Endorsements in Wisconsin school board elections, 2023

School Board Endorsements

2023

Overview: Regular elections • Recalls

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Previous coverage: Conflicts in school board elections

Wisconsin held 564 elections for 954 of the state's 2,794 school board seats on April 4.

While Wisconsin's school board elections are officially nonpartisan, Ballotpedia identified ideological leans for every candidate who received endorsements based on the positions and policies supported by those endorsers.

Overall, of the 954 seats up for election:

• Candidates with a liberal ideological lean won 12%
• Candidates with a conservative ideological lean won 9%
• Candidates who received no endorsements won 79%

Those totals include uncontested and contested intra-ideological elections, which accounted for 58% and 18% of all seats up for election, respectively.

The remaining 24% of elections were between candidates who received endorsements from across the ideological spectrum. Candidates with a liberal ideological lean won 42% of these elections, followed by candidates with no endorsements with 32%, and those with a conservative ideological lean with 25%.

This page includes other analyses of Wisconsin's school board elections, including open seats and incumbent defeat rates.

Seventy-two percent of incumbents ran for re-election, leaving 28% of seats open, roughly equal to the national average from Ballotpedia's coverage over the preceding five years.

Eighty-nine percent of incumbents who ran for re-election won, but 60% ran unopposed. Of the 278 incumbents who faced opposition, 27% lost.

This report also includes a catalog of every endorsement identified, along with breakdowns among the groups that issued the most endorsements. The Wisconsin Republican Party and its affiliates issued the most endorsements, with 152, followed by Moms For Liberty and its affiliates, with 98 endorsements, and the state AFL-CIO and its affiliates, with 89 endorsements.

The top five liberal endorsers had a 73% win rate compared to a 48% win rate for the top five conservative endorsers.

Use the links below to navigate to:

• Election results
• Ideological performance
• Open seats
• Incumbents defeated
• Endorsement information
• District information
• Methodology

Election results

Wisconsin held 564 elections for 954 school board seats in 2023.

• Candidates with a liberal ideological lean won 113 seats (12%)
• Candidates with a conservative ideological lean won 84 seats (9%)
• Candidates with a mixed ideological lean won one seat (0%)
• Candidates with some other ideological lean won one seat (0%)
• Candidates who received no endorsements won 753 seats (79%)

The table below shows election results based on the ideological lean of the winning candidate based on endorsements received. There are three types of elections:

• Uncontested, where the number of candidates on the ballot was less than or equal to the number of seats up for election, guaranteeing victory;
  
• Contested intra-ideological, where there was a contested election, but every candidate had the same ideological lean; and
  
• Contested inter-ideological, where there was a contested election between candidates with differing ideological leans.

Figures show how many seats were won by candidates of the given ideological lean or who did not receive any endorsements.

Wisconsin school board election winners, 2023
Ideology	Uncontested		Contested intra-ideological		Contested inter-ideological		Total
	#	%	#	%	#	%	#	%
Liberal	18	1.9%	0	0.0%	95	10.0%	113	11.8%
Conservative	19	2.0%	8	0.8%	57	6.0%	84	8.8%
Mixed	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1	0.1%	1	0.1%
Other	0	0.0%	0	0.0%	1	0.1%	1	0.1%
No endorsements	516	54.1%	166	17.4%	71	7.4%	753	78.9%
Total	555	58.1%	174	18.2%	225	23.6%	954

Uncontested elections

There were 356 uncontested elections for 555 seats, representing 58% of all seats up for election.

Endorsements are typically uncommon in uncontested elections.

There were two elections where no candidates filed, and a write-in candidate won but was later deemed ineligible, creating vacancies for the boards to fill at a later date. Those elections were an at-large race in the Weston School District and a race for Area III of the Shawano School District. Those elections and seats are included in topline totals, but the winning candidates are excluded from this analysis.

Contested intra-ideological elections

There were 94 contested intra-ideological elections for 174 seats, representing 18% of all seats up for election. Intra-ideological elections are contested elections, meaning at least one candidate must lose, but every candidate on the ballot has the same ideological lean. This category also includes all contested elections where Ballotpedia did not identify an endorsement.

There were four intra-ideological elections among candidates with an ideological lean, all of which were conservative. The remaining intra-ideological elections encompass those contested elections where Ballotpedia did not identify an endorsement.

Contested inter-ideological elections

There were 114 contested inter-party elections for 225 seats, representing 24% of all seats up for election. Inter-ideological elections are contested elections featuring candidates with different ideological leans.

Candidates with a liberal ideological lean won a plurality of seats in contested elections (42%), followed by candidates with no endorsements (32%), and those with a conservative ideological lean (25%).

Click on the tab below to view full Wisconsin election results

Show more

The spreadsheet below shows results from Wisconsin's April 4 general elections. The leftmost columns show district names, the offices up for election within those districts, and the number of seats up for election within those offices.

Winning and defeated candidates are shown under their respective columns and are highlighted based on their ideological lean as determined by the endorsements they received.

• Blue highlights indicate a liberal ideological lean
• Red highlights indicate a conservative ideological lean
• Purple highlights indicate a mixed ideological lean
• Dark gray highlights indicate the candidate received only neutral or unclear endorsements
• Light gray highlights indicate Ballotpedia identified no endorsements for the candidate

Winning candidates marked as unknown are write-in candidates for whom Ballotpedia has not yet received identifying information from their respective school districts.

Incumbents are marked with a dark gray square to the right of their name.

Ideological performance

This section displays win and loss rates for candidates by ideological lean, showing how they performed in contested elections featuring candidates with either some other ideological lean or for whom Ballotpedia identified no endorsements.

In these contested elections:

• 135 candidates with a liberal ideological lean ran, 95 of whom (70%) won;
• 136 candidates with a conservative ideological lean ran, 57 of whom (42%) won;
• Four candidates with a mixed ideological lean ran, one of whom (25%) won;
• Three candidates with some other ideological lean ran, one of whom (33%) won; and,
• 118 candidates who received no endorsements ran, 71 of whom (60%) won.

Ideological performance in contested Wisconsin school board elections, 2023
Ideology	Candidates	Won		Lost
		#	%	#	%
Liberal	135	95	70.4%	40	29.6%
Conservative	136	57	41.9%	79	58.1%
Mixed	4	1	25.0%	3	75.0%
Other	3	1	33.3%	2	66.7%
No endorsements	118	71	60.2%	47	39.8%

Incumbency

Open seats

Of the 954 seats up for election, 690 incumbents (72%) ran for re-election, meaning 264 seats (28%) were open. This open seat rate was average compared to Ballotpedia's regular coverage scope over the preceding five years.

Between 2018 and 2022, on average, Ballotpedia recorded a 29% open seat rate within its regular coverage scope.

Overall, 421 districts held elections on April 4. Of that total, 218 districts (52%) had no open seats, 167 (40%) had some open seats, and, in 36 (9%), all seats were open.

Incumbents defeated

Of the 690 incumbents who ran for re-election, 615 (89%) won, and 75 (11%) lost. Three incumbents lost in primaries held on Feb. 21, and the remaining 72 incumbents lost in general elections. This overall loss rate was below average compared to Ballotpedia's regular coverage scope over the preceding five years.

Between 2018 and 2022, on average, Ballotpedia recorded a 16% overall loss rate within its regular coverage scope.

The percentage of incumbents defeated increases to 27% when looking only at the 278 incumbents running in contested elections, those where an incumbent could have lost. This contested loss rate was average compared to Ballotpedia's regular coverage scope over the preceding five years.

Between 2018 and 2022, on average, Ballotpedia recorded a 26% contested loss rate within its regular coverage scope.

Overall, 421 districts held elections on April 4. Of that total, no incumbents lost in 321 districts (76%), some incumbents lost in 41 districts (10%), and all incumbents lost in 23 districts (6%). There were 36 districts (9%) where no incumbents ran for re-election.

Endorsements

Top endorsers

The table below shows the top 10 endorsers in Wisconsin in terms of the total number of endorsements made. It includes a hoverable column with information about each endorser, the number of candidates they endorsed, and the number of endorsees who won, both in terms of all endorsees and among only those in contested elections.

Top Wisconsin school board endorsers, 2023
Endorser	Info	All					Contested
		Endorsees	Won	%	Lost	%	Endorsees	Won	%	Lost	%
Republican Party of Wisconsin	About	152	81	53.3%	71	46.7%	135	64	47.4%	71	52.6%
Moms for Liberty	About	98	51	52.0%	47	48.0%	89	42	47.2%	47	52.8%
Wisconsin State AFL-CIO	About	89	70	78.7%	19	21.3%	74	55	74.3%	19	25.7%
Wisconsin Education Association Council	About	81	64	79.0%	17	21.0%	75	58	77.3%	17	22.7%
Get Involved Wisconsin	About	66	27	40.9%	39	59.1%	65	26	40.0%	39	60.0%
Democratic Party of Wisconsin	About	62	48	77.4%	14	22.6%	61	47	77.0%	14	23.0%
1776 Project PAC	About	49	23	46.9%	26	53.1%	47	21	44.7%	26	55.3%
WisRed PAC	About	38	29	76.3%	9	23.7%	30	21	70.0%	9	30.0%
Fair Wisconsin	About	27	21	77.8%	6	22.2%	25	19	76.0%	6	24.0%
Blue Sky Waukesha	About	26	12	46.2%	14	53.8%	26	12	46.2%	14	53.8%

Top endorsees

The table below shows the 10 candidates in general elections who received the most endorsements. It includes candidates, the offices they ran for, the total number of endorsements they received based on the partisan lean of the endorser, and their election results. Incumbents are marked with (i).

Top Wisconsin school board endorsees, 2023
Candidate	District	Endorsers			Result
		Liberal	Conservative	Other
Missy Zombor	Milwaukee Public Schools	25	0	0	Won
Erika Siemsen (i)	Milwaukee Public Schools	17	0	1	Won
Marva Herndon (i)	Milwaukee Public Schools	15	0	1	Won
Kristen Keyser (i)	West Allis-West Milwaukee School District	5	0	8	Won
Gabi Hart	Milwaukee Public Schools	11	0	1	Lost
Brian Keller (i)	West Allis-West Milwaukee School District	4	0	8	Won
Noah Leigh (i)	West Allis-West Milwaukee School District	4	0	8	Won
Corey Kubichka	Cedarburg School District	0	7	4	Lost
Sam Hughes	Elmbrook School District	0	11	0	Won
Bill Schulz	West Bend School District	0	10	1	Lost

Full endorsements list

The table below lists all endorsements identified by Ballotpedia among Oklahoma school board candidates in 2023. The list is sorted alphabetically by district name. Click the headers to adjust sorting or use the search bar to look for specific districts, candidates, or endorsers. If a source link is not functioning properly, all links were archived with the Internet Archive if possible.

District information

Student-to-teacher ratio

The map below displays the student-to-teacher ratio in all Wisconsin school districts. Hover for additional district characteristics.

Methodology

Terms and definitions

Descriptive endorsements

This research focuses on descriptive endorsements, those that help describe the stances or policy positions of a candidate. This is based on the assumption that endorsers tend to endorse candidates holding one or multiple positions that align with those of the endorser. If an endorser's positions are not readily apparent, their endorsements are not considered descriptive endorsements.

Examples of endorsers whose endorsements might be considered descriptive include political parties, issue-based organizations with clear policy stances, unions, current or former elected officials, and current or former party officers.

Apart from this section, any mention of endorsements refers to descriptive endorsements.

Endorser

An endorser is an individual or organization that has made a descriptive endorsement. Examples of which include, but are not limited to:

Individuals:

• Elected or former partisan officials
• Current or former party officers
• Individuals associated with a clear policy stance

Organizations:

• Unions
• Issue-based organizations with clear policy stances
• Political parties

Process

Identifying endorsements

Ballotpedia gathers endorsements using four primary methods:

• Submissions: Readers can submit endorsement information to Ballotpedia directly using this link. Ballotpedia staff reviews all submitted information daily to determine whether it warrants inclusion. Reader-submitted endorsements must include a link to a source verifying the endorsement to be included.

• Candidate Connection Surveys: Candidates who complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection Survey are asked to share any endorsements they have received. Any submitted endorsements will appear in the candidate's survey responses. Ballotpedia staff also reviews every survey with endorsement information to determine whether those submissions include descriptive endorsements to add to our overall tracking process. Candidates are invited to submit links to sources for their endorsements, but this is not required.

• Outreach: Ballotpedia staff contacts endorsers directly to request endorsement lists. At the start of the election cycle, every endorser will receive an email requesting information. Ballotpedia staff also contacts endorsers to clarify information and, if we see they have endorsed one candidate, to determine whether they have also endorsed others.

• Direct research: Ballotpedia staff conducts direct research, regularly checking all identified endorsers and relevant news media in each state. This research might also include looking at specific districts or candidates where endorsement activity appears likely.

Recording endorsements

Once an endorsement has been identified, it is recorded along with the date it was made (if known), a link to the source of the endorsement, and the date Ballotpedia staff learned of the endorsement. If possible, Ballotpedia archives every web source used to identify an endorsement.

For every recorded endorsement, Ballotpedia staff prepare a brief summary of the endorser. For individuals, this might include the party they are affiliated with, their statements regarding a particular policy, or their electoral history. For organizations, this might include the standards by which they issue endorsements, their mission statement, or any other statements regarding a particular policy. When available, Ballotpedia uses direct quotes from endorsers in these summaries, which appear beside each endorsement to provide added context to readers.

Labeling

After identifying an endorsement, Ballotpedia applies a partisan ideology label based on the policies the endorser supports or affiliation with other partisan organizations. Those labels are:

• Liberal: the endorser is either affiliated with the Democratic Party, supports traditionally liberal education policies, or opposes traditionally conservative education policies without also opposing traditionally liberal policies.
• Conservative: the endorser is either affiliated with the Republican Party, supports traditionally conservative education policies, or opposes traditionally liberal education policies without also opposing traditionally conservative policies.
• Neutral: the endorser is not affiliated with either major party and does not take specific policy stances, supportive or otherwise, examples of which include local newspapers.
• Unclear: the endorser would be of interest to voters, but Ballotpedia could not identify a partisan ideology, examples of which include former school board members.

As part of this analysis, Ballotpedia then uses the labels applied to endorsers to determine the partisan ideology of the endorsed candidate. Those resulting candidate ideology labels are:

• Liberal: the candidate received an endorsement from a liberal endorser and none from conservative endorsers.
• Conservative: the candidate received an endorsement from a conservative endorser and none from liberal endorsers.
• Mixed: the candidate received endorsements from liberal and conservative endorsers.
• Other: the candidate received endorsements from either neutral or unclear endorsers and none from liberal or conservative endorsers.

While candidates can receive a mixture of endorsements, primacy is given to liberal and conservative endorsements. For example, if a candidate received endorsements from liberal and neutral endorsers, their ideology label would be liberal.

Timing

Ballotpedia tracks and gathers endorsement information throughout the election cycle. If a district holds primary elections, endorsements are only added on-site after the primary date.

Voter registration

While most school board elections are officially nonpartisan, meaning candidates appear on the ballot without party labels, the state makes voter registration information publicly available. Ballotpedia used this information to identify each candidate's party registration in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and South Dakota. Note: a candidate's party registration status does not necessarily indicate the candidate's personal ideologies. Many voters register to vote with one party and later find themselves more aligned with another party but do not update their registration as such. Understanding that their registration information is effectively public, voters may also choose a certain registration or affiliate with no party, with that in mind.

Ballotpedia first compared candidate names and school districts to the publicly available voter file to tie candidates with their party registration. The associated voter information was logged if the candidate’s name only appeared once in the school district. If the candidate’s name appeared multiple times in a single school district, Ballotpedia looked at each voter file entry to match the registration address with other identifiable information associated with the candidate. This method accounted for all duplicate entries.

If a candidate was registered under a different name than the one they filed to run with (i.e. registered as Robert Smith but running as Bob Smith), Ballotpedia used a variety of methods to pinpoint the candidate’s voter file information including:

• Looking for every person with the same last name as the candidate in the school district;
• Identifying known associates (i.e. children, spouses), and using public records to determine if any households had changed addresses;
• Utilizing publicly available social media information; or,
• A mixture of these three approaches.

Labeling

After identifying an endorsement, Ballotpedia applies a partisan ideology label based on the policies the endorser supports or affiliation with other partisan organizations. Those labels are:

• Liberal: the endorser is either affiliated with the Democratic Party or supports traditionally liberal education policies.
• Conservative: the endorser is either affiliated with the Republican Party or supports traditionally conservative education policies.
• Neutral: the endorser is not affiliated with either major party and does not take specific policy stances, examples of which include local newspapers.
• Unclear: the endorser would be of interest to voters, but Ballotpedia could not identify a partisan ideology, examples of which include former school board members.

As part of this analysis, Ballotpedia then uses the labels applied to endorsers to determine the partisan ideology of the endorsed candidate. Those resulting candidate ideology labels are:

• Liberal: the candidate received an endorsement from a liberal endorser and none from conservative endorsers.
• Conservative: the candidate received an endorsement from a conservative endorser and none from liberal endorsers.
• Mixed: the candidate received endorsements from liberal and conservative endorsers.
• Other: the candidate received endorsements from either neutral or unclear endorsers and none from liberal or conservative endorsers.

While candidates can receive a mixture of endorsements, primacy is given to liberal and conservative endorsements. For example, if a candidate received endorsements from liberal and neutral endorsers, their ideology label would be liberal.

Elections by county

Navigate to Wisconsin 2023 local elections overviews:

Adams | Ashland | Barron | Bayfield | Brown | Buffalo | Burnett | Calumet | Chippewa | Clark | Columbia | Crawford | Dane | Dodge | Door | Douglas | Dunn | Eau Claire | Florence | Fond du Lac | Forest | Grant | Green | Green Lake | Iowa | Iron | Jackson | Jefferson | Juneau | Kenosha | Kewaunee | La Crosse | Lafayette | Langlade | Lincoln | Manitowoc | Marathon | Marinette | Marquette | Menominee | Milwaukee | Monroe | Oconto | Oneida | Outagamie | Ozaukee | Pepin | Pierce | Polk | Portage | Price | Racine | Richland | Rock | Rusk | Sauk | Sawyer | Shawano | Sheboygan | St. Croix | Taylor | Trempealeau | Vernon | Vilas | Walworth | Washburn | Washington | Waukesha | Waupaca | Waushara | Winnebago | Wood

These pages do not provide election results. Contact your local election office to find results. You can contact us if you have any additional questions.

See also

• Endorsements in school board elections, 2023
• School board elections, 2023

Footnotes

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