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Wisconsin 2010 legislative election results
Senate
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| Other 2010 Election information |
Wisconsin State Senate Election Results
This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Wisconsin State Senate. For results in individual contests see our Wisconsin State Senate elections, 2010 page. The following is a breakdown of the state senate before and after the election:
| Wisconsin State Senate | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 18 | 14 | |
| Republican Party | 15 | 19 | |
| Total | 33 | 33 | |
What You'll See on This Page
This page displays the following lists of candidates
- Incumbents who ran on November 2
- Incumbents who were defeated
- Challengers who defeated an incumbent
- Newly elected senators
- List of all winners
- Unopposed candidates
- Third party candidates
State Senate Overview:
- There were 13 incumbents who ran in the November 2 general election. Four incumbents lost, and thus 9 incumbents were re-elected to the Wisconsin State Senate.
- There will be 8 new senators sworn-in, 2 Democratic candidates and 6 Republicans.
- Of the 17 seats up for election, 6 were won by Democrats and 11 by Republicans.
- 2 candidates were unopposed, both Republicans.
- 0 candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate in the general election.
Incumbency Analysis
Of the 1,167 state senate seats up for election in 2010, incumbents ran for 894 (76.6%) of them. Of these 894, 94 lost their re-election bids, 89 Democrats and 5 Republicans. In Wisconsin, 4 incumbent senators did not run for re-election on the November 2 ballot, while 13 incumbents (76.5%) ran for re-election. Of the 13 who ran, 4 were defeated (all Democratic incumbents).
Incumbents who ran on November 2
The following is a list of all of the incumbents who ran on the November 2 general election ballot:
Incumbents defeated
The following is a list of incumbents defeated on November 2:
| Candidate | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Pat Kreitlow | ||
| Jim Sullivan (Wisconsin) | ||
| John Lehman | ||
| Russ Decker |
Challengers who beat an incumbent
The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent on November 2:
| Candidate | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Leah Vukmir | ||
| Pam Galloway | ||
| Terry Moulton | ||
| Van Wanggaard |
New State Senators and General Election Winners
388 new senators were elected across the country. This includes challengers who defeated incumbents as well as candidates who won open seats. Of these 388, 278 were Republicans and 110 were Democrats. In Wisconsin, 8 new senators will be sworn-in, 2 Democratic candidates and 6 Republicans. In total, Wisconsin elected 17 senators, 11 Republicans and 6 Democrats.
Newly elected senators
The following is the newly-elected member of the Wisconsin State Senate:
Democratic
Republican
Open Seat Winners
The following is a list of candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:
Democratic
Republican
Candidates who won election
The following is a list of all candidates elected to the Wisconsin State Senate:
Democratic
Republican
Competitiveness
Across the nation, 1,167 state senate seats were up for election in 2010. 1,143 of those seats were partisan seats (24 seats were up for election in Nebraska's nonpartisan unicameral legislature). In 320 (28.0%) of these state senate contests, there was a major party candidate with no major party opposition. In Wisconsin, 2 candidates (11.8% of seats) faced no major party opposition. Of these 2, both were Republicans.
Unopposed candidates in general election
The following candidates did not face major party competition:
Democratic
All Democratic candidates faced a Republican opponent.
Republican
Ballot Access
Across the nation, 140 independent or third party candidates ran for state senate. In Wisconsin, none of the 31 senate candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate.
Third party candidates
The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who ran in 2010:
No third party candidates ran for election.
State Assembly
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| Other 2010 Election information |
Wisconsin State Assembly Election Results
This page contains macro-level election results and analysis for the Wisconsin State Assembly. For results in individual contests, see our Wisconsin State Assembly elections, 2010. The following is a breakdown of the State Assembly before and after the election:
| Wisconsin State Assembly | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 1, 2010 | After the 2010 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 50 | 38 | |
| Republican Party | 45 | 60 | |
| Independent | 2 | 1 | |
| Vacancy | 2 | - | |
| Total | 99 | 99 | |
What You'll See on This Page
This page displays the following lists of candidates
- Incumbents who ran on November 2
- Incumbents who were defeated
- Challengers who defeated an incumbent
- Newly elected senators
- List of all winners
- Unopposed candidates
- Third party candidates
State Assembly Overview:
- There were 79 incumbents who ran in the November 2 general election. Only 10 incumbents lost, and thus 69 incumbents were re-elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly.
- No Republican incumbents lost in the general election, while 10 incumbent Democratic incumbent lost.
- There will be 29 new representatives sworn-in, 5 Democrats and 24 Republicans.
- Of the 99 seats up for election, 38 were won by Democrats, 60 by Republicans and 1 Independent.
- 31 candidates were unopposed, 14 Democrats and 17 Republicans.
- 20 candidates ran as an independent or third party candidate in the general election.
Incumbency Analysis
Of the 4,958 state house seats up for election, incumbents ran in the general election for 4,091 (79.5%) of them. Of these 4,091 incumbents, 413 lost their re-election bids, 403 Democrats and 10 Republicans. In Wisconsin, 79 (79.8%) incumbents ran for re-election. Of these 79, 10 incumbent representatives were defeated. All 10 incumbents were Democrats.
Incumbents who ran on November 2
The following is a list of all of the incumbents who ran on the November 2 general election ballot:
- Garey Bies
- Ted Zigmunt
- Alvin Ott
- Gary Tauchen
- Margaret Krusick
- Josh Zepnick
- Jason Fields (Wisconsin)
- Frederick Kessler
- David Cullen
- Leon Young
- Barbara Toles
- Tamara Grigsby
- Jon Richards
- Christine Sinicki
- Mark Honadel
- Sandy Pasch
- Jim Ott
- Daniel Knodl
- Robert Ziegelbauer
- Terry Van Akkeren
- Steven Kestell
- Ann Hraychuck
- John Murtha (Wisconsin)
- Stephen Nass
- Dan Meyer
- Jeffrey Mursau
- Andy Jorgensen
- Joel Kleefisch
- Kevin Petersen (Wisconsin)
- Joan Ballweg
- Fred Clark
- Kim Hixson
- Mike Sheridan
- Gary Hebl
- Phil Garthwaite
- Joseph Parisi
- Ed Brooks
- Richard Spanbauer
- Gordon Hintz
- Dean Kaufert
- Penny Bernard Schaber
- Pat Strachota
- Daniel LeMahieu
- Mark Gottlieb
- Robert Turner (Wisconsin)
- Cory Mason
- Robin Vos
- Peter Barca
- John Steinbrink
- Samantha Kerkman
- Scott Suder
- Louis Molepske, Jr.
- Marlin Schneider
- Nick Milroy
- Terese Berceau
- Mark Pocan
- Kelda Roys
- Jeffrey Stone (Wisconsin)
- Scott Gunderson (Wisconsin)
- Donna Seidel
- Jerry Petrowski
- Mary Williams (Wisconsin)
- James Soletski
- John Nygren
- Karl Van Roy
- Chris Danou
- Mark Radcliffe
- Michael Huebsch
- Jennifer Shilling
- Lee Nerison
- Bill Kramer
- Don Pridemore
- Amy Vruwink
- Keith Ripp
- Kristen Dexter
- Jeff Fitzgerald
- Jeff Smith (Wisconsin)
- Sondy Pope
- Tony Staskunas
Incumbents defeated
The following is a list of incumbents defeated on November 2:
| Candidate | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Ted Zigmunt | ||
| Terry Van Akkeren | ||
| Kim Hixson | ||
| Mike Sheridan | ||
| Phil Garthwaite | ||
| Kristen Dexter | ||
| Marlin Schneider | ||
| James Soletski | ||
| Ann Hraychuck | ||
| Jeff Smith (Wisconsin) |
Challengers who beat an incumbent
The following is a list of challengers who defeated an incumbent on November 2:
| Candidate | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| André Jacque | ||
| Evan Wynn | ||
| Joe Knilans | ||
| Travis Tranel | ||
| Kathy Bernier | ||
| Scott Krug | ||
| John Klenke | ||
| Mike Endsley | ||
| Erik Severson | ||
| Warren Petryk |
New Representatives and General Election Winners
1,345 new representatives were elected across the country. This includes challengers who defeated incumbents as well as candidates who won open seats. Of these 1,345, 988 were Republicans and 357 were Democrats. In Wisconsin, 30 new representatives will be sworn-in, 5 Democrats and 26 Republicans. In the 19 open seat contests, Republicans won 15 while Democrats won 5. In total, Wisconsin elected 99 representatives, 60 Republicans and 38 Democrats and 1 Independent.
Newly elected representatives
The following are the newly-elected members of the Wisconsin State Assembly:
Democratic
Republican
- André Jacque
- Chad Weininger
- Dale Kooyenga
- Tyler August
- Chris Kapenga
- Tom Tiffany
- Evan Wynn
- Joe Knilans
- Travis Tranel
- Howard Marklein
- Michelle Litjens
- Tom Larson
- Kathy Bernier
- Roger Rivard
- Scott Krug
- Mike Kuglitsch
- John Klenke
- Paul Farrow
- Jim Steineke
- Mike Endsley
- Erik Severson
- Dean Knudson
- Warren Petryk
- Jeremy Thiesfeldt
- Amy Loudenbeck
Open Seat Winners
The following is a list of candidates who won election in seats where no incumbent was running:
Democratic
Republican
Candidates who won election
The following is a list of all candidates elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly:
Democratic
- Margaret Krusick
- Josh Zepnick
- Elizabeth Coggs
- Jason Fields (Wisconsin)
- Frederick Kessler
- David Cullen
- Leon Young
- Barbara Toles
- Tamara Grigsby
- Jon Richards
- Christine Sinicki
- Sandy Pasch
- Andy Jorgensen
- Fred Clark
- Gary Hebl
- Joseph Parisi
- Gordon Hintz
- Penny Bernard Schaber
- Robert Turner (Wisconsin)
- Cory Mason
- Peter Barca
- John Steinbrink
- Amy Vruwink
- Louis Molepske, Jr.
- Nick Milroy
- Terese Berceau
- Mark Pocan
- Janis Ringhand
- Kelda Roys
- Donna Seidel
- Chris Danou
- Mark Radcliffe
- Jennifer Shilling
- JoCasta Zamarripa
- Sondy Pope
- Tony Staskunas
- Janet Bewley
Republican
- Garey Bies
- André Jacque
- Alvin Ott
- Chad Weininger
- Gary Tauchen
- Dale Kooyenga
- Daniel Knodl
- Steven Kestell
- John Murtha (Wisconsin)
- Stephen Nass
- Tyler August
- Chris Kapenga
- Dan Meyer
- Tom Tiffany
- Jeffrey Mursau
- Joel Kleefisch
- Kevin Petersen (Wisconsin)
- Joan Ballweg
- Evan Wynn
- Joe Knilans
- Keith Ripp
- Travis Tranel
- Ed Brooks
- Howard Marklein
- Richard Spanbauer
- Dean Kaufert
- Michelle Litjens
- Pat Strachota
- Daniel LeMahieu
- Mark Gottlieb
- Robin Vos
- Samantha Kerkman
- Tom Larson
- Kathy Bernier
- Scott Suder
- Roger Rivard
- Scott Krug
- Jeffrey Stone (Wisconsin)
- Scott Gunderson (Wisconsin)
- Mike Kuglitsch
- Jerry Petrowski
- Mary Williams (Wisconsin)
- John Klenke
- John Nygren
- Karl Van Roy
- Lee Nerison
- Bill Kramer
- Paul Farrow
- Jim Steineke
- Mike Endsley
- Erik Severson
- Dean Knudson
- Jeff Fitzgerald
- Mark Honadel
- Warren Petryk
- Jeremy Thiesfeldt
- Don Pridemore
- Jim Ott
- Amy Loudenbeck
Other
Additionally, one independent candidate won re-election:
Competitiveness
Across the nation, 4,958 state house seats were up for election in 2010. In 1,680 (33.9%) of these state house contests, there was a major party candidate with no major party opposition. In Wisconsin, 31 candidates (31.3% of all seats) faced no major party opposition. Of these 31, 14 were Democrats and 17 were Republicans.
Unopposed candidates in general election
The following candidates did not face major party competition:
Democratic
Republican
Ballot Access
In Wisconsin, 20 (10.6%) of the 188 assembly candidates ran as independent or third party candidates.
Third party candidates
The following is a list of third party and independent candidates who ran in 2010:
No third party candidates ran for election.
National Partisan Trends
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Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan• Minnesota • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming |
| Other 2010 Election information |
National Partisan Trends
The following tables detail the partisan breakdown of national election results. These results provide context for Republican gains in Wisconsin.
Incumbents who were defeated in the general election
Across the nation, only 15 Republican incumbents were defeated while 492 Democratic incumbents were defeated. In total, 507 (10.4%) of the 4,872 incumbents running in the general election were defeated. The following is a breakdown of incumbent defeats in the 2010 general election:
The following is the breakdown of incumbents who lost.
| Incumbents defeated in 2010 legislative elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 89 | 403 | 492 |
| Republican | 5 | 10 | 15 |
| TOTALS | 94 | 413 | 507 |
Total new legislators elected
In total, 1,733 (28.3%) new legislators were elected in 2010. Of these 1,733, 1,266 (73.1%) are Republicans and 467 (26.9%) are Democrats.
The following is the breakdown of new legislators.
| New Legislators after the 2010 legislative elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 110 | 357 | 467 |
| Republican | 278 | 988 | 1,266 |
| TOTALS | 388 | 1,345 | 1,733 |
Winners of Open Seats
Open seats contests made up 1,178 (19.2%) of the 6,125 seats on November 2. Of these 1,178 open seats, Republicans won 729 (61.9%) while Democrats won 449 (38.1%). Going into the election, the number of open seats formerly held by each party was quite similar. Estimates prior to the election suggest that approximately 52% of the open seats were previously held by Republicans and 48% were held by Democrats.
The following is the breakdown of open seat winners.
| Open Seat Winners in 2010 legislative elections | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Senate | House | Total |
| Democratic | 108 | 341 | 449 |
| Republican | 191 | 538 | 729 |
| TOTALS | 299 | 879 | 1,178 |
Impact on legislative majorities
- See also: Partisan balance of state legislatures
Heading into the November 2 elections, the Democratic Party held a commanding lead in state houses in the 88 legislative chambers that held elections in 2010. 52 of the 88 chambers, or nearly 60% of them, had a Democratic majority, while only 33 of them had a Republican majority. (Two chambers had an exactly equal number of Democrats and Republicans and one is officially nonpartisan.) The following is a partisan breakdown of state legislatures prior to the November 2 election:
| Partisan breakdown before the November 2010 Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative chamber | 
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|
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| State senates | 23 | 18 | 1 | 1 |
| State houses | 29 | 15 | 1 | - |
| Totals: | 52 | 33 | 2 | 1 |
As a result of the election, Republicans picked up 20 legislative chambers while Democrats lost 20. Republicans won 53 total chambers on November 2, while Democrats won only 32. The following is a partisan breakdown of state legislatures after the November 2 election:
| Partisan breakdown after the November 2010 Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Legislative chamber |
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| State senates | 16 | 25 | 1 | 1 |
| State houses | 16 | 28 | 1 | 0 |
| Totals: | 32 | 53 | 2 | 1 |
Another way to examine the data is to gauge how many chambers had gains for the Democratic Party versus the Republican Party. Using this variable, the wide-sweeping Republican victory is further amplified. Democrats bolstered their majorities in only 7 of 88 (7.96%) state chambers. These legislatures are as follows:
| State legislative chambers where Democrats gained seats on November 2 | ||
|---|---|---|
| State | Chamber | Number of seats gained by Democrats |
| California | Assembly | + 2 |
| Delaware | House | + 2 |
| Hawaii | Senate | + 1 |
| Maryland | Senate | + 2 |
| Massachusetts | Senate | + 1 |
| Missouri | Senate | + 1 |
| West Virginia | Senate | + 1 |
In 7 chambers, the GOP kept their current number of seats. In one chamber, the California State Assembly, both major parties gained seats by filling 2 vacancies and defeating an incumbent independent. Overall, the Republican Party picked up legislative seats in 75 (85.2%) of the 88 legislative chambers that held elections on November 2.
Impact on State Politics
Along with the GOP capture of the U.S. House of Representatives, state Republicans gained trifectas (control of the governorship, house, and senate) in 12 states. The following is a breakdown of trifectas across the nation, before and after the 2010 election:
| Trifectas before and after the 2010 Election | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Before election | U.S. House seats | After election | U.S. House seats | Gain/loss states | Gain/loss congressional seats |
| 16 | 131 | 11 | 115 | -5 | -16 | |
| 8 | 66 | 20 | 198 | +12 | +132 | |
Before the election, 131 U.S House seats were in states with Democratic trifectas, while 66 districts were in states with Republican trifectas. After the election, Republicans trifectas control redistricting for 198 U.S. House seats while Democrats control only 115. Additionally, California, the strongest Democratic trifecta with 53 U.S. House representatives, passed propositions that take redistricting power away from state government.
Wisconsin
