2010 Wisconsin elections

2010 Wisconsin elections

April 6, 2010 November 2, 2010

The 2010 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 2, 2010. All of Wisconsin's executive and administrative officers were up for election as well as one of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats, Wisconsin's eight seats in the United States House of Representatives, seventeen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. The 2010 Wisconsin Fall Partisan Primary was held September 14, 2010.

The Republicans swept all of the fall elections for statewide officials, except Secretary of State, winning the open seat for Governor and Lieutenant Governor, defeating an incumbent Democratic State Treasurer, and reelecting the incumbent Republican attorney general. They also won control of both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature, and defeated incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Russ Feingold and U.S. Representative Steve Kagen, and won the open U.S. House seat previously held by Democrat Dave Obey.^[1][2][3]

The 2010 Wisconsin Spring Election was held April 6, 2010. This election featured a contested election for Wisconsin Court of Appeals and several other nonpartisan local and judicial races.^[4] The 2010 Wisconsin Spring Primary was held on February 16, 2010.

Federal

United States Senate

Main article: 2010 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

See also: 2010 United States Senate elections

Incumbent Democratic Senator Russ Feingold was challenged by Republican businessman Ron Johnson and Rob Taylor of the Constitution Party. Johnson defeated Feingold in the general election with 51.86% of the vote to Feingold's 47.02% and Taylor's 1.08%.^[5]

United States Senate Election in Wisconsin, 2010^[1]^: 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 2010
	Republican	Ron Johnson	1,125,999	51.86%	+7.75%
	Democratic	Russ Feingold (incumbent)	1,020,958	47.02%	−8.33%
	Constitution	Rob Taylor	23,473	1.08%
	Write-in		901	0.04%	+0.01%
Plurality			105,041	4.84%	-6.40%
Turnout			2,171,331	100.0%	−26.39%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	16.08%

United States House

Main article: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin

See also: 2010 United States House of Representatives elections

All 8 of Wisconsin's seats in the United States House of Representatives were up for election in 2010. The Republican Party gained 2 seats, taking a 5-3 majority in the Wisconsin House delegation.^[5][6]

District	CPVI	Incumbent				Candidates (check mark indicates winner)	Result
		Representative		First Elected	Incumbent Status
Wisconsin 1	R+2	Paul Ryan		1998	Running	Y Paul Ryan (Rep) 68.11% John Heckenlively (Dem) 30.10% Joseph Kexel (Lib) 1.64%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 2	D+15	Tammy Baldwin		1998	Running	Y Tammy Baldwin (Dem) 61.77% Chad Lee (Rep) 38.16%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 3	D+4	Ron Kind		1996	Running	Y Ron Kind (Dem) 50.28% Dan Kapanke (Rep) 46.49% Michael Krsiean (Ind) 3.18%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 4	D+22	Gwen Moore		2004	Running	Y Gwen Moore (Dem) 68.98% Dan Sebring (Rep) 29.57% Eddie Ahmad Ayyash (Ind) 1.35%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 5	R+12	Jim Sensenbrenner		1978	Running	Y Jim Sensenbrenner (Rep) 69.32% Todd P. Kolosso (Dem) 27.36% Robert R. Raymond (Ind) 3.26%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 6	R+4	Tom Petri		1979	Running	Y Tom Petri (Rep) 70.66% Joseph P. Kallas (Dem) 29.27%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 7	D+4	Dave Obey		1969	Not Running	Y Sean Duffy (Rep) 52.11% Julie Lassa (Dem) 44.43% Gary Kauther (Ind) 3.30%	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Republican gain.
Wisconsin 8	R+2	Steve Kagen		2006	Running	Y Reid Ribble (Rep) 54.77% Steve Kagen (Dem) 45.12%	Incumbent lost reelection. New member elected. Republican gain.

State

Executive

Governor and lieutenant governor

Main article: 2010 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

See also: 2010 United States gubernatorial elections

Incumbent Governor Jim Doyle and Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton did not run for reelection. Democrat Tom Barrett and Republican Scott Walker, along with several third-party candidates, contested the seat. Walker defeated Barrett in the general election with 52.25% of the vote to Barrett's 46.48%.^[5]

Wisconsin Gubernatorial Election, 2010^[1]^: 1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 2010
	Republican	Scott Walker / Rebecca Kleefisch	1,128,941	52.25%	+6.94%
	Democratic	Tom Barrett / Tom Nelson	1,004,303	46.48%	−6.22%
	Independent	Jim Langer / (no Lieutenant Governor candidate)	10,608	0.49%
	Independent	James James / (no Lieutenant Governor candidate)	8,273	0.38%
	Libertarian	(no Governor candidate) / Terry Virgil	6,790	0.31%
	Write-in		1,915	0.09%	-0.02%
Plurality			124,638	5.77%	-1.62%
Turnout			2,160,830	100.0%	−3.71%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	13.16%

Administrative

Attorney general

2010 Wisconsin Attorney General election

Nominee J. B. Van Hollen Scott Hassett Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,220,791 890,080 Percentage 57.8% 42.1%

County results Van Hollen:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Hassett:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Attorney General before election J.B. Van Hollen Republican Elected Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Republican

Incumbent Republican J.B. Van Hollen defeated Democrat Scott Hassett in the race for Wisconsin Attorney General, winning 57.79% of the vote to Hassett's 42.13%.^[5]

Wisconsin Attorney General Election, 2010^[1]^: 1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 2010
	Republican	J. B. Van Hollen (incumbent)	1,220,791	57.79%	+7.64%
	Democratic	Scott Hassett	890,080	42.13%	−7.60%
	Write-in		1,614	0.08%	-0.04%
Plurality			330,711	15.66%	+15.24%
Turnout			2,112,485	100.0%	−0.56%
	Republican hold

Secretary of state

2010 Wisconsin Secretary of State Election

Candidate Doug La Follette David D. King Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,074,118 1,005,217 Percentage 51.6% 48.3%

County results La Follette:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%      80–90% King:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Secretary of State before election Doug La Follette Democratic Elected Secretary of State Doug La Follette Democratic

Incumbent Democrat Doug La Follette defeated Republican David King in the race for Wisconsin Secretary of State, winning 51.61% to King's 48.3%.^[5]

Wisconsin Secretary of State Election, 2010^[1]^: 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 2010
	Democratic	Doug La Follette (incumbent)	1,074,118	51.61%	−6.46%
	Republican	David D. King	1,005,217	48.30%	+9.25%
	Write-in		1,863	0.09%	+0.02%
Plurality			68,901	3.31%	-15.71%
Turnout			2,081,198	100.0%	+2.01%
	Democratic hold

Treasurer

2010 Wisconsin State Treasurer election

Nominee Kurt W. Schuller Dawn Marie Sass Party Republican Democratic Popular vote 1,101,320 958,468 Percentage 53.4% 46.5%

County results Schuller:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80% Sass:      40–50%      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Treasurer before election Dawn Marie Sass Democratic Elected Treasurer Kurt W. Schuller Republican

Republican challenger Kurt W. Schuller defeated incumbent Democrat Dawn Marie Sass in the race for Wisconsin Treasurer, winning 53.39% of the vote to Sass's 46.47%.^[5]

Wisconsin State Treasurer Election, 2010^[1]^: 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 2, 2010
	Republican	Kurt W. Schuller	1,101,320	53.39%	+6.50%
	Democratic	Dawn Marie Sass (incumbent)	958,468	46.47%	−0.88%
	Write-in		2,873	0.14%	+0.06%
Plurality			142,852	6.93%	+6.47%
Turnout			2,081,198	100.0%	+0.53%
	Republican gain from Democratic		Swing	7.38%

Legislature

State senate

Main article: 2010 Wisconsin Senate election

The 17 odd-numbered seats of the Wisconsin Senate were up for election in 2010.^[5] The Republican Party won control of the State Senate.^[3]

Summary

Seats	Party (majority caucus shading)		Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Republican
Total after last election (2008)	18	15	33	0
Total before this election	18	15	33	0
Up for election	10	7	17	0
This election	6	11	17	0
Total after this election	14	19	33	0
Change in total	4	4

Candidates

District	Incumbent				Elected[1]			Defeated candidates	Result
	Senator		2006 Vote%[7]	Status	Candidate		Vote%
01	Alan Lasee		55.12%	Not running	Frank Lasee		60.04%	Monk Elmer (Dem) 39.83%	Party hold.
03	Tim Carpenter		98.51%	Running	Tim Carpenter		61.09%	Annette Miller Krznarich (Rep) 38.63%	Party hold.
05	Jim Sullivan		51.68%	Running	Leah Vukmir		52.15%	Jim Sullivan (Dem) 47.69%	Republican gain.
07	Jeffrey Plale		62.61%	Not running	Chris Larson		57.11%	Jess Ripp (Rep) 42.68%	Party hold.
09	Joe Leibham		59.36%	Running	Joe Leibham		73.11%	Jason B. Borden (Dem) 26.86%	Party hold.
11	Neal Kedzie		67.40%	Running	Neal Kedzie		75.37%	L.D. Rockwell (Dem) 24.55%	Party hold.
13	Scott L. Fitzgerald		96.87%	Running	Scott L. Fitzgerald		67.61%	Dwayne Block (Dem) 29.20% Vittorio Spadaro (Ind) 3.14%	Party hold.
15	Judy Robson		68.18%	Not running	Tim Cullen		58.98%	Rick Richard (Rep) 40.99%	Party hold.
17	Dale Schultz		54.19%	Running	Dale Schultz		62.56%	Carol Beals (Dem) 37.38%	Party hold.
19	Michael G. Ellis		98.66%	Running	Michael G. Ellis		99.04%		Party hold.
21	John Lehman		53.03%	Running	Van H. Wanggaard		52.52%	John Lehman (Dem) 47.43%	Republican gain.
23	Pat Kreitlow		50.84%	Running	Terry Moulton		54.20%	Pat Kreitlow (Dem) 45.73%	Republican gain.
25	Bob Jauch		62.24%	Running	Bob Jauch		51.27%	Dane Deutsch (Rep) 48.69%	Party hold.
27	Jon Erpenbach		99.32%	Running	Jon Erpenbach		61.84%	Kurt Schlicht (Rep) 38.13%	Party hold.
29	Russ Decker		67.68%	Running	Pam Galloway		52.26%*	Russ Decker (Dem) 47.62%	Republican gain.
31	Kathleen Vinehout		51.58%	Running	Kathleen Vinehout		50.27%	Ed Thompson (Rep) 49.61%	Party hold.
33	Theodore Kanavas		67.29%	Not running	Rich Zipperer		99.50%		Party hold.

State Assembly

Main article: 2010 Wisconsin State Assembly election

All 99 seats in the Wisconsin Assembly were up for election in 2010.^[5] The Republican Party won control of the Assembly.^[3]

Summary

Seats	Party (majority caucus shading)			Total	Vacant
	Democratic	Ind.	Republican
Total after last election (2008)	52	1	46	99	0
Total before this election	50	2	45	97	2
This election	38	1	60	99	0
Total after this election	38	1	57	96	3
Change in total	12	1	12		1

Judiciary

State Court of Appeals

Three seats on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals were up for election in 2010, two of those seats were contested.

• In District I, Judge Joan F. Kessler was elected to her second six-year term without opposition.
• In District II, Wisconsin circuit court judge Paul F. Reilly narrowly defeated fellow-Waukesha County circuit judge Linda Van De Water, to succeed retiring judge Harry G. Snyder.
• In District IV, Dane County district attorney Brian Blanchard defeated Richland County circuit judge Edward Leineweber, to succeed retiring judge Charles P. Dykman.

Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District II Election, 2010^[4]^: 1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 6, 2010
	Nonpartisan	Paul F. Reilly	85,392	52.75%
	Nonpartisan	Linda M. Van De Water	76,214	47.08%
		Scattering	268	0.17%
Plurality			9,178	5.67%
Total votes			161,874	100.0%

Wisconsin Court of Appeals, District IV Election, 2010^[4]^: 1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
General Election, April 6, 2010
	Nonpartisan	Brian Blanchard	104,918	62.65%
	Nonpartisan	Edward E. Leineweber	62,135	37.10%
		Scattering	418	0.25%
Plurality			42,783	25.55%
Total votes			167,471	100.0%

State Circuit Courts

Forty four of the state's 249 circuit court seats were up for election in 2010. Nine of those seats were contested, only two incumbent judges faced a contested election and one was defeated.^[4]

Circuit	Branch	Incumbent	Elected			Defeated			Defeated in Primary
			Name	Votes	%	Name	Votes	%	Name(s)
Barron		James C. Babler	James C. Babler	4,541	99.74%	--Unopposed--
Brown	3	Sue E. Bischel	Sue E. Bischel	22,645	99.24%
Calumet		Donald A. Poppy	Donald A. Poppy	3,207	99.32%
Crawford		--Vacant--	James P. Czajkowski	2,714	99.16%
Dane	4	Amy R. Smith	Amy R. Smith	37,951	99.41%
	5	Nicholas J. McNamara	Nicholas J. McNamara	37,667	99.60%
	14	C. William Foust	C. William Foust	39,251	99.69%
	15	Stephen Ehlke	Stephen Ehlke	37,928	99.67%
	16	Sarah B. O'Brien	Sarah B. O'Brien	38,760	99.68%
	17	Peter C. Anderson	Peter C. Anderson	37,413	99.69%
Dunn	1	Bill Stewart	Bill Stewart	4,320	99.47%
Fond du Lac	2	Peter L. Grimm	Peter L. Grimm	8,867	99.48%
	4	Steven W. Weinke	Gary R. Sharpe	6,006	56.28%	Scot T. Mortier	4,658	43.65%
Iowa		William Dyke	William Dyke	2,517	61.15%	Rhonda R. Hazen	1,597	38.80%
Juneau	1	John Pier Roemer	John Pier Roemer	1,916	99.58%	--Unopposed--
Kewaunee		Dennis J. Mleziva	Dennis J. Mleziva	1,600	99.13%
Lincoln	1	Jay R. Tlusty	Jay R. Tlusty	3,024	98.73%
Manitowoc	1	Patrick L. Willis	Patrick L. Willis	11,404	99.76%
Marathon	2	Gregory Huber	Gregory Huber	8,906	99.21%
Milwaukee	5	Mary M. Kuhnmuench	Mary M. Kuhnmuench	21,741	98.76%
	14	Christopher R. Foley	Christopher R. Foley	22,839	98.97%
	24	Charles F. Kahn Jr.	Charles F. Kahn Jr.	21,561	98.80%
	25	Stephanie G. Rothstein	Stephanie G. Rothstein	21,486	98.90%
	34	Glenn H. Yamahiro	Glenn H. Yamahiro	21,360	98.85%
	37	Karen E. Christenson	Karen E. Christenson	21,745	98.96%
	44	Daniel L. Konkol	Daniel L. Konkol	21,801	98.94%
	45	Thomas P. Donegan	Thomas P. Donegan	21,961	98.94%
Monroe	2	Michael J. McAlpine	Mark L. Goodman	4,055	61.83%	Kerry Sullivan-Flock	2,491	37.98%
	3	--New Seat--	J. David Rice	5,602	98.75%	--Unopposed--
Oconto	2	Richard D. Delforge	Jay N. Conley	2,931	56.41%	Edward Burke	2,246	43.23%
Pierce		Robert W. Wing	Joe Boles	4,343	54.02%	Robert L. Loberg	3,694	45.95%
Racine	2	Stephen A. Simanek	Eugene Gasiorkiewicz	10,549	54.08%	Georgia Herrera	8,949	45.88%
	4	John S. Jude	John S. Jude	13,398	99.35%	--Unopposed--
Rock	2	Alan Bates	Alan Bates	9,453	99.24%
Rusk		Frederick A. Henderson	Steven P. Anderson	1,700	96.87%
Sauk	2	James Evenson	James Evenson	8,702	99.60%
Vilas		Neal A. Nielsen III	Neal A. Nielsen III	1,272	98.15%
Walworth	2	James L. Carlson	James L. Carlson	9,781	98.95%
	4	Michael S. Gibbs	David M. Reddy	7,298	61.02%	David A. Danz	4,623	38.65%
Waukesha	2	Richard A. Congdon	Mark Gundrum	41,561	76.76%	Richard A. Congdon	12,560	23.20%
Waupaca	2	John P. Hoffmann	John P. Hoffmann	3,086	99.42%	--Unopposed--
Winnebago	3	Barbara Hart Key	Barbara Hart Key	15,427	99.28%
	5	William H. Carver	John Jorgensen	10,525	54.58%	Edmund J. Jelinski	8,724	45.24%
Wood	2	James Mason	James Mason	6,366	99.52%	--Unopposed--

References

1. Canvass Results for 2010 General Election - 11/2/2010 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. December 1, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 21, 2020.
2. "Wisconsin: GOP Wins Senate, House, Gov. Seats, Ousting Feingold". USA Today (from the Associated Press). November 3, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
3. Stein, Jason; Johnson, Annysa (November 3, 2010). "Republicans Take Over State Senate, Assembly". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
4. Results of Spring General Election - 04/06/2010 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. April 23, 2010. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
5. "2010 Fall General Election" (PDF). State of Wisconsin. December 1, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 21, 2012. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
6. "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010" (PDF). clerk.house.gov. June 3, 2011. p. 55. Retrieved December 1, 2016.
7. Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2006 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 5, 2006. Retrieved February 16, 2021.

External links

• Elections & Election Results Archived 2012-08-29 at the Wayback Machine by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board
• Wisconsin Congressional Races in 2010 for campaign finance data for federal races from OpenSecrets
• Wisconsin--State Races in 2010 campaign finance data for state races from Follow the Money