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Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2020 (August 11 Republican primary)

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Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District
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Democratic primary
Republican primary
General election
Election details
Filing deadline: June 1, 2020
Primary: August 11, 2020
General: November 3, 2020
Pre-election incumbent:
Jim Sensenbrenner (Republican)
How to vote
Poll times: 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Voting in Wisconsin
Race ratings
Cook Political Report: Solid Republican
Inside Elections: Solid Republican
Sabato's Crystal Ball: Safe Republican
Ballotpedia analysis
U.S. Senate battlegrounds
U.S. House battlegrounds
Federal and state primary competitiveness
Ballotpedia's Election Analysis Hub, 2020
See also
Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District
1st • 2nd • 3rd • 4th • 5th • 6th • 7th • 8th
Wisconsin elections, 2020
U.S. Congress elections, 2020
U.S. Senate elections, 2020
U.S. House elections, 2020

Scott Fitzgerald defeated Clifford DeTemple in the Republican primary for Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District on August 11, 2020. Fitzgerald received 77% of the vote to DeTemple's 23%. Fitzgerald advanced to the district's general election on November 3, 2020. Incumbent Jim Sensenbrenner (R), who was first elected to the House in 1978, did not run for re-election.

Fitzgerald, a retired lieutenant colonel and the state senate majority leader, was endorsed by Sensenbrenner and former Gov. Scott Walker (R).[2][3] He was an early supporter of President Donald Trump (R), which could "be advantageous in some parts of the district, but it could also turn off some voters in the Milwaukee suburbs," according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.[4]

DeTemple, a veteran Coast Guard senior reserve officer and small business owner, said he knew the federal government better than Fitzgerald. He said he would focus on preventing federal agencies from spending down their budget at the end of each fiscal year. "I put who I am out in writing. My yard signs say I’m Republican; [Fitzgerald's] do not. I’m pro-America and nobody else puts that out there," DeTemple said.[2][5]

According to campaign finance reports covering all receipts through July 22, Fitzgerald led with $784,000. DeTemple had $205,000 in receipts.

Mordecai Lee, a professor emeritus at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, said of the small primary field for an open seat, "When a congressional seat in a safe district becomes vacant, politicians normally salivate for such an opportunity. But for the GOP to make a consensus decision and say that ‘Scott Fitzgerald is the guy’ shows that this is a powerful political machine that is very organized in its stability and its cohesiveness."[2]

As of August 2020, major independent observers rated the general election as Safe Republican or Solid Republican. The 2017 Cook Partisan Voter Index for this district was R+13, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Republican than the national average.

Click on the candidate names below to view their key messages:


DeTemple
Fitzgerald

This page focuses on Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District Republican primary. For more in-depth information on the district's Democratic primary and the general election, see the following pages:

Election procedure changes in 2020

See also: Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Ballotpedia provided comprehensive coverage of how election dates and procedures changed in 2020. While the majority of changes occurred as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, some changes occurred for other reasons.

Political party events in Wisconsin were modified as follows:

  • Political party events: The Republican Party of Wisconsin postponed its state convention, originally scheduled to take place in May, to July 10-11.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.


Candidates and election results

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Scott Fitzgerald defeated Clifford DeTemple in the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 11, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Scott Fitzgerald
Scott Fitzgerald
 
77.2
 
60,676
Image of Clifford DeTemple
Clifford DeTemple Candidate Connection
 
22.7
 
17,829
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.1
 
63

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 78,568
Candidate Connection = 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.

Candidate profiles

This section includes candidate profiles created in one of two ways. Either the candidate completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey or Ballotpedia staff created a profile after identifying the candidate as noteworthy.[6] Ballotpedia staff compiled profiles based on campaign websites, advertisements, and public statements.

Clifford DeTemple

Image of Clifford DeTemple

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: None

Submitted Biography:  "I am Conservative candidate with 33 years Military Reserve experience, bringing 18 years small business acumen, and a life time of community service as an Eagle Scout into Congress. I want to represent Wisconsin by showing respect, dignity and devotion to the Country in political service, not feed the media circus. I will bring a new level to the federal government that is disappearing quickly in politics. Pro Life, Pro Constitution, Pro American, that believes in term limits. After serving my country as a Military Reservist seeing 18 countries and bringing business accountability to politics, I am well balanced to serve the people of Wisconsin as their voice in Congress. "

Key Messages

To read this candidate's full survey responses, click here.

Term limits on congressional seats

Protection of life at all stages

Protection of the Constitution

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 in 2020.

Scott Fitzgerald

Image of Scott Fitzgerald

WebsiteFacebookTwitter

Party: Republican Party

Incumbent: No

Political Office: 

Biography:  Fitzgerald graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh in 1985. He joined the U.S. Army Reserve in 1981 and retired as a lieutenant colonel after 27 years of service. Fitzgerald ran the Dodge County Independent News in Juneau, Wisconsin, from 1990 to 1996. He also worked as an associate publisher. Fitzgerald was first elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 1994.


Key Messages

The following key messages were curated by Ballotpedia staff. For more on how we identify key messages, click here.

"Scott Fitzgerald led the fight—and won—on Act 10, Right to Work, and years of balanced budgets for Wisconsin taxpayers."

"Scott Fitzgerald will be a proven ally for President Trump, fighting to fix what’s broken in Washington."

"Scott Fitzgerald served 27 years in the Army Reserve, rising to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He’ll fight to defend our country and honor those who served."

Show sources

Sources: Scott Fitzgerald for Congress, "Home," accessed August 6, 2020; Wisconsin State Senate, "Scott Fitzgerald," accessed August 6, 2020

This information was current as of the candidate's run for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 in 2020.


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+13, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District the 105th most Republican nationally.[7]

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 1.11. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.11 points toward that party.[8]

Campaign finance

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

Name Party Receipts* Disbursements** Cash on hand Date
Clifford DeTemple Republican Party $107,322 $65,313 $42,009 As of December 31, 2020
Scott Fitzgerald Republican Party $1,157,205 $969,890 $187,315 As of December 31, 2020

Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2020. 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.


General election race ratings

See also: Race rating definitions and methods

Ballotpedia provides race ratings from four outlets: The Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, Sabato's Crystal Ball, and DDHQ/The Hill. Each race rating indicates if one party is perceived to have an advantage in the race and, if so, the degree of advantage:

  • Safe and Solid ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge and the race is not competitive.
  • Likely ratings indicate that one party has a clear edge, but an upset is possible.
  • Lean ratings indicate that one party has a small edge, but the race is competitive.[9]
  • Toss-up ratings indicate that neither party has an advantage.

Race ratings are informed by a number of factors, including polling, candidate quality, and election result history in the race's district or state.[10][11][12]

Race ratings: Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2020
Race trackerRace ratings
November 3, 2020October 27, 2020October 20, 2020October 13, 2020
The Cook Political ReportSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Inside Elections with Nathan L. GonzalesSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid RepublicanSolid Republican
Larry J. Sabato's Crystal BallSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe RepublicanSafe Republican
Note: Ballotpedia updates external race ratings every week throughout the election season.

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+13, meaning that in the previous two presidential elections, this district's results were 13 percentage points more Republican than the national average. This made Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District the 105th most Republican nationally.[13]

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 1.11. This means that for every 1 point the national political mood moved toward a party, the district was expected to move 1.11 points toward that party.[14]

Pivot Counties

See also: Pivot Counties by state

Twenty-three of 72 Wisconsin counties—32 percent—are Pivot Counties. Pivot Counties are counties that voted for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012 and for Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Altogether, the nation had 206 Pivot Counties, with most being concentrated in upper midwestern and northeastern states.

Counties won by Trump in 2016 and Obama in 2012 and 2008
County Trump margin of victory in 2016 Obama margin of victory in 2012 Obama margin of victory in 2008
Adams County, Wisconsin 21.92% 8.73% 18.35%
Buffalo County, Wisconsin 21.82% 2.93% 14.66%
Columbia County, Wisconsin 2.14% 13.58% 15.26%
Crawford County, Wisconsin 5.40% 19.98% 27.03%
Door County, Wisconsin 3.22% 6.99% 17.33%
Dunn County, Wisconsin 11.09% 4.97% 14.95%
Forest County, Wisconsin 26.58% 5.44% 15.16%
Grant County, Wisconsin 9.43% 13.77% 23.88%
Jackson County, Wisconsin 11.74% 15.01% 21.84%
Juneau County, Wisconsin 26.05% 7.03% 9.00%
Kenosha County, Wisconsin 0.31% 12.23% 18.06%
Lafayette County, Wisconsin 8.99% 15.37% 22.32%
Lincoln County, Wisconsin 20.60% 0.71% 12.48%
Marquette County, Wisconsin 24.09% 0.27% 5.28%
Pepin County, Wisconsin 23.08% 2.22% 12.89%
Price County, Wisconsin 25.00% 0.04% 13.40%
Racine County, Wisconsin 4.28% 3.54% 7.41%
Richland County, Wisconsin 5.50% 16.13% 20.63%
Sauk County, Wisconsin 0.35% 18.47% 23.04%
Sawyer County, Wisconsin 18.41% 0.49% 6.23%
Trempealeau County, Wisconsin 12.64% 14.08% 26.39%
Vernon County, Wisconsin 4.43% 14.73% 22.00%
Winnebago County, Wisconsin 7.34% 3.73% 11.66%

In the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump (R) won Wisconsin with 47.2 percent of the vote. Hillary Clinton (D) received 46.5 percent. In presidential elections between 1900 and 2016, Wisconsin cast votes for the winning presidential candidate 76.7 percent of the time. In that same time frame, Wisconsin supported Republicans slightly more than Democratic candidates, 50.0 to 46.7 percent. The state, however, favored Democrats in every presidential election from 2000 to 2012 before voting for Trump in 2016.

Presidential results by legislative district

The following table details results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections by state Assembly districts in Wisconsin. Click [show] to expand the table. The "Obama," "Romney," "Clinton," and "Trump" columns describe the percent of the vote each presidential candidate received in the district. The "2012 Margin" and "2016 Margin" columns describe the margin of victory between the two presidential candidates in those years. The "Party Control" column notes which party held that seat heading into the 2018 general election. Data on the results of the 2012 and 2016 presidential elections broken down by state legislative districts was compiled by Daily Kos.[15][16]

In 2012, Barack Obama (D) won 43 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 34.1 points. In 2016, Hillary Clinton (D) won 36 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 34.6 points. Clinton won three districts controlled by Republicans heading into the 2018 elections.
In 2012, Mitt Romney (R) won 56 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 12.1 points. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) won 63 out of 99 state Assembly districts in Wisconsin with an average margin of victory of 19.4 points. Trump won two districts controlled by Democrats heading into the 2018 elections.


District election history

2018

See also: Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2018

General election

General election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Incumbent F. James Sensenbrenner defeated Tom Palzewicz in the general election for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of F. James Sensenbrenner
F. James Sensenbrenner (R)
 
62.0
 
225,619
Image of Tom Palzewicz
Tom Palzewicz (D) Candidate Connection
 
38.0
 
138,385
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.0
 
1

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 364,005
Candidate Connection = 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

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Tom Palzewicz advanced from the Democratic primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Tom Palzewicz
Tom Palzewicz Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
43,192

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 43,192
Candidate Connection = 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

Republican primary election

Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5

Incumbent F. James Sensenbrenner defeated Jennifer Vipond in the Republican primary for U.S. House Wisconsin District 5 on August 14, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of F. James Sensenbrenner
F. James Sensenbrenner
 
81.2
 
73,397
Image of Jennifer Vipond
Jennifer Vipond
 
18.8
 
17,011

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 90,408
Candidate Connection = 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.

2016

See also: Wisconsin's 5th Congressional District election, 2016

Heading into the election, Ballotpedia rated this race as safely Republican. Incumbent Jim Sensenbrenner (R) defeated Khary Penebaker (D) and John Arndt (L) in the general election on November 8, 2016. No candidate faced a primary opponent in August.[17][18]

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 5 General Election, 2016
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJim Sensenbrenner Incumbent 66.8% 260,706
     Democratic Khary Penebaker 29.3% 114,477
     Libertarian John Arndt 3.9% 15,324
Total Votes 390,507
Source: Wisconsin Elections Commission

2014

U.S. House, Wisconsin District 5 General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Republican Green check mark transparent.pngJim Sensenbrenner Incumbent 69.5% 231,160
     Democratic Chris Rockwood 30.4% 101,190
     N/A Scattering 0.1% 476
Total Votes 332,826
Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

State profile

See also: Wisconsin and Wisconsin elections, 2020
USA Wisconsin location map.svg

Partisan data

The information in this section was current as of March 26, 2020.

Presidential voting pattern

Congressional delegation

State executives

State legislature

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

Wisconsin quick stats
More Wisconsin coverage on Ballotpedia:


Demographic data for Wisconsin
 WisconsinU.S.
Total population:5,767,891316,515,021
Land area (sq mi):54,1583,531,905
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.


See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 On April 2, 2020, Judge William M. Conley, of the United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin, issued an order extending absentee voting deadlines in Wisconsin's April 7, 2020, election. Under Conley's order, the absentee ballot request deadline was extended to 5:00 p.m. April 3, 2020. The ballot return deadline was extended to 4:00 p.m. April 13, 2020. The primary date itself was unchanged.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Milwaukee Magazine, "Who Will Replace Sensenbrenner in the 5th Congressional District?" July 24, 2020
  3. ↑ Twitter, "Scott Bauer," November 20, 2019
  4. ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "State Senate leader to face off against Republican challenger for Congress in August primary," August 3, 2020
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named MJS
  6. ↑ Candidate Connection surveys completed before September 26, 2019, were not used to generate candidate profiles. In battleground primaries, Ballotpedia based its selection of noteworthy candidates on polling, fundraising, and noteworthy endorsements. In battleground general elections, all major party candidates and any other candidates with the potential to impact the outcome of the race were included.
  7. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  8. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  9. ↑ Inside Elections also uses Tilt ratings to indicate an even smaller advantage and greater competitiveness.
  10. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Nathan Gonzalez," April 19, 2018
  11. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Kyle Kondik," April 19, 2018
  12. ↑ Amee LaTour, "Email correspondence with Charlie Cook," April 22, 2018
  13. ↑ Cook Political Report, "Introducing the 2017 Cook Political Report Partisan Voter Index," April 7, 2017
  14. ↑ FiveThirtyEight, "Election Update: The Most (And Least) Elastic States And Districts," September 6, 2018
  15. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' statewide election results by congressional and legislative districts," July 9, 2013
  16. ↑ Daily Kos, "Daily Kos Elections' 2016 presidential results for congressional and legislative districts," February 6, 2017
  17. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 2, 2016
  18. ↑ Politico, "Wisconsin House Primaries Results," August 9, 2016


Wisconsin's current delegation to the United States Congress
Senators
Tammy Baldwin (D)
Ronald Johnson (R)
Representatives
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
Tony Wied (R)
Republican Party (7)
Democratic Party (3)


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