Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2014

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Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2014

Majority control • Qualifications

List of candidates District 1 • District 3 • District 5 • District 7 • District 9 • District 11 • District 13 • District 15 • District 17 • District 19 • District 21 • District 23 • District 25 • District 27 • District 29 • District 31 • District 33

State Legislative Election Results

Wisconsin State Senate • 2014 Wisconsin Assembly Elections

The Wisconsin State Senate was one of the chambers some Democrats believed to be the most likely to flip in 2014. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee called the chamber one of its "Emerging Majorities" - bodies in which Democrats had a good chance to cut into Republican leads or flip.^[1]

The Democrats were down three seats in the chamber, with 10 races in which to make up that ground. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee listed the Wisconsin Senate as one of eight chambers of which the Democrats could take control.^[2]

In a debate with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R), Senate Minority Leader Chris Larson (D) said Gov. Scott Walker's poll numbers were a sign his party would win. Fitzgerald argued that President Barack Obama's drop in popularity would instead help the Republicans.^[3]

The Wisconsin State Senate was one of 20 state legislative chambers noted by Ballotpedia staff as being a battleground chamber. The Wisconsin Senate held a difference in partisan balance between Democrats and Republicans of three seats, which amounted to 17.7 percent of the seats up for election in 2014. In 2012, when the 16 even-numbered districts were up for election, two districts were competitive or mildly competitive. District 18 had a margin of victory of 0.7 percent in the 2012 elections. District 30 had a margin of victory of 9 percent.

Elections for 17 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on August 12, 2014. The general election was held on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for candidates wishing to run in this election was June 2, 2014.

Following the general election, there was no change to the majority control of the Wisconsin State Senate. The chamber was controlled by the Republican Party, which increased its holdings from 17 to 19 seats. The Democratic Party sustained a net loss of one seat, dropping from 15 to 14 seats. The chamber's vacant seat was filled during the general election.

Incumbents retiring[edit]

Seven incumbents did not run for re-election in 2014. Those incumbents were:

Name	Party	Current Office
Joe Leibham	Republican	Senate District 9
Neal Kedzie	Republican	Senate District 11
Tim Cullen	Democratic	Senate District 15
Dale Schultz	Republican	Senate District 17
Michael Ellis	Republican	Senate District 19
John Lehman	Democratic	Senate District 21
Robert Jauch	Democratic	Senate District 25

Majority control[edit]

See also: Partisan composition of state senates

Heading into the November 4 election, the Republican Party held the majority in the Wisconsin State Senate:

2014 Competitiveness Overview
Primary competition (state comparison)
Incumbents defeated • Victorious challengers • Primary competitiveness
Major party challengers (state comparison)
Candidates with no challenges at all in 2014
Open seats (state comparisons)
Impact of term limits on # of open seats Long-serving senators • Long-serving reps
Chart Comparing 2014 Results
Chart Comparing 2014 Results • Comparisons Between Years
Competitiveness Index • Absolute Index
2014 State Legislative Elections State legislative incumbent turnover in 2014
Competitiveness Studies from Other Years
2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011 • 2012 • 2013

Competitiveness[edit]

Candidates unopposed by a major party[edit]

In three of the 17 districts up for election in 2014, there was only one major party candidate running for election. Two Democrats and one Republican were guaranteed election barring unforeseen circumstances. Candidates from both major parties faced off in the general election in 14 of the 17 districts up for election.

Primary challenges[edit]

No incumbents faced primary competition on August 12. Seven incumbents did not seek re-election in 2014 and another 10 incumbents advanced past the primary without opposition.

Retiring incumbents[edit]

Seven incumbent representatives did not run for re-election, while 10 (58.8%) ran for re-election. A list of those incumbents, three Democrats and four Republicans, can be found above.

Context[edit]

In the past 20 years, the partisan control has switched regularly between Republican and Democratic in the Wisconsin State Senate, according to Ballotpedia data. In 14 of the 17 (82.3 percent) districts up for election, there were two major party candidates, making the elections important to the partisan composition for the Senate. Democrats needed to win only 3 additional seats to gain control of the Senate.

Two Democratic incumbents -- Tim Carpenter and Jon Erpenbach -- were guaranteed their respective seats barring unforeseen circumstances. Republican Leah Vukmir defeated a Libertarian candidate in the general election, Wendy Friedrich.

Races to Watch[edit]

There were seven open seats, vacated by retiring incumbents, in the November election. Three Democratic and three Republican senators did not run for re-election. Neal Kedzie (R), the seventh senator, had announced in May 2014 that he would not be running, and he resigned from the Senate in June.

Districts with no Democratic incumbent running:
District 15: Janis Ringhand (D) defeated Brian Fitzgerald (R) in the general election.
District 21: Randy Bryce (D) was defeated by Van Wanggaard (R).
District 25: Janet Bewley (D) defeated Dane Deutsch (R) in the general election. District 25 is historically Democratic, but Deutsch lost by a small margin of 1,600 votes in his 2010 run. Their race centered around a proposed $1.5 billion iron mine.^[4]
Districts with no Republican incumbent running:
District 9: Martha Laning (D) was defeated by Devin LeMahieu (R).
District 11: Dan Kilkenny (D) was defeated by Steve Nass (R).
District 17: Pat Bomhack (D) was defeated by Howard Marklein (R) in the general election. Bomhack's primary race against Ernie Wittwer ended in a seven-vote differential; a recount found Wittwer the winner at first, before the decision was reversed three days later in Bomhack's favor.^[5]
District 19: Assemblywoman Penny Bernard Schaber (D) was defeated by Roger Roth (R) in the general election.

Qualifications[edit]

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."

List of candidates[edit]

District 1[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Dean P. Debroux a

Note: Richard Skare was removed from the candidate list before the primary.

August 12 Republican primary:

• Frank Lasee a - Incumbent Lasee was first elected to the chamber in 2010.

November 4 General election candidates:

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Dean P. Debroux: 29,555

Frank Lasee: 47,438

District 3[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Tim Carpenter a - Incumbent Carpenter was first elected to the chamber in 2002.

August 12 Republican primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 4 General election candidates:

Tim Carpenter: 29,291

District 5[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• No candidates filed.

August 12 Republican primary:

• Leah Vukmir a - Incumbent Vukmir was first elected to the chamber in 2010.

Libertarian candidates:

• Wendy Friedrich a

November 4 General election candidates:

Leah Vukmir: 55,869

Wendy Friedrich: 20,020

District 7[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Chris Larson a - Incumbent Larson was first elected to the chamber in 2010.

August 12 Republican primary:

• Jason "Red" Arnold a

November 4 General election candidates:

Chris J. Larson: 41,950

Jason "Red" Arnold: 28,387

District 9[edit]

Note: Incumbent Joe Leibham (R) did not run for re-election.

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Martha Laning a

August 12 Republican primary:

• Devin LeMahieu a

Note: Barry Nelson was removed from the candidate list before the primary.

November 4 General election candidates:

Martha Laning: 28,770

Devin LeMahieu: 43,186

District 11[edit]

Note: Incumbent Neal Kedzie (R) did not run for re-election.

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Dan Kilkenny a

August 12 Republican primary:

• Steve Nass a

November 4 General election candidates:

Dan Kilkenny: 25,377

Steve Nass: 43,842

District 13[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Michelle Zahn a

August 12 Republican primary:

• Scott Fitzgerald a - Incumbent Fitzgerald was first elected to the chamber in 1994.

Libertarian candidates:

Note: Terry Virgil was removed from the candidate list.

November 4 General election candidates:

Michelle Zahn: 28,700

Scott Fitzgerald: 48,255

District 15[edit]

Note: Incumbent Tim Cullen (D) did not run for re-election.

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Janis Ringhand: 6,163 a
• Austin Scieszinski: 5,882
• Mike Sheridan: 3,448

August 12 Republican primary:

• Brian Fitzgerald a

November 4 General election candidates:

Janis Ringhand: 36,389

Brian Fitzgerald: 24,760

District 17[edit]

Note: Incumbent Dale Schultz (R) did not run for re-election.

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Pat Bomhack: 3,837 a
• Ernie Wittwer: 3,804

The Government Accountability Board certified Pat Bomhack as having won the District 17 Democratic primary on April 29.^[6] This was a switch from August 26, when they certified Ernie Wittwer as the victor with a 5-vote lead.

A recount in the election was triggered by the 7-vote differential between the two candidates in preliminary results from the August 12 primary. On August 25, 110 ballots in Green County were found to be missing; these ballots remained missing.^[5]

Wittwer had five days to contest the August 29 certification of Bomhack as the Democratic victor. He said that the events "shattered my confidence in the voting process." Initial indications were that he would pursue a remedy in court. He said, "Obviously the Monroe thing can be challenged based on disenfranchising voters. And there are provisions in the statute that I think give the local canvas [sic] board the ability to use that electronic record if they choose to...I think we can look at the consistency of how absentee ballots were handled. That's another avenue. Open ballot bags might be an avenue as well, so, there are probably several things we can challenge."^[7][8] Wittwer's campaign ultimately declined to challenge the results in court, saying "it would have been a futile gesture. It would have cost me a whole lot of money for no particular purpose."^[9]

The editorial board of the Capital Times also argued that legal action should have be taken, writing, "By certifying an incomplete result in the Democratic primary for the open District 17 state Senate seat, the Green County canvassing board failed in its most important duty: ensuring that election results reflect the clear intention of the voters. That failure is a serious matter, and if the state Government Accountability Board does not address it then the courts should do so. Why? Because, without an intervention, there is a very real change that the Green County canvassing board’s decision — as opposed to that of the voters — could make the loser of the primary into the 'winner.' An exceptionally close finish in the Aug. 12 primary led to the recount, which is no problem. Recounts are healthy; they allow officials to clarify the precise intent of voters in even the most tightly contested races.Unfortunately, instead of providing clarification, the recount complicated everything."^[10]

August 12 Republican primary:

• Howard Marklein a

November 4 General election candidates:

Pat Bomhack: 28,179

Howard Marklein: 34,601

District 19[edit]

Note: Incumbent Michael Ellis (R) did not run for re-election.

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Penny Bernard Schaber a

August 12 Republican primary:

• Roger Roth a

November 4 General election candidates:

Penny Bernard Schaber: 31,135

Roger Roth: 41,628

District 21[edit]

Note: Incumbent John Lehman (R) did not run for re-election.

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Randy Bryce a

August 12 Republican primary:

• Jonathan Steitz: 4,293
• Van Wanggaard: 10,563 a

Independent candidates:

• Bill Thompkins a

November 4 General election candidates:

Randy Bryce: 28,106

Van Wanggaard: 44,967

Bill Thompkins: 34

District 23[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Phil Swanhorst a

August 12 Republican primary:

• Terry Moulton a - Incumbent Moulton was first elected to the chamber in 2010.

November 4 General election candidates:

Phil Swanhorst: 25,135

Terry Moulton: 39,577

District 25[edit]

Note: Incumbent Robert Jauch (D) did not run for re-election.

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Janet Bewley: 7,314 a
• Gary Kauther: 1,053
• Thomas Ratzlaff: 1,623

August 12 Republican primary:

• Dane Deutsch a

November 4 General election candidates:

Janet Bewley: 35,055

Dane Deutsch: 33,445

District 27[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Jon Erpenbach a - Incumbent Erpenbach was first elected to the chamber in 1998.

August 12 Republican primary:

• No candidates filed.

November 4 General election candidates:

Jon Erpenbach: 61,920

District 29[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Paul Demain a

August 12 Republican primary:

• Jerry Petrowski a - Incumbent Petrowski was first elected to the chamber in a recall election on June 5, 2012.

November 4 General election candidates:

Paul Demain: 23,917

Jerry Petrowski: 45,887

District 31[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Kathleen Vinehout a - Incumbent Vinehout was first elected to the chamber in 2006.

August 12 Republican primary:

• Bill Ingram: 1,598
• Mel Pittman: 3,573 a

November 4 General election candidates:

Kathleen Vinehout: 35,508

Mel Pittman: 32,317

District 33[edit]

August 12 Democratic primary:

• Sherryll Shaddock a

August 12 Republican primary:

• Paul Farrow a - Incumbent Farrow was first elected to the chamber in 2012.

November 4 General election candidates:

Sherryll Shaddock: 20,899

Paul Farrow: 59,199

See also[edit]

• Wisconsin State Senate
• Wisconsin State Legislature
• State legislative elections, 2014

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

• Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, 2014 Fall General Election Results
• Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, 2014 Primary Candidate List
• Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, Candidates Registered by Office

Footnotes[edit]

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