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Rising competition for incumbents in Wisconsin's 2015 school board elections
January 14, 2015
Candidate filings for the April school board elections in the largest school districts by enrollment in Wisconsin, which include 11 districts in the 1,000 largest school districts in the country, wrapped up on January 9, 2015. A total of 74 candidates filed for the 50 seats up for election in 19 districts. An average of 1.51 candidates are running per seat. Thirty-six incumbents are seeking re-election, and thirteen candidates are running unopposed in their districts. As no more than two candidates filed for any one seat up for election in each district, primary elections will not be held. The general election date for all 19 districts is April 7, 2015.
Trends in Wisconsin's largest districts
| Wisconsin school board election competitiveness | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Candidates per seat | |||
| 2015 | 1.48 | |||
| 2014 | 1.40 | |||
In comparison to 2014, more incumbents will face contested races in Wisconsin school districts that are part of the top 1,000 largest school districts in the country. Thirty-one seats are up for election in those 11 districts in 2015, which is one more than last year.
In the 2014 election cycle, 48 percent of incumbents had contested elections; 25 incumbents ran for re-election and 12 faced challengers. In 2015, over 65 percent of incumbents have contested elections; 23 incumbents are seeking re-election with 15 in contested races.
Overall competitiveness in the 11 Wisconsin school districts has increased from 2014 to 2015. This year, 1.48 candidates are running for each seat up for election, which is an increase from the 1.40 candidates per seat average in 2014. Wisconsin was below the 1.90 average number of candidates for each school board seat up for election in America's 1,000 largest school districts in 2014.
Note: Ballotpedia has extended its coverage of Wisconsin school districts due to a grant. In addition to covering the 11 Wisconsin districts in the top 1,000 districts by enrollment in the United States, Ballotpedia also covers the additional nine districts that make up the top 20 districts by enrollment in Wisconsin. These nine districts are not included in the cumulative statistics in this section.
Candidates
See also
- Wisconsin school districts: 2014 in review and a 2015 election preview
- Wisconsin school board elections, 2015
- School board elections, 2015
- Wisconsin school districts
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