Wisconsin primary 2014 state executive officials preview
August 11, 2014
| August 12, 2014 Election Preview |
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By Garrett Fortin
The 2014 Wisconsin primary elections are being held on August 11, 2014. There are five offices involved: Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State and Treasurer. In all, there are seven races to watch, including four Democratic and three Republican contested primaries.
All but one of the seven primaries are contested between two candidates, while the Democratic primary for Attorney General has three. Counting unopposed primaries, there are eight Republicans and ten Democrats in tomorrow's major-party primaries. Two incumbents are not seeking re-nomination: Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen and Wisconsin Treasurer Kurt Schuller. Both are Republicans.
Below, Ballotpedia has put together a preview of those upcoming elections. Key players and background information have been compiled, as well as a look at the current polling data.
Wisconsin Governor
The incumbent, Republican Governor Scott Walker, faces his third contest in four years after surviving a recall election in 2012. The highly-charged atmosphere of the recall, particularly surrounding the issue of public sector unions, still electrifies Wisconsin politics. Speculation surrounding Walker's presidential aspirations adds even more weight to this contest. In the primary, he faces a write-in challenger, Steve Evans, and is already looking ahead to the general election.
Walker's main opponent is Democrat Mary Burke, a business executive and member of the Madison school board. Burke has a more serious primary challenger in Brett Hulsey, a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. In what may have been an effort to ease Burke's path to the nomination and strengthen their nominee in preparation for the general election, the Wisconsin Democratic Party's Administrative Committee took the unusual step of endorsing Burke and her running mate, John Lehman.[1]
Primary election candidates
Scott Walker - Incumbent- Steve Evans - (write-in)[2]
Mary Burke - Former Trek Bicycle Executive and member of the Madison school board[3]- Brett Hulsey - member of the Wisconsin State Assembly, representing District 78[4]
General election candidates
Dennis Fehr - Peoples Party candidate[2]
Robert Burke - Libertarian candidate[5]
Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Republican Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch is running for re-election and faces no primary opposition.
Each of the two Democratic candidates for governor has a de facto running mate: state senator John Lehman is allied with Mary Burke while Mary Jo Walters is running alongside Brett Hulsey. If the lieutenant governor race is similar to the gubernatorial primary, Lehman should win the nomination.
Primary election candidates
- Rebecca Kleefisch - Incumbent
- John Lehman - State Senator[6]
- Mary Jo Walters[7]
General election candidates
Wisconsin Attorney General
This is one of two open seats up for election in November. Three Democrats vie for the attorney general nomination. On the Republican side, Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel is unopposed for the nomination.
Primary election candidates
- Jon Richards - State Representative[9]
- Ismael Ozanne - Dane County District Attorney[10]
- Susan Happ[2]
- Brad Schimel - Waukesha County District Attorney[11]
General election candidates
Wisconsin Secretary of State
Incumbent Democrat Doug La Follette is running for re-election to the position he has held since 1983 and is unopposed in the primary. Two Republicans face off to challenge him in November: state representative Garey Bies and activist Julian Bradley.
Primary election candidates
- Doug La Follette - Incumbent[13]
- Julian Bradley - Republican activist and telecommunications manager[2]
- Garey Bies - state representative[14]
General election candidates
Jerry Broitzman - Constitution Party candidate[2]- Andy Craig - Libertarian candidate[15]
Wisconsin down ballot offices
The only down ballot office up for election is the Wisconsin Treasurer. The incumbent, Republican Kurt Schuller, is not running, making this the second open-seat race on the primary ballot. Two Republicans, Matt Adamczyk and Randall Melchert, vie to replace Schuller while two Democrats, David Leeper and David Sartori, face off to flip control in November.
Primary election candidates
General election candidates
- Andrew Zuelke - Constitution Party candidate[2]
Ron Hardy - Winnebago County Supervisor[18]- Jerry Shidell - Libertarian candidate[17]
See also
- Wisconsin elections, 2014
- Wisconsin state executive elections (overview):
External links
Footnotes
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- ↑ Democratic Party of Wisconsin, "Candidates," accessed July 31, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," February 17, 2014
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpotentialdems - ↑ Fond du Lac Reporter, "State board approves Rep. Brett Hulsey gubernatorial candidacy," June 10, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "CERTIFICATE OF NOMINATION FOR GENERAL ELECTION," accessed July 4, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Sen. John Lehman to run for lieutenant governor," November 18, 2013
- ↑ Democratic Party of Wisconsin, "Candidates," accessed April 22, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "CERTIFICATE OF NOMINATION," accessed July 4, 2014
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Rep. Jon Richards enters race for Wisconsin attorney general," October 16, 2013
- ↑ The Republic, "Democratic Dane County district attorney Ozanne announces run for attorney general," November 7, 2013
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Waukesha County DA Brad Schimel formally launches attorney general run," October 14, 2013
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "CERTIFICATE OF NOMINATION," accessed July 4, 2014
- ↑ WBAY, "Republican Bishop announces Secretary of State run," May 14, 2013
- ↑ The Daily Cardinal, "Rep. Garey Bies runs for Secretary of State," March 25, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "CERTIFICATE OF NOMINATION," accessed July 4, 2014
- ↑ Matt Adamczyk for State Treasurer, "About Matt," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," accessed July 4, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Green Party, "Wisconsin Greens endorse 3 candidates for Fall 2014 elections, launch petition drive," April 17, 2014
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