Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Wisconsin Congressional Seats
October 31, 2012
By Ballotpedia's Congressional team
| Wisconsin’s Congressional Elections in 2012 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Senate Election? | U.S. House seats | Possible competitive races? | |
| Yes | 8 | 1 | |
MADISON: Wisconsin: There are 8 U.S. House seats and 1 U.S. Senate seat on the ballot in Wisconsin in 2012. Heading into general election on November 6, 2012, 100% of the congressional races are contested, meaning there are at least two candidates running in each of the 9 races. Seven incumbents are running for re-election to the House -- current incumbent Tammy Baldwin (D) is running for the open Senate seat.
U.S. Senate
Incumbent U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D) is not running for re-election in 2012. Tammy Baldwin, current U.S. Representative for district 2, is running as the Democratic candidate for his seat. She faces former state governor, Republican Tommy Thompson on November 6, 2012. Nimrod Allen III is running as an Independent and Joseph Kexel is running as a Libertarian.[1]
The race is considered competitive and is listed as a toss-up according to a Cook Political Report Race Rating from October 4, 2012. The battle could ultimately determine which party controls the chamber.[2]
U.S. House
Heading into the November 6 election, the Democratic Party holds 3 of the 8 Congressional seats from Wisconsin. Of the 16 possible major party primaries (2 parties, 3 seats), 2 (12.50%) were contested, below the national average. The remaining 14 party primaries contained only one candidate. Highlights from the August 14th primaries include:
- The 2nd district seat -- open as incumbent Democrat Tammy Baldwin is running for Senate -- featured State Representative Mark Pocan winning the Democratic primary, defeating Kelda Helen Roys, Matt Silverman and Dennis Hall.[3] Pocan will face Chad Lee (R) in the general election.
- 1st district incumbent Republican Paul Ryan was picked to be Mitt Romney's running mate for Vice-President.[4] Wisconsin law allows Ryan to run for both offices. If he wins his seat and is elected Vice-President, he would resign his congressional position and a special election would be held. If he loses the Vice-Presidency but wins his congressional seat, he may remain in Congress.[5] He is opposed by Democrat Rob Zerban in the general election.[6]
In Wisconsin, all polls are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM Central Time.[7] See also: State Poll Opening and Closing Times (2012)
Here is a complete list of U.S. Senate and House candidates appearing on the general election ballot in Wisconsin:
Candidates
Senate
| State | General Election Candidates | Incumbent | 2012 Winner | Partisan Switch? |
| West Virginia Class 1 Senate seat |  Tammy Baldwin Tommy Thompson Nimrod Allen III Joseph Kexel |
Herb Kohl | Pending | Pending |
House
| District | General Election Candidates | Incumbent | 2012 Winner | Partisan Switch? |
| 1st | Rob Zerban Paul Ryan Keith Deschler |
Paul Ryan | Pending | Pending |
| 2nd | Mark Pocan Chad Lee |
Tammy Baldwin | Pending | Pending |
| 3rd | Ron Kind Ray Boland |
Ron Kind | Pending | Pending |
| 4th | Gwen Moore Dan Sebring Robert Raymond |
Gwen Moore | Pending | Pending |
| 5th | Dave Heaster Jim Sensenbrenner |
Jim Sensenbrenner | Pending | Pending |
| 6th | Joe Kallas Tom Petri |
Tom Petri | Pending | Pending |
| 7th | Pat Kreitlow Sean Duffy Dale Lehner |
Sean Duffy | Pending | Pending |
| 8th | Jamie Wall Reid Ribble |
Reid Ribble | Pending | Pending |
Partisan breakdown by district
| Members of the U.S. House from Wisconsin -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2012 | After the 2012 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 3 | 3 | |
| Republican Party | 5 | 5 | |
| Total | 8 | 8 | |
Comparison of new and old redistricting maps
| Congressional Redistricting Map, approved August 2011
For more information, view Redistricting in Wisconsin. |
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Articles
- 2012 elections preview: Wisconsin voters to select winners in congressional, legislative primaries August 13
- 2012 elections review: Few incumbents defeated in Wisconsin August 15
See also
- United States Congressional election results, 2012
- November 6, 2012 election results
- Ballotpedia's 2012 General Election Preview Articles: Wisconsin State Legislature
- United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2012
- Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District elections, 2012
- Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District elections, 2012
- Wisconsin's 3rd Congressional District elections, 2012
- Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District elections, 2012
- Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District elections, 2012
- Wisconsin's 6th Congressional District elections, 2012
- Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District elections, 2012
- Wisconsin's 8th Congressional District elections, 2012
- Wisconsin elections, 2012
- National contested primary average during the 2012 U.S. congressional elections
Footnotes
- ↑ Government Accountability Board “General Election Candidate List 2012”
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2012 Senate Race Ratings," accessed October 29, 2012
- ↑ WISN Primary Results
- ↑ Boston.com, "Mitt Romney chooses Paul Ryan as running mate" accessed August 13, 2012
- ↑ Outside the Beltway, "Paul Ryan Can Run For Both Congress And Vice-President In Wisconsin" accessed August 13, 2012
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate List," accessed June 10, 2012
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Voting"
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