Wisconsin judicial elections, 2014

Wisconsin judicial elections, 2014
Total candidates:	52
Incumbents:	41
Unopposed:	39

2015 → ← 2013
Judicial Elections
Judicial elections, 2014
Judicial election dates
Candidates by state
Supreme court elections

The 2014 Wisconsin judicial elections were the earliest in the nation, concluding in April. In 2014, the following counties saw contested judicial elections for the circuit courts: Dunn, Florence, Forest, Jefferson, Milwaukee and Waupaca.

Election dates

• January 7: Filing deadline
• February 18: Primary
• April 1: General election

In addition to candidate lists, this page includes information about how the state's judicial elections work, as well as articles about noteworthy news in races across the state.

Appellate courts

Wisconsin Court of Appeals District I

Unopposed	Judge Patricia Curley (Seat 1)

Wisconsin Court of Appeals District II

Unopposed	Judge Lisa Neubauer (Seat 1)

Wisconsin Court of Appeals District IV

Unopposed	Judge Gary Sherman (Seat 1)

Circuit courts

Jump to county:

Barron • Chippewa • Dane • Dodge • Dunn • Eau Claire • Florence/Forest • Fond du Lac • Jefferson • Juneau • Kenosha • Marathon • Marinette • Menominee/Shawano • Milwaukee • Oneida • Outagamie • Polk • Price • Racine • Rock • St. Croix • Washington • Waukesha • Waupaca • Wood

Barron County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Maureen Boyle (Branch 3)

Unopposed	Judge Michael Bitney (Branch 2)

Chippewa County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Roderick Cameron (Branch 1)

Unopposed	Judge Steven Cray (Branch 3)

Dane County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge John Markson (Branch 1)

Unopposed	Judge William Hanrahan (Branch 7)

Dodge County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Brian A. Pfitzinger (Branch 1)

Dodge County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Steven Bauer (Branch 4)

Dunn County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Branch 1

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
MayerChristina Mayer	No		48.4%   D
PetersonJames PetersonA	No		51.5%   A

Eau Claire County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Kristina Bourget (Branch 1)

Unopposed	Judge Michael Schumacher (Branch 2)

Florence/Forest Counties Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
KennedyRobert Kennedy Jr.	No		37.0%   D
StenzLeon StenzA	Yes		63.0%   A

Fond du Lac County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Dale English (Branch 1)

Jefferson County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Branch 3

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
MillerJoann Miller	No		42.4%   D
WambachDave WambachA	Yes		57.6%   A

Juneau County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Paul S. Curran (Branch 2)

Kenosha County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Bruce Schroeder (Branch 3)

Marathon County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge LaMont Jacobson (Branch 3)

Marinette County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge David Miron (Branch 1)

Menominee/Shawano County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge James Habeck (Branch 1)

Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Thomas McAdams (Branch 7)

Unopposed	Judge William Brash (Branch 21)

Unopposed	Janet Protasiewicz (Branch 24)

Unopposed	Judge Kevin Martens (Branch 27)

Unopposed	Judge Daniel Noonan (Branch 31)

Unopposed	Judge Rebecca Dallet (Branch 40)

Unopposed	Judge John DiMotto (Branch 41)

Branch 32

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
KennedyRobert Kennedy Jr.	No		40.0%   D
PerezLaura PerezA	No		59.7%   A

Oneida County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Patrick O'Melia (Branch 1)

Outagamie County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Nancy Krueger (Branch 2)

Unopposed	Judge Mitchell Metropulos (Branch 3)

Polk County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Molly GaleWyrick (Branch 1)

Price County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Douglas Fox (Seat 1)

Racine County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Charles Constantine (Branch 7)

Rock County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge James Daley (Wisconsin) (Branch 1)

St. Croix County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Eric Lundell (Branch 1)

Unopposed	Judge Howard Cameron (Branch 4)

Washington County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge James Muehlbauer (Branch 2)

Waukesha County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Lee Dreyfus (Branch 5)

Unopposed	Judge Patrick Haughney (Branch 6)

Waupaca County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Branch 2

Candidate	Incumbency	Primary Vote	Election Vote
SteckbauerKeith A. Steckbauer	Yes	29.8%A	42.3%   D
JelinskiEdmund J. Jelinski	No	22.3%
FreemanBrenda Starr Freeman	No	21.1%
ClussmanVicki Taggatz ClussmanA	No	24.8%A	57.5%   A

Wood County Circuit Court, Wisconsin

Unopposed	Judge Gregory Potter (Branch 1)

Process

Judges in Wisconsin participate in nonpartisan elections. Wisconsin is one of four states that hold judicial elections every year, along with Louisiana, New York and Ohio.

Primary election

A primary is held on the third Tuesday in February to nominate judicial candidates for the spring election. Candidates seeking election must file by December 1 preceding the spring general election. A primary is required to be held if more than two candidates file for nomination to the supreme court, the same district of an appellate court or for the same branch of a circuit court. If the number of candidates for office does not exceed twice the number to be elected to the office a primary is not held and all the candidates will appear on the ballot in the spring election. The two candidates who receive the most votes in a primary race advance to the general election.

General election

A spring election is held on the first Tuesday in April.

Noteworthy events

The following articles were current as of the dates listed.

Wisconsin election wrap-up April 3, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Who's qualified? Courts, candidates and special interest groups all want a say On April 1, Wisconsin kicked off the season with their spring general election. In the race for Branch 1 of the Dunn County Circuit Court,James M. Peterson came out on top. Peterson defeated Roger M. Hillestad in the primary and received 51.5 percent of the vote in the general election, trumping Christina M. Mayer's 39.8 percent. The contested race for Branch 3 of the Jefferson County Circuit Court, Dave Wambach triumphed over opponent Joann Miller. Wambach won with 57.6 percent of the electorate compared to Miller's 42.4 percent. In an unexpected upset, Vicki Taggatz Clussman defeated the newly appointed incumbent Keith A. Steckbauer for Branch 2 of the Waupaca County Circuit Court. Clussman, who had served as assistant district attorney for Waupaca County since 1987, received 57.5 percent of the vote to Steckbauer's 42.3 percent. Steckbauer was a former attorney and owner of the firm Steckbauer Law S.C.. He was appointed to the bench by Governor Scott Walker on January 14, 2014. The race in Waupaca had been hotly contested since the primary, where Clussman and Steckbauer prevailed over challengers Brenda Starr Freeman and Edmund J. Jelinski. In Florence County incumbent Leon Stenz defeated Robert A. Kennedy, Jr. to remain on the bench of the Florence/Forest Counties Circuit Court. In Milwaukee County, Laura Gramling Perez defeated Cedric Cornwall and was elected to Branch 32 of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court.

Wisconsin election preview March 27, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Women successful in judicial races as incumbents face challengers Wisconsin voters, led the nation with a spring general election which took place on Tuesday, April 1, 2014. Judges in Wisconsin run in nonpartisan elections across the board. Supreme court judges run for 10-year terms, appellate and circuit court judges run for six-year terms. If a judge leaves office mid-term, the Governor appoints a new judge who must then run in the next election. A situation like this happened earlier this year with the Waupaca County Circuit Court. Governor Scott Walker appointed Judge Keith A. Steckbauer to the bench to fill the vacancy left by retiring Judge John Hoffmann. Steckbauer prevailed in the primary election and faced opponent Vicki Taggatz Clussman in the general election. The majority of the 2014 judicial races in Wisconsin were unopposed, with a few exceptions. Laura Gramling Perez faced Cedric Cornwall to compete for Branch 32 of the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. For Branch 3 of the Jefferson County Circuit Court, Dave Wambach and Joann Miller faced off. Robert A. Kennedy, Jr. challenged incumbent Leon Stenz of the Florence/Forest Counties Circuit Court. Christina M. Mayer and James M. Peterson competed for a seat on the Dunn County Circuit Court. No supreme court judges were up for re-election in 2014, and there were no vacancies to fill, but Patricia Curley, Lisa Neubauer and Gary Sherman all sought re-election at the appellate level. While most of the judicial elections in Wisconsin in 2014 were unopposed races, there were a handful of contested seats.

Wisconsin primary results February 20, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: Wisconsin primary concludes as the rest of the nation is just heating up Two Wisconsin counties held judicial primaries on February 18, 2014. Here's what happened... One candidate eliminated from Dunn County nonpartisan ticket There were 1466 total votes cast in Dunn County for the February nonpartisan judicial primary. The Dunn County Clerk reported that James M. Peterson had the strongest showing in the February 18 primary with 664 votes. Coming in second was Christina M. Mayer with 583 votes. Finally, Roger M. Hillestad had 218 votes and thus was not on the general election ballot. Peterson and Mayer squared off in the general election. Waupaca down to Steckbauer, Clussman In Waupaca County, incumbent Keith A. Steckbauer led in the primary results, receiving 839 votes. Coming in second - and therefore remaining on the ticket - was Vicki Taggatz Clussman with 698 votes. The other contenders, Brenda Starr Freeman and Edmund J. Jelinski, received 594 and 628 votes, respectively. Neither appeared on the general election ballot.

Wisconsin 4-way showdown February 13, 2014

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See also: JP Election Brief: The Election Brief is back! The retirement of former Judge John Hoffmann from the Waupaca County Circuit Court in Wisconsin sparked a perfect storm for a competitive judicial election in 2014. Keith A. Steckbauer, Edmund J. Jelinski, Vicki Taggatz Clussman and Brenda Starr Freeman all filed for candidacy to replace Hoffmann. Steckbauer was appointed by Governor Scott Walker to finish the remainder of Hoffmann’s term. He ran a private practice for 17 years prior to that appointment. The other three challengers brought a wealth of public and private legal experience to the race. Clussman served as a veteran assistant district attorney in Waupaca County for 26 years. Freeman served as a probate contract guardian in Outagamie County and part-time district attorney in Waupaca County. Jelinski worked as a private practice attorney since 2003, and was a district attorney previously. The primary on February 18 served to eliminate two of the candidates. The remaining contenders then faced voters in the April 1 general election.

See also

• Wisconsin judicial elections
• Judicial selection in Wisconsin

External links

• Wisconsin's Government Accountability Board, "Elections"