three aspects of Ballotpedia's Competitiveness Index—the number of open seats, incumbents facing primary opposition, and general elections between partisan candidates—showed poor results compared to the prior election cycle. States with elections in 2014 held fewer general elections between partisan candidates. Additionally, fewer incumbents faced primary opposition and more incumbents ran for re-election than in recent years.
Since 2010, when the Competitiveness Index was established, there had not been an even-year election cycle to do statistically worse in any of the three categories. See the following chart for a breakdown of those scores between each year.
Overall Comparison between years | |||
---|---|---|---|
2010 | 2012 | 2014 | |
Competitiveness Index | 36.2 | 35.8 | 31.4 |
% Open Seats | 18.6% | 21.2% | 17.0% |
% Inc that did face primary | 22.7% | 24.6% | 20.1% |
% Candidates that did face major party opp | 67.3% | 61.7% | 57.0% |
The following table details Wisconsin's rates for open seats, incumbents that faced primary challenges, and major party competition in the 2014 general election.
Wisconsin Legislature 2014 Competitiveness | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
% Open Seats | % Inc that did face primary | % Candidates that did face major party opp | Competitiveness Index | Overall rank |
22.4% | 12.2% | 51.7% | 28.8 | 26 |
Uncontested elections: In 2014, 32.8 percent of Americans lived in states with an uncontested state senate election. Similarly, 40.4 percent of Americans lived in states with uncontested house elections. Primary elections were uncontested even more frequently, with 61 percent of people living in states with no contested primaries. Uncontested elections often occur in locations that are so politically one-sided that the result of an election would be a foregone conclusion regardless of whether it was contested or not.
Open seats: In most cases, an incumbent will run for re-election, which decreases the number of open seats available. In 2014, 83 percent of the 6,057 seats up for election saw the incumbent running for re-election. The states that impose term limits on their legislatures typically see a higher percentage of open seats in a given year because a portion of incumbents in each election are forced to leave office. Overall, the number of open seats decreased from 2012 to 2014, dropping from 21.2 percent in 2012 to 17.0 percent in 2014.
Incumbent win rates: Ballotpedia's competitiveness analysis of elections between 1972 and 2014 documented the high propensity for incumbents to win re-election in state legislative elections. In fact, since 1972, the win rate for incumbents had not dropped below 90 percent—with the exception of 1974, when 88 percent of incumbents were re-elected to their seats. Perhaps most importantly, the win rate for incumbents generally increased over time. In 2014, 96.5 percent of incumbents were able to retain their seats. Common convention holds that incumbents are able to leverage their office to maintain their seat. However, the high incumbent win rate may actually be a result of incumbents being more likely to hold seats in districts that are considered safe for their party.
Marginal primaries: Often, competitiveness is measured by examining the rate of elections that have been won by amounts that are considered marginal (5 percent or less). During the 2014 election, 90.1 percent of primary and general election races were won by margins higher than 5 percent. Interestingly, it is usually the case that only one of the two races—primary or general—will be competitive at a time. This means that if a district's general election is competitive, typically one or more of the district's primaries were won by more than 5 percent. The reverse is also true: If a district sees a competitive primary, it is unlikely that the general election for that district will be won by less than 5 percent. Primaries often see very low voter turnout in comparison to general elections. In 2014, there were only 27 million voters for state legislative primaries, but approximately 107 million voters for the state legislative general elections.
The following chart shows how many candidates ran for State Assembly in Wisconsin in past years and the cumulative amount of campaign contributions in State Assembly races, including contributions in both primary and general election contests.[4]
Wisconsin State Assembly Donations | ||
---|---|---|
Year | Candidates | Amount |
2014 | 210 | $6,950,273 |
2012 | 284 | $7,980,195 |
2010 | 273 | $7,566,981 |
2008 | 245 | $8,805,839 |
2006 | 209 | $6,341,156 |
The map below shows the average contributions to 2014 candidates for state houses. The average contributions raised by state house candidates in 2014 was $59,983. Wisconsin, at $33,097 per candidate, is ranked 28 of 45 for state house chambers with the highest average contributions. Hover your mouse over a state to see the average campaign contributions for that state’s house candidates in 2014.[4][5]
Section 6 of Article 4 of the Wisconsin Constitution states: "No person shall be eligible to the legislature who shall not have resided one year within the state, and be a qualified elector in the district which he may be chosen to represent."