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Wisconsin state legislative special elections, 2018

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In 2018, five special elections were called to fill vacant seats in the Wisconsin State Legislature. Special elections took place on June 12, 2018 in Wisconsin State Senate District 1 (SD 1) and Wisconsin State Assembly District 42 (AD 42).

The special election held in June in SD 1 presented an opportunity for Democrats to narrow the partisan margin of that chamber ahead of the regular 2018 elections in November. Democratic candidate Caleb Frostman defeated Republican state Representative André Jacque in the special election.[1][2][3] After Frostman’s victory, the partisan composition of the Wisconsin State Senate was 18 Republicans and 15 Democrats, meaning that Republicans only had a three-seat majority. They had a seven-seat majority after the 2016 elections.

The state Senate 1st District seat was last up for election in 2014, when former Sen. Frank Lasee won a second term with 62 percent of the vote. Gov. Scott Walker (R) carried the district by a similar margin in his 2014 re-election bid.[4] However, results of a statewide election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in April 2018 suggested that the senate race could be closer than recent elections.

There was also a special election in Wisconsin State Assembly District 42 (AD 42) on June 12.[5] Republican Jon Plumer defeated Democrat Ann Groves Lloyd and independent candidate Gene Rubinstein. Plumer received 53 percent of the vote to retain the seat for Republicans.[6][3]

The vacancies in SD 1 and AD 42 resulted from the appointment of both incumbents, who are Republicans, to positions in Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) administration. Sen. Frank Lasee accepted a position in the state’s Department of Workforce Development, while Rep. Keith Ripp became the Assistant Deputy Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture.[7][8]

Gov. Walker originally said he would not call elections for these seats in 2018 because voters were already scheduled to vote in the districts in November.[5] He was subsequently sued by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), and a Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge ruled that special elections must be called. Click here to read more about the scheduling debate.

Click here to read more about all Wisconsin state legislative special elections.

Senate special elections called:

Assembly special elections called:

Noteworthy events

Scheduling of June 12, 2018 special elections

Gov. Walker called special elections in Wisconsin State Senate District 1 (SD 1) and Wisconsin State Assembly District 42 (AD 42) on March 29, 2018, after originally saying he would not call elections for these seats in 2018. He stated that his reason was so that the state would not incur the cost to hold what he believed were unnecessary elections. A spokesperson for the governor stated, “Voters are already going to the polls this year to elect new representatives in these districts. The Legislature will be adjourned for 2018 before these seats could be filled in special elections, and staff in these offices are working for constituents until new leaders are elected."[5] In February 2018, Walker was sued by the National Democratic Redistricting Committee (NDRC), who argued that the governor was required to call special elections promptly under state law so that those districts would not be unrepresented. NDRC’s chairman, former U.S. attorney general Eric Holder, stated, “Forcing citizens to go more than a year without representation ... is a plain violation of their rights and we're hopeful the court will act quickly to order the governor to hold elections.”[9]

Republicans in the state legislature subsequently proposed a bill that would have prevented special elections from taking place in 2018 in these two districts, since it would have prohibited specials from taking place after the date of the state’s spring elections in a year when a seat was already scheduled for regular elections that fall. On March 28, 2018, Wisconsin Court of Appeals judge Paul Reilly affirmed a lower court ruling that Walker was required to call the special elections by a March 29 deadline, and the state legislature tabled the bill.[5][10]

How vacancies are filled in Wisconsin

See also: How vacancies are filled in state legislatures


If there is a vacancy in the Wisconsin State Legislature, a special election must be held to fill the vacant seat.[11] The governor can call for an election when allowed by law. The election cannot be held after February 1 before a spring general election, unless it is held on the same day of the election, which is the first Tuesday in April. The same requirement applies to any election preceding the fall general election (after August 1), with the exception of elections held on the first Tuesday in November.[12] Also, all vacancies must be filled quickly as long the vacancy happened before the second Tuesday in May during an election year.[13]

DocumentIcon.jpg See sources: Wisconsin Cons. Art. IV, § 14


About the legislature

The Wisconsin State Legislature is the state legislature of Wisconsin. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the lower Wisconsin State Assembly and the upper Wisconsin State Senate. The boxes below show the partisan composition of both chambers directly before and after the November 2016 general election. For the most up-to-date numbers on partisan composition in this legislature, see here (Senate) and here (House).

Wisconsin State Senate
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 14 13
     Republican Party 18 20
     Vacancy 1 0
Total 33 33


Wisconsin State Assembly
Party As of November 7, 2016 After November 8, 2016
     Democratic Party 36 35
     Republican Party 63 64
Total 99 99

Special elections


Click [show] to the right of the district name for more information:

January 16, 2018

June 12, 2018


Special elections throughout the country

See also: State legislative special elections, 2018

In 2018, 99 state legislative special elections were held in 26 states. Between 2011 and 2017, an average of 74 special elections took place each year.

Breakdown of 2018 special elections

In 2018, special elections for state legislative positions were held for the following reasons:

  • 58 due to appointment, election, or the seeking of election to another position
  • 16 due to a retirement
  • 10 due to a resignation related to criminal charges
  • 7 due to a resignation related to allegations of sexual misconduct
  • 5 due to the death of the incumbent
  • 2 due to a resignation to take a private sector job
  • 1 due to an election being rerun

Impact of special elections on partisan composition

The partisan breakdown for the special elections was as follows:

The table below details how many seats changed parties as the result of a special election in 2018. The number on the left reflects how many vacant seats were originally held by each party, while the number on the right shows how many vacant seats each party won in the special elections. In elections between 2011 and 2016, either the Democratic Party or Republican Party saw an average net gain of three seats across the country. In 2017, Democrats had a net gain of 11 seats.

Note: This table reflects information for elections that were held and not the total number of vacant seats.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2018)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 42 50
     Republican Party 57 49
     Independent 0 0
Total 99 99


Democrats gained 11 seats in 2017 special elections and eight seats in 2018 special elections. The table below details the results of special elections held in 2017 and 2018 cumulatively.

Partisan Change from Special Elections (2017-2018)
Party As of Special Election After Special Election
     Democratic Party 87 106
     Republican Party 110 91
     Independent 0 0
Total 197 197

Flipped seats

In 2018, 16 seats flipped as a result of state legislative special elections. Twelve seats flipped from Republican control to Democratic control. Four seats flipped from Democratic control to Republican control.

In New York, a Democratic candidate running on the Republican ticket won election to Assembly District 142 on April 24. The previous incumbent in that district was a Democrat. Due to the winning candidate's party affiliation, Assembly District 142 was not added to the list of flipped seats in 2018.

Seats flipped from R to D

Seats flipped from D to R


See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 ABC 2, "Local Election Results," accessed May 15, 2018
  2. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed April 18, 2018
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 WMTV NBC15.com, "Election Results," accessed June 12, 2018
  4. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2014 Fall General Election Results-Ward-by-Ward Governor Results 11-14-2014 with Congressional, Senate, and Assembly Districts," accessed June 1, 2018
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Gov. Scott Walker calls special elections; Senate chief drops bill to sidestep court order," March 29, 2018
  6. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed April 18, 2018
  7. ↑ Green Bay Press-Gazette, "Sen. Frank Lasee resigns seat to take job with Walker administration," December 29, 2017
  8. ↑ [ http://www.hngnews.com/lodi_enterprise/article_b0402b83-0024-5e73-82df-e3eb4fb86613.html ‘’Lodi Enterprise’’, “Keith Ripp to step down as state representative,” January 4, 2018]
  9. ↑ Wisconsin State journal, "Democratic group sues Scott Walker over not calling elections for vacant districts," February 27, 2018
  10. ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Gov. Scott Walker abandons court fight to hold off special elections after appellate judge rules against him," March 28, 2018
  11. ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 17.19 (1), Wisconsin Statutes)
  12. ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 8.50, Wisconsin Statutes)
  13. ↑ Wisconsin Legislature, "Wisconsin Statutes," accessed February 10, 2021 (Statute 8.50(4)-(d), Wisconsin Statutes)
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Canvass Results for 2018 Special Election State Senate District 10," accessed January 30, 2018
  15. ↑ Twitter, "Adam Jarchow‏," accessed January 16, 2018
  16. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "January 1, 2018 Voter Registration Statistics," accessed January 17, 2018
  17. ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Democrats grab key Wisconsin Senate seat in Tuesday's special elections," January 16, 2018
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Wisconsin State Journal, "Next week's special Senate election first to test national Democratic wave in Wisconsin," January 10, 2018
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Tuesday's Wisconsin Senate special election could be bellwether for 2018 legislative races," January 12, 2018
  20. ↑ Fox 6 Now, "“I am honored:” Governor Scott Walker appoints Sen. Sheila Harsdorf as Agriculture head," November 10, 2017
  21. ↑ Wisconsin State Elections Board , "Results of Fall General Election - 11/07/2000," accessed January 12, 2017
  22. ↑ The State of Wisconsin Collection, "State of Wisconsin 1999-2000 blue book," accessed January 12, 2017
  23. ↑ Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System, "Post Election reporting period for special elections 2018 (Assm: 58, 66; Sen: 10): National Democratic Redistricting Committee," accessed January 12, 2018
  24. ↑ Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System, "Campaign Finance Report State of Wisconsin CF-2," accessed January 16, 2018
  25. ↑ Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System, "Special Report of Late Contribution State of Wisconsin CF-3," accessed January 12, 2018
  26. ↑ Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System, "Campaign Finance Report State of Wisconsin ETHCF-2," accessed January 16, 2018
  27. ↑ Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System, "Campaign Finance Report State of Wisconsin CF-2," accessed January 16, 2018
  28. ↑ Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System, "Special Report of Late Contribution State of Wisconsin CF-3, Amended," accessed January 16, 2018
  29. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2017 Special Partisan Primary Senate District 10," accessed November 25, 2017
  30. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates on Ballot by Election - 2016 General Election - 11/8/2016," accessed November 4, 2016
  31. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2016 Fall General Election Results," accessed December 2, 2016
  32. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, Official 2012 primary results, accessed November 23, 2013
  33. ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "District 10 Recall Election Results," accessed August 19, 2011
  34. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2018 Assembly District 58 Special Election," accessed November 25, 2017
  35. ↑ Journal Sentinel, "Wisconsin outspoken lawmaker Bob Gannon dies, legislative leader says," October 4, 2017
  36. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Canvass Results for 2018 Special Election Assembly District 58," accessed January 30, 2018
  37. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2017 Special Partisan Primary Assembly 58," accessed November 25, 2017
  38. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2018 Assembly District 66 Special Election," accessed November 25, 2017
  39. ↑ The Journal Times, "UPDATE: Mason's Assembly seat to be filled by special election," November 7, 2017
  40. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Canvass Results for 2018 Special Election Assembly District 66," accessed January 30, 2018
  41. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "2017 Special Partisan Primary Assembly 66," accessed November 25, 2017
  42. ↑ Scott Walker, Office of the Governor, "Governor Walker Calls Special Election for Senate District 1 and Assembly District 42," March 29, 2018
  43. ↑ San Fransisco Chronicle, "2 Republican state lawmakers resign to work for Walker," December 29, 2017
  44. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed April 18, 2018
  45. ↑ WMTV NBC15.com, "Election Results," accessed June 12, 2018
  46. ↑ Scott Walker, Office of the Governor, "Governor Walker Calls Special Election for Senate District 1 and Assembly District 42," March 29, 2018
  47. ↑ San Fransisco Chronicle, "2 Republican state lawmakers resign to work for Walker," December 29, 2017
  48. ↑ Wisconsin Elections Commission, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed April 18, 2018
  49. ↑ WMTV NBC15.com, "Election Results," accessed June 12, 2018
  50. ↑ The general election was cancelled after Wayne McMahen (R) was the only candidate to file for election.
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