Robert Burke (Wisconsin)
Robert Burke was a 2016 Libertarian candidate who sought election to the U.S. House to represent the 7th Congressional District of Wisconsin. However, Burke did not qualify for the ballot.[1]
Burke was a Libertarian candidate for Governor of Wisconsin in the 2014 elections.[2] Robert Burke (Wisconsin) lost the general election on November 4, 2014.
Elections
2016
Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Sean Duffy (R) defeated Mary Hoeft (D) in the general election on November 8, 2016. Duffy defeated Donald Raihala in the Republican primary, while Hoeft defeated Joel Lewis to win the Democratic nomination. The primary elections took place on August 9, 2016.[1][3]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  Sean Duffy Incumbent |
61.7% | 223,418 | |
| Democratic | Mary Hoeft | 38.3% | 138,643 | |
| Total Votes | 362,061 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections Commission | ||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Sean Duffy Incumbent |
89.5% | 29,501 | ||
| Donald Raihala | 10.5% | 3,456 | ||
| Total Votes | 32,957 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commission |
||||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Mary Hoeft |
80.7% | 27,289 | ||
| Joel Lewis | 19.3% | 6,531 | ||
| Total Votes | 33,820 | |||
| Source: Wisconsin Elections and Ethics Commission |
||||
Burke did not qualify for the ballot.
2014
- See also: Wisconsin Gubernatorial election, 2014
Burke ran for election to the office of Governor of Wisconsin. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
General election
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Scott Walker/Rebecca Kleefisch Incumbent |
52.3% | 1,259,706 | |
| Democrat | Mary Burke/John Lehman | 46.6% | 1,122,913 | |
| Libertarian | Robert Burke/Joseph Brost | 0.8% | 18,720 | |
| Independent | Dennis Fehr | 0.3% | 7,530 | |
| Nonpartisan | Scattering | 0.1% | 1,248 | |
| Nonpartisan | Write-in votes | 0% | 200 | |
| Total Votes | 2,410,317 | |||
| Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board | ||||
Race background
November 2014 marked incumbent Governor Scott Walker's third election in four years. He first won in the 2010 elections, and he faced arecall election in 2012. Walker, a Republican, defeated the same Democratic opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, by a similar margin in both elections. In 2014, Walker's main Democratic challenger was Mary Burke, a former business executive and current member of the school board in Madison.
2012 recall
- See also: Scott Walker recall, Wisconsin (2012)
Democrats criticized Walker for recall due to his efforts to limit the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions through Wisconsin Assembly Bill 11, the "Scott Walker Budget Repair Bill", which the governor introduced in February 2011. The bill was met with protests.[4] As of 2014, Walker was the only governor to have remained in office after a recall and only the third governor to face a recall election in U.S. history.[5]
Common Core
- See also: Common Core State Standards Initiative
The issue of Common Core also surfaced in this race. Walker, a former supporter of the education standards, said that he sought to change how Common Core was implemented in Wisconsin.[6] Burke publicly supported Common Core.[7]
State of the race
Polling in October 2014 indicated a close race with few undecided voters. As of July 2014, The Cook Political Report rated this race as a toss-up.[8]
Libertarian Robert Burke and Peoples Party candidate Dennis Fehr were identified as potential variables in this toss-up race, though their vote totals did not contribute to the outcome of the race. Burke, a former Republican, said that he could "mess things up for both sides."[9][10][11] Fehr was the founder and sole candidate of the Peoples Party, not to be confused with the People's Party.[12]
Primary races
Both Walker and Mary Burke faced primary challengers but won their respective parties' nominations. Walker's only opponent, Steve Evans, ran as a write-in candidate, while Burke was endorsed by the Wisconsin Democratic Party's Administrative Committee over her opponent, State Assemblyman Brett Hulsey.[13]
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Robert Burke Wisconsin Congress. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
- United States House of Representatives
- Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District election, 2016
- Wisconsin's 7th Congressional District
- Wisconsin Gubernatorial election, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "CERTIFICATE OF NOMINATION FOR GENERAL ELECTION," accessed July 4, 2014
- ↑ Politico, "Wisconsin House Primaries Results," August 9, 2016
- ↑ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Race tightens, with Scott Walker, Mary Burke tied among registered voters," May 21, 2014
- ↑ The Guardian, "Wisconsin governor Scott Walker survives bitterly fought recall election," June 6, 2012
- ↑ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Gov. Scott Walker calls for Legislature to repeal Common Core standards," July 17, 2014
- ↑ WKOW Madison, "Burke supports sticking with Common Core in WI," July 19, 2014
- ↑ The Cook Political Report, "2014 GOVERNORS RACE RATINGS FOR JULY 30, 2014," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, "Two Burkes on ballot for governor," July 11, 2014
- ↑ The Cap Times, "John Nichols: Libertarians give Wisconsin another option," July 1, 2014
- ↑ Wausau Daily Herald, "Letter: More than two are running for governor," July 16, 2014
- ↑ Dennis Fehr for Governor, "About our Candidate," accessed July 9, 2014
- ↑ Democratic Party of Wisconsin, "Candidates," accessed July 31, 2014
