Brittany Kinser
Brittany Kinser ran for election for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction. She lost in the general election on April 1, 2025.
2025 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified this election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2025
Incumbent Jill Underly defeated Brittany Kinser and Adrianne Melby in the nonpartisan general election for Wisconsin's Superintendent of Public Instruction on April 1, 2025.[1][2]
Underly was first elected in 2021, defeating Deborah Kerr 57.6% to 42.3%. Underly's campaign supported increased funding for state schools from the state legislature and said, "Our state has been underfunding schools for a long time, and we need to make the necessary investments so Wisconsin kids get a great education, and are able to compete in the global economy."[3] Underly also campaigned on increasing teacher recruitment and said she supported "additional funding to look at programs like teacher apprenticeship, look at things like grow your own programs, which are taking adults who may be already working your school but aren’t licensed as teachers and investing in them."[4] The Wisconsin Democratic Party endorsed Underly.[5]
Kinser was an education consultant, a former special education teacher, and a nonprofit executive.[6] Kinser campaigned to change the state's curriculum and said, "We must prioritize reading, writing, math and science to provide the foundation for meaningful careers and a bright future."[3] She wanted to ensure more transparency about where school funds were spent, saying, "I’ve said this to superintendents. ‘Where is the money going?’ We should see that as going into the classroom, and supporting our teachers...If [schools] are spending a ton of money on the district level or bureaucracy, you’ve got to find a way to get that back into the classroom."[7] Kinser said she did not align with either party.[8][3] After the primary, the state Republican Party said that Kinser was "the common-sense candidate for State Superintendent."[9]
In the February 18 primary, Underly received 38% of the vote, and Brittany Kinser received 35%. A third candidate, Jeff Wright, received 27% of the vote. According to the Associated Press's Scott Bauer, turnout for the primary "was 9.9% of the voting age population... That was ahead of the roughly 7% turnout in the 2021 DPI primary."[10] The Downballot's Jeff Nir and David Singer wrote, "Underly's showing is... the weakest by an incumbent since 1977, when Barbara Thompson... won 37% in the primary. However, Thompson went on to secure a second term with 55% of the vote."[11]
This election took place concurrently with an election for a seat on the state's Supreme Court. The Downballot's Nir and Singer wrote that 2025 was "the first time since 2013 that the state [would] hold simultaneous contested elections for both posts... It's likely, then, that if [Susan] Crawford prevails, Underly will have a strong shot at a second term while a victory for [Brad] Schimel would boost Kinser."[11] For more coverage on the state's supreme court race, click here.
As of March 13, 2025, Underly raised $81,773 and spent $37,974, while Kinser raised $301,316 and spent $163,545.[12] This election was the most expensive state superintendent race in state history, with over $4.5 million spent.[13] The 2021 election was previously the most expensive state superintendent contest in the state's history, with seven candidates and various satellite groups spending $2.98 million.[14] To read more about fundraising in this race, click here.
Adrianne Melby ran as a write-in candidate. Melby completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey. To read her responses, click here.
Elections
2025
See also: Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election, 2025
General election
General election for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Jill Underly defeated Brittany Kinser and Adrianne Melby in the general election for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction on April 1, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Jill Underly (Nonpartisan) | 52.7 | 1,148,427 |
 | Brittany Kinser (Nonpartisan) | 46.9 | 1,022,489 | |
Adrianne Melby (Nonpartisan) (Write-in)  | 0.0 | 348 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 7,305 | ||
| Total votes: 2,178,569 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction
Incumbent Jill Underly and Brittany Kinser defeated Jeff Wright in the primary for Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction on February 18, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Jill Underly (Nonpartisan) | 37.9 | 177,626 |
| ✔ | | Brittany Kinser (Nonpartisan) | 34.5 | 161,636 |
 | Jeff Wright (Nonpartisan) | 27.4 | 128,292 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 1,055 | ||
| Total votes: 468,609 | |||
| = 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. | ||||
Campaign finance
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Kinser in this election.
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Brittany Kinser did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Campaign finance summary
Ballotpedia currently provides campaign finance data for all federal- and state-level candidates from 2020 and later. We are continuously working to expand our data to include prior elections. That information will be published here as we acquire it. If you would like to help us provide this data, please consider donating to Ballotpedia.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
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Candidate Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ New York Times, "Wisconsin Spring Election Results," accessed April 1, 2025
- ↑ Decision Desk HQ, "2025 Wisconsin General," accessed April 1, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Milwaukee Sentinel Journal, "A primary race could be shaping up for Wisconsin's top education official," December 19, 2024
- ↑ WBAY, "Incumbent State Superintendent Underly details priorities if reelected," February 4, 2025
- ↑ Wisconsin Democrats, "Democratic Party of Wisconsin Endorses Dr. Jill Underly for Reelection as Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction," November 21, 2024
- ↑ Wisconsin Examiner, "Two candidates officially challenge state schools Superintendent Jill Underly," January 7, 2025
- ↑ Maciver Institute, "Brittany Kinser Running for State Superintendent," January 30, 2025
- ↑ WisPolitics, "Reversing course, Kinser files for state schools superintendent race," December 17, 2024
- ↑ Wisconsin GOP, "WisGOP Congratulates Brittany Kinser!" February 19, 2025
- ↑ X, "Scott Bauer on X, February 19, 2025," February 9, 2025
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 The Downballot, "Morning Digest: Liberal candidates run up the vote in Wisconsin primaries, "February 20, 2025
- ↑ Wisconsin Campaign Finance Information System, "View Filed Reports," accessed February 3, 2025
- ↑ WisPolitics, "WED PM Update: DPI spending hits record $4.5 million as Kinser, Underly start new ads," March 26, 2025
- ↑ Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, "Spring School Superintendent Race Cost Record $3 Million," July 19, 2021
