Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District election (August 14, 2018 Republican primary)

Elections in Wisconsin, 2018

• General election: Nov. 6
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 17 (online or mail), or Nov. 2 (in-person)
• Early voting: Varies by locality
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 6

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: Yes
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

---

On the ballot: U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Attorney General • Secretary of State • State executive offices • State Senate • State Assembly • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • Local ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Recalls • Democratic primaries • Republican primaries

2020 → ← 2016
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District
Democratic primary Republican primary General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 1, 2018
Primary: August 14, 2018 General: November 6, 2018 Pre-election incumbent: Paul Ryan (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voting in Wisconsin
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Lean Republican Inside Elections: Lean Republican Sabato's Crystal Ball: Lean Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds U.S. House battlegrounds Federal and state primary competitiveness Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2018
See also
Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District U.S. Senate • 1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th Wisconsin elections, 2018 U.S. Congress elections, 2018 U.S. Senate elections, 2018 U.S. House elections, 2018 Alabama U.S. House racesAlaska U.S. House racesArizona U.S. House racesArkansas U.S. House racesCalifornia U.S. House racesColorado U.S. House racesConnecticut U.S. House racesDelaware U.S. House racesFlorida U.S. House racesGeorgia U.S. House racesHawaii U.S. House racesIdaho U.S. House racesIllinois U.S. House racesIndiana U.S. House racesIowa U.S. House racesKansas U.S. House racesKentucky U.S. House racesLouisiana U.S. House racesMaine U.S. House racesMaryland U.S. House racesMassachusetts U.S. House racesMichigan U.S. House racesMinnesota U.S. House racesMississippi U.S. House racesMissouri U.S. House racesMontana U.S. House racesNebraska U.S. House racesNevada U.S. House racesNew Hampshire U.S. House racesNew Jersey U.S. House racesNew Mexico U.S. House racesNew York U.S. House racesNorth Carolina U.S. House racesNorth Dakota U.S. House racesOhio U.S. House racesOklahoma U.S. House racesOregon U.S. House racesPennsylvania U.S. House racesRhode Island U.S. House racesSouth Carolina U.S. House racesSouth Dakota U.S. House racesTennessee U.S. House racesTexas U.S. House racesUtah U.S. House racesVermont U.S. House racesVirginia U.S. House racesWashington U.S. House racesWest Virginia U.S. House racesWisconsin U.S. House racesWyoming U.S. House racesSubmit

A Republican Party primary election took place on August 14, 2018, in Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District. Incumbent Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) did not seek re-election.

This page focuses on the Republican primary. For an overview of the election in general, click here.

See also: United States House elections in Wisconsin (August 14, 2018 Republican primaries) and United States House Republican Party primaries, 2018

Candidates and election results

The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 1 on August 14, 2018.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 1

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Bryan Steil	51.6	30,885
		Nick Polce	14.9	8,948
		Paul Nehlen	11.1	6,638
	Submit photo	Kevin Steen	10.5	6,262
	Submit photo	Jeremy Ryan	10.4	6,226
		Bradley Thomas Boivin	1.5	924

---

	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 59,883
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Jeff Wamboldt (R)

District analysis

See also: The Cook Political Report's Partisan Voter Index

See also: FiveThirtyEight's elasticity scores

The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+5, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 5 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District the 189th most Republican nationally.

FiveThirtyEight's September 2018 elasticity score for states and congressional districts measured "how sensitive it is to changes in the national political environment." This district's elasticity score was 1.03. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.03 points toward that party.

Campaign finance

The chart below contains data from financial reports submitted to the Federal Election Commission.

Name	Party	Receipts*	Disbursements**	Cash on hand	Date
Randy Bryce	Democratic Party	$8,624,818	$8,616,498	$8,320	As of December 31, 2018
Catherine Myers	Democratic Party	$1,578,873	$1,534,303	$44,570	As of December 31, 2018
Bradley Thomas Boivin	Republican Party	$5,380	$5,380	$0	As of August 15, 2018
Paul Nehlen	Republican Party	$209,606	$213,033	$0	As of December 31, 2018
Nick Polce	Republican Party	$33,623	$34,262	$4,034	As of December 31, 2018
Jeremy Ryan	Republican Party	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Kevin Steen	Republican Party	$48,895	$47,142	$1,753	As of December 31, 2018
Bryan Steil	Republican Party	$2,314,019	$2,287,663	$26,356	As of December 31, 2018
Ken Yorgan	Independent	$0	$0	$0	Data not available***
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2018. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC). * According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." ** According to the FEC, a disbursement "is a purchase, payment, distribution, loan, advance, deposit or gift of money or anything of value to influence a federal election," plus other kinds of payments not made to influence a federal election. *** Candidate either did not report any receipts or disbursements to the FEC, or Ballotpedia did not find an FEC candidate ID.

Campaign strategies and tactics

Campaign advertisements

Paul Nehlen

Support

"Russian Roulette" - Nehlen campaign ad, released November 16, 2017

"Paul Nehlen on Bump Fire and Suppressors" - Nehlen campaign ad, released October 9, 2017

"18 Years Too Late: Speaker Ryan Finally Goes To The U.S.-Mexico Border" - Nehlen campaign ad, released February 22, 2017

Bryan Steil

Support

"Wisconsin Steil" - Bryan Steil for Congress campaign ad, released July 24, 2018

Campaign themes and policy stances

Campaign themes

The following campaign themes were taken from the candidates' websites in April 2018, if available.

Paul Nehlen

“	Immigration/Wall We must build a wall from the Gulf to the Pacific, because you cannot bribe or extort a wall. Why? Illegal immigration is out of control. Elected officials at the federal, state, and local level refuse to enforce our laws. Also, you cannot effectively deport criminals without a defended wall to keep them out. Ask Spencer Golvach’s parents. Ask Kate Steinle’s parents. Ask Josh Wilkerson’s parents. Ask the multitude of families who have lost family members to illegal alien violence. The result of illegal immigration is undue strain on our social services systems, and even national security threats on American soil — not to mention the impact on jobs. America was built by immigrants — legal immigrants. I’m for legal immigration, albeit a significantly reduced number to allow those here legally to assimilate. Let’s tax the remittances to Mexico to reimburse the U.S. taxpayers for a wall built NOW! Let’s deport illegal aliens, including DACA recipients. Let’s enforce the legal path to citizenship currently on the books. Let’s put Wisconsin first. Let’s secure our southern border and enforce the laws currently on the books. Right to Bear Arms The Second Amendment is one of our most cherished and important liberties. It recognizes the right of the individual to protect himself from the tyranny of the collective. I will oppose all efforts to impose gun control, I’ll work to roll-back unreasonable controls currently in place, and I will fight to preserve the right to bear arms from federal overreach in Washington. Let’s get national reciprocity passed so that we can defend our lives in any state we travel to from Wisconsin. Defending the Unborn I’m pro-life. Human life is the highest value, and the right to life is clearly protected by our Constitution. I will always support laws that protect the sanctity of life, and I will NEVER vote for any bill that uses taxpayer funds to pay for abortions. No abortion provider should receive one dime of money from the government. I’m a supporter of H.R. 490, also known as the Heartbeat Bill. There are currently 169 cosponsors of this legislation, but Ryan refuses to bring it for a vote. It would save 99% of the aborted babies. He instead brought a late term abortion bill for a vote that would save only 1%, and calls himself against abortion. Those are some principles he has there. Healthcare Obamacare is destroying our healthcare markets. Costs have skyrocketed, and employers are dropping workers to part-time status, paychecks are stagnating or shrinking, jettisoning thousands of Wisconsinites off their insurance altogether. As a manufacturing executive, I’ve seen this cost escalation first hand. I’m for personal sovereignty. Wisconsinites should be able to choose what doctor they want to see or what health care plan they want to buy. Congress has no business determining what a qualified plan is in the marketplace. Using the commerce clause to open up markets, not squelch them is in their job description–the U.S. Constitution! Here are a few common sense, market-based fixes that will drive costs down and provide ease of access to healthcare for all Wisconsinites: Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), portable insurance accounts, permitting the purchase of health plans across state lines, tax deductible personal plans, the elimination of mandated coverage, and the repeal of regulations that inhibit choice and competition. We use free markets to buy televisions, cars, houses, groceries, clothes, and hotel rooms. Free markets deliver high quality goods and services and low prices. A free market approach to health care would drastically improve our insurance markets. Unleashing the Economy I do not want to level the playing field. I want to tilt it in favor of American workers. Free trade is a scam. I write extensively about it in my book “Wage the Battle” which you can find on Amazon. Our nation has succeeded because of our determination, hard work, our know-how and a brilliant system of foundational documents. We should be using the scaled tariff to bring countries like China, who have manipulated their currency and stolen tens of millions of U.S. jobs, into alignment. As a manufacturer and turn-around specialist who has employed thousands of Americans, I can tell you first hand that getting rid of onerous, unnecessary regulations is the first step to unleashing the private sector to create more good-paying jobs. My primary focus in work is running manufacturing plants and creating growth and jobs. D.C. needs more real-world experience and fewer career politicians who’ve never held a job in the real world. Globalist career politicians are content to ship jobs overseas, and import labor to the U.S. to replace American workers – all to boost the profits of their wealthy corporate donors. The bad “trade” deals our President opposes aren’t even trade deals. We need to place tariffs on countries presently waging economic war on America. Quite simply, Democrats AND Republicans in D.C are selling the American worker out. D.C.’s ruling elites just don’t get it. Paul Ryan’s 20% suggested Corporate tax rate won’t go nearly far enough. As your Congressman, I’ll work toward implementing a 12% corporate tax rate. I’ll work to close the inversion loophole. Expensing capital expenditures is a shiny object. It is a cheap parlor trick, like promising a $2,500 savings with Obamacare. Don’t fall for it. We need a lower rate and that will bring tens of millions of jobs into this country. Along with that we eliminate the welfare culture the Democrats and globalists like Ryan have created in this country. Jobs for American citizens. Automation is coming and the last thing we need is low skilled workers flooding the market, incapable of transitioning to a more highly automated society. Restoring economic growth to Wisconsin and America — and fiscal discipline to Washington — requires a mentality that puts America’s prosperity ahead of beltway insiders’ profits. Let’s get Wisconsin back to work. National Defense Our government’s most important responsibility is to provide for our common defense and security. Since we first cast off the shackles of government oppression, America was a beacon for liberty. But since defeating communism and leftist tyranny in the 20th century – securing our place as a defender of human rights globally – America’s shining light has been dimmed. Our military is spread too thin. This weakness invites foreign threat. Washington’s fiscal irresponsibility has left the men and women in our armed forces high and dry. Our soldiers and veterans sacrifice much for their country — and deserve to be well equipped to carry out the mission of defending their nation. They deserve our appreciation and our unqualified support and thanks. Education If we get education right, we empower a child for the rest of his or her life. Once someone has an education, it can’t be taken away. College costs have increased more than 400% over the last 25 years, and the Department of Education estimates the U.S. spends $650 BILLION on primary and secondary education. All that spending isn’t working. American students increasingly lag behind students in other developed nations. We send billions of dollars to D.C. only to have a fraction of it sent back to Wisconsin, and with strings attached – conditions that don’t even help our schools or our kids. This must stop. I’ll work to cut D.C.’s strings on Wisconsin’s educators. Wisconsin’s children deserve better than a faceless bureaucrat 800 miles away dictating failed education policy. Wisconsin’s parents and teachers should be in charge of Wisconsin’s schools — not D.C. Term Limits Career politicians go to D.C. and stay for a lifetime. They waste our hard-earned dollars and demand more of your dollars in taxes and fees to cover their tab – all while often enriching themselves and their families. That’s not how our Republic was designed. Citizen-statesmen were to represent their state or district for a term or two and then return to their lives, families, and businesses. I pledge I’ll serve no more than three terms in the U.S. House, and I’ll support legislation limiting Senators to three terms, House Representatives to three terms, and Supreme Court Justices to one 16 year term.	”
—Volunteers for Nehlen

Nick Polce

“	Fundamentally, the government should focus on guaranteeing freedom for its citizens. I love this country and have a deep respect for who and what came before us. I believe The American Dream is equality of opportunity. During my military career, I traveled often and lived in many different countries. Living in these diverse cultures, I developed a profound admiration for our country and the unique opportunities it affords its citizens. As an American, I believe in empowering individuals not government. Those closest to any problem have the insights into the causes and the incentives to solve those problems better than some distant Washington bureaucrat. The federal government has grown too large and more often than not gets in the way of progress and freedom. The federal government should not act to command and control our lives. Instead, it should create and foster an environment that allows American creativity, diversity, individuality, and problem solving to prosper. In this environment, American ingenuity will take over. Our representatives will unleash the American people instead of trying to control and restrict them. Culture of Corruption The most significant risk we face in Washington is the career politician. We need term limits. These terms limits should apply to elected officials and staff. We need to close the revolving door from the public to the private sector. In its place, we need to improve ethics regulations that require individuals to remain away from federal government employment for the amount of time they held elected office or were employed as a staffer. Government Spending and Budget The federal government funds itself in only one of three ways: taxation, debt, and money creation. Anytime government takes money from its citizens – in one of the three ways listed above – individual Americans have that much less to use. Federal government spending is out of control. Our budget and our debt continue to grow regardless of the political party in power. Elected representatives must cut spending and pay off the debt. Federal Government Pay Our elected officials receive compensation above and beyond their value and contribution to society. We should immediately enact a 33% cut in Congressional pay. We need to eliminate pensions for federally elected officials and appointees. In its place, we substitute the retirement model of the private sector as we do with all the other benefits of government officials. We must incentivize public service instead of public enrichment. The same laws that govern American citizens govern public officials. These laws include bans against things like insider trading. Under current law, Congress is authorized to conduct insider trading. American citizens would go to jail for the same insider trading. It also includes drafting laws that Congress is exempt from following. The Affordable Care Act is a perfect example of this. Congress passed a law that forced American citizens to purchase health insurance. Simultaneously, Congress declared that they are not required to buy health care in the same way. This double standard needs to end. Regulations Too many regulations hurt Americans, our families, our livelihoods and our way of life. The Federal Register as of 2016 was over 80,000 pages. Each one of these rules and regulations results in the law of unintended consequences. Congress needs to immediately review each and every regulation and determine the consequences of the regulation. If the regulation causes more harm than good to Americans, we need to eliminate it. Corporate Subsidies/Welfare We should end corporate subsidies. When I use this phrase, I merely mean businesses (usually always large) that receive discounts, payments or other compensation to encourage behavior or to offset costs. When our elected officials provide corporate subsidies, American citizens, through their taxes, provide benefits to some companies at the expense of others. Not all companies have access to subsidies. The result is that elected officials use American taxpayer money to support some businesses while other businesses are left to fend for themselves. Government officials should not pick winners and losers. Welfare The goal of welfare needs to always focus on getting individuals and families off of welfare and into the workforce so they can provide for themselves and their families. Social Security Our elected representatives have misled Americans too long on this program. Social Security does not work as it is advertised. The money we Americans believe is saved for our retirement is actually spent by Congress. Money that working Americans send to Washington is used by Congress to pay the Social Security payouts to individuals who are retired and drawing Social Security. Americans paid into a system with the expectation that they would receive income in retirement. They should not feel like those in power will break this commitment. If your retirement planning includes Social Security then America needs to maintain its commitment to you. However, we do need to introduce individual choice to this system. Younger generations, who may not want to pay into Social Security, can choose to do other things with their money for retirement. Social Security should be voluntary. If you want to draw Social Security when you retire, you can. If you want to invest your own money for retirement instead of the federal government taking 12.4% of your paycheck, you can. The principle of individual freedom needs to drive this process. Medicare As with Social Security, Medicare is failing. It provides a lot of challenges to seniors. Our seniors need not suffer in retirement due to lack of quality care. The mark of any great nation is in the way that it treats the most vulnerable – its infants and elderly. If individuals expect to receive health care covered under Medicare during their retirement, then they should receive it. America will not break any commitments to anyone retired, close to retirement, expecting medical care or who want Medicare in retirement. As we look to the future, individual freedom needs to drive Medicare. No more should our elected representatives force an individual to pay 2.9% into a program for the duration of his or her working life, without any control over how elected officials spend that same money. Instead, we need to open up access to other programs that allow the individual to save, invest and plan for medical care during retirement. At the same time, we also want to drive down the cost of medical care so that the patient receives the very best care. It is not enough merely to have insurance. What we want is excellent care. No one wants to see their loved ones suffer in their golden years because of inadequate care. For those who do not want to rely on Medicare for healthcare in their retirement, our elected officials need to change the system to allow these individuals to keep the 2.9% and put it in a type of healthcare retirement fund. Our current tax code contains policies under which individuals can plan to save for their medical needs in retirement. Individual freedom and choice shall drive this system as well. The individual knows best because he or she is closest to the problem. Medical Care Career politicians at the federal level have utterly destroyed the medical system in this country. We have the greatest medical professionals in the world. To fix our medical system, America needs the government out of it. The focus of the medical system should always be quality medical care at an affordable price. We need to rediscover individual choice in our medical care and return this choice to the most local level. The individual and the doctors are the ones closest to the problem. We need to create our medical system so that it is focused on freedom and returns the rights to the individual to decide how they want to use and pay for their care. Pro-Life I am pro-life. Life is extremely precious. My wife and I struggled for a long time to conceive. When our son was finally born, we knew we were blessed. I respect and empathize with individuals that struggle with an unexpected or unwanted pregnancy. We must protect the most vulnerable in our society. Observing my wife during her pregnancy and labor, leading to the birth of our son, humbled me. It provided me with a remarkable respect for women and the toll that a pregnancy will take on their body. Immigration We should encourage individuals from all over the world to come to our country and contribute to our society legally. Career politicians created the current immigration system that is burdensome, confusing, broken and rewards lawbreaking. We have a right to secure our borders and build a wall. Second Amendment This amendment is clear. American citizens have the right to own firearms. Americans have the right of self-defense. Military/National Security Eight overseas deployments. Eleven plus years of military service. US Army Green Beret. I love this country and love the military. Our military protects the freedoms and our way of life. Our nation requires a strong military and intelligence community to remain free and safe. Education Individuals need to have the freedom to choose how to educate their children. Whether a parent chooses public or private education, they should have that right and have the ability to pay for it. Our schools are failing our children. There is too much command and control from the federal government. We can only fix education at the most local level. At this level, individuals – parents and teachers – are closest to the problem and have the best solutions to provide the best education to the next generation of Americans. Our children require us to prepare them to lead when they come of age. Family The family is the nucleus of our society. It requires representatives to protect it and nurture it so that our nation will benefit from healthy supportive families. Taxes Every dollar the government takes from its citizens in the form of taxes is one less earned dollar that our American citizens can use to take care of his or her own family. Taxes on individuals and business should be as low as possible. The money an American earns while working is his or her money. The money does not belong to the government. Leadership The mark of a great leader is not how many people follow but how many new leaders he inspires and creates. America is the greatest country in the world. The American dream is alive and well. I want to unleash the creativity, passion, hard work and greatness of the American citizen.	”
—Friends of Nick Polce

State overview

Partisan control

This section details the partisan control of federal and state positions in Wisconsin heading into the 2018 elections.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2016 elections, Democrats and Republicans each held one U.S. Senate seat in Wisconsin.
• Republicans held five of eight U.S. House seats in Wisconsin.

State executives

• Republicans held six of 11 state executive positions, while one position was held by a Democrat and four were held by nonpartisan officials.
• The governor of Wisconsin was Republican Scott Walker.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled both chambers of the Wisconsin State Legislature. They had a 64-35 majority in the state Assembly and an 18-15 majority in the state Senate.

Trifecta status

• Wisconsin was a Republican trifecta, meaning that the Republican Party controlled the state government. Scott Walker (R) served as governor and Republicans controlled the state legislature.

2018 elections

See also: Wisconsin elections, 2018

Wisconsin held elections for the following positions in 2018:

• One seat in the U.S. Senate
• Eight U.S. House seats
• Governor and lieutenant governor
• Three lower state executive positions
• 17 out of 33 state Senate seats
• 99 state Assembly seats
• Municipal elections in Dane and Milwaukee Counties

Demographics

Demographic data for Wisconsin
	Wisconsin	U.S.
Total population:	5,767,891	316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):	54,158	3,531,905
Race and ethnicity**
White:	86.5%	73.6%
Black/African American:	6.3%	12.6%
Asian:	2.5%	5.1%
Native American:	0.9%	0.8%
Pacific Islander:	0%	0.2%
Two or more:	2.1%	3%
Hispanic/Latino:	6.3%	17.1%
Education
High school graduation rate:	91%	86.7%
College graduation rate:	27.8%	29.8%
Income
Median household income:	$53,357	$53,889
Persons below poverty level:	15%	11.3%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Wisconsin. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

As of July 2017, Wisconsin had a population of approximately 5,800,000 people, with its three largest cities being Milwaukee (pop. est. 600,000), Madison (pop. est. 250,000), and Green Bay (pop. est. 110,000).

State election history

This section provides an overview of federal and state elections in Wisconsin from 2000 to 2016. All data comes from the Wisconsin Elections Commission.

Historical elections

Presidential elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the presidential election in Wisconsin every year from 2000 to 2016.

Election results (President of the United States), Wisconsin 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Donald Trump	47.8%	Hillary Clinton	46.3%	1.5%
2012	Barack Obama	52.8%	Mitt Romney	45.9%	6.9%
2008	Barack Obama	56.2%	John McCain	42.3%	13.9%
2004	John Kerry	49.7%	George W. Bush	49.3%	0.4%
2000	Al Gore	47.8%	George W. Bush	47.6%	0.2%

U.S. Senate elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of U.S. Senate races in Wisconsin from 2000 to 2016. Every state has two Senate seats, and each seat goes up for election every six years. The terms of the seats are staggered so that roughly one-third of the seats are up every two years.

Election results (U.S. Senator), Wisconsin 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2016	Ron Johnson	50.2%	Russ Feingold	46.8%	3.4%
2012	Tammy Baldwin	51.4%	Tommy Thompson	45.9%	5.5%
2010	Ron Johnson	51.9%	Russ Feingold	47.0%	4.9%
2006	Herb Kohl	67.3%	Robert Lorge	29.5%	37.8%
2004	Russ Feingold	55.3%	Tim Michels	44.1%	11.2%
2000	Herb Kohl	61.5%	John Gillespie	37.0%	24.5%

Gubernatorial elections, 2000-2016

This chart shows the results of the four gubernatorial elections held between 2000 and 2016. Gubernatorial elections are held every four years in Wisconsin.

Election results (Governor), Wisconsin 2000-2016
Year	First-place candidate	First-place candidate votes (%)	Second-place candidate	Second-place candidate votes (%)	Margin of victory (%)
2014	Scott Walker	52.3%	Mary Burke	46.6%	5.7%
2010	Scott Walker	52.3%	Tom Barrett	46.5%	5.8%
2006	Jim Doyle	52.7%	Mark Green	45.3%	7.4%
2002	Jim Doyle	45.1%	Scott McCallum	41.4%	3.7%

Congressional delegation, 2000-2016

This chart shows the number of Democrats and Republicans who were elected to represent Wisconsin in the U.S. House from 2000 to 2016. Elections for U.S. House seats are held every two years.

Congressional delegation, Wisconsin 2000-2016
Year	Republicans	Republicans (%)	Democrats	Democrats (%)	Balance of power
2016	5	62.5%	3	37.5%	R+2
2014	5	62.5%	3	37.5%	R+2
2012	5	62.5%	3	37.5%	R+2
2010	5	62.5%	3	37.5%	R+2
2008	3	37.5%	5	62.5%	D+2
2006	3	37.5%	5	62.5%	D+2
2004	4	50%	4	50%	-
2002	4	50%	4	50%	-
2000	4	44.4%	5	55.6%	D+1

Trifectas, 1992-2017

A state government trifecta occurs when one party controls both chambers of the state legislature and the governor's office.

Wisconsin Party Control: 1992-2025
Two years of Democratic trifectas  •  Ten years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

See also

• United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2018
• United States House elections in Wisconsin (August 14, 2018 Republican primaries)
• Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District election (August 14, 2018 Democratic primary)
• United States House of Representatives elections, 2018

Footnotes

[show]

Wisconsin's current delegation to the United States Congress

Senators

Tammy Baldwin (D)

Ronald Johnson (R)

Representatives

District 1

Bryan Steil (R)

District 2

Mark Pocan (D)

District 3

Derrick Van Orden (R)

District 4

Gwen Moore (D)

District 5

Scott Fitzgerald (R)

District 6

Glenn Grothman (R)

District 7

Tom Tiffany (R)

District 8

Tony Wied (R)

Republican Party (7)

Democratic Party (3)

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

---

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Frank Festa • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond • Erica Shumaker
External Relations: Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

---

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams. Managing Editor of Events • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Joseph Greaney • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Ellie Mikus • Ellen Morrissey • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Ethan Rice • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox