The 2024 Wisconsin Senate election was held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, at the Fall general election in Wisconsin, alongside the election for the State Assembly. Sixteen of the 33 seats in the Wisconsin Senate were up for election—the even-numbered districts. Before the election, 22 Senate seats were held by Republicans, 11 seats were held by Democrats. The primary election was held on August 13, 2024, and the filing deadline to appear on the ballot was June 3, 2024.[1]
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16 of 33 seats in the Wisconsin Senate 17 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 _partisan.svg) Results: Republican hold Democratic hold Democratic gain No election Republican: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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This was the first election for Wisconsin Senate after the 2024 redistricting. Democrats won all five of the most competitive Senate races, flipping four Republican-held seats. Even though Republicans still maintained their majority, Democrats broke their two-thirds supermajority.
After the elections, Republicans are set to enter the 107th Wisconsin Legislature with 18 of 33 seats.[2]
Background
editRedistricting
editThis election was significantly affected by the legislative maps drawn as a result of the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision in Clarke v. Wisconsin Elections Commission, which declared the previous legislative district map to be unconstitutional on December 22, 2023.[3] The court was in the process of selecting a remedial plan, when the legislature chose to embrace the remedial map proposal from Governor Tony Evers. Evers signed the plan into law on February 19, 2024.[4]
Under the new maps, Democrats were expected to gain seats in the Senate, but they were not expected to be able to win a majority because only even-numbered seats were up for election in 2024.[5][6] Five of the sixteen seats up for election had no incumbents due to the shifting legislative boundaries.[7] Both parties spent heavily on the competitive races in this cycle.[8]
Democrats last won a majority of seats in the state senate in the 2012 recall elections, but they last seated a majority of seats in a session after the 2008 elections.
PFAS Legislation
editTo combat the threat of PFAS contamination, the Wisconsin legislature included $125 million in the state budget. Despite this, Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) have refused to release the funds to be used by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). On April 9, Evers vetoed a piece of legislation which would have created grants to fight pollution due to PFAS chemicals, in explaining his veto, Evers cited the restrictions the legislation would have placed on the DNR to prosecute polluters. In vetoing the legislation, Evers also continued calling for the release of the $125 million which was set aside in the budget for combatting PFAS contamination.[9] In response to Evers' veto, JFC members said they would hold the funds hostage.
On April 16, Evers called the JFC to session, but its Republican members refused to attend, denying the committee a quorum to do business.[10] In response to this inaction, Wisconsin Democrats launched a six-figures campaign called "No More Games" which served the purpose to pressure and target members of the Committee from competitive districts. Among their targets were Senate Republicans Joan Ballweg, Howard Marklein, Duey Stroebel, and Eric Wimberger, from the 14th, 17th, 20th and 30th districts respectively.[11]
Results summary
edit| Party (majority caucus shading)
|
Total | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Republican | |||
| Last election (2022) | 5 | 12 | 17 | |
| Total after last election (2022) | 11 | 22 | 33 | |
| Total before this election | 11 | 22 | 33 | |
| Up for election | 6 | 10 | 16 | |
| of which: | Incumbent retiring | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Vacated | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| Open | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Unopposed | 5 | 0 | 5 | |
| This election | 10 | 6 | 16 | |
| Change from last election |  4
|
 4
|
||
| Total after this election | 15 | 18 | 33 | |
| Change in total | 4
|
4
|
||
Close races
editSeats where the margin of victory was under 10%:
- State Senate district 8, 1.2% (gain)
- State Senate district 14, 2.2% (gain)
- State Senate district 32, 4.8%
- State Senate district 30, 5% (gain)
- State Senate district 18, 6.6% (gain)
Outgoing incumbents
editRetiring
edit- Robert Cowles (R–Green Bay), the longest currently-serving Wisconsin legislator, representing district 2 since 1987, is retiring.[12]
Seeking other office
edit- Melissa Agard (D–Madison), representing district 16 since 2020, is retiring to run for Dane County executive.
- Dan Knodl (R–Germantown), representing district 8 since 2023, announced in February 2024 that he would not seek reelection to the district after the 2024 redistricting put him in an incumbent-vs-incumbent matchup. Instead, Knodl ran for Wisconsin State Assembly in Wisconsin's 24th Assembly district.[13]
Vacated
edit- Lena Taylor (D–Milwaukee), representing district 4 since 2004, resigned on January 26, 2024, after her appointment as a Wisconsin circuit court judge in Milwaukee County and will be replaced by Dora Drake following a special election on July 30, 2024.
Lost re-election
edit- Joan Ballweg (R–Markesan), representing district 14 since 2020, lost reelection to Sarah Keyeski (D–Lodi)
- Duey Stroebel (R–Saukville), representing the 20th district since 2016, lost reelection to Jodi Habush Sinykin (D–Whitefish Bay) in the 8th district
Special elections
editThere was one special election scheduled in 2024 for the Wisconsin state Senate.
| Dist. | 2020 Pres.[14] |
Previous Incumbent | This Election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Senator | Party | First elected |
Status | Candidate(s) | Results | ||
| 04 | D+69.2 | Lena Taylor | Dem. | 2004 | Incumbent resigned on January 26, 2024. New member elected on July 30, 2024. |
|
New member elected Democratic hold |
Predictions
edit| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| CNalysis[15] | Solid R | October 29, 2024 |
Race summary
edit| Dist. | 2020 Pres.[16] |
Incumbent | This election | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | Party | First elected |
Status | Candidates[17][18] | ||
| 02 | R+26.5 | None (open seat) | New member elected. Republican hold. |
| ||
| 04 | D+68.4 | Dora Drake | Dem. | 2024 (special) |
Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| 06 | D+71.2 | La Tonya Johnson | Dem. | 2016 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| 08 | D+0.6 | Dan Knodl | Rep. | 2023 (special) |
Ran for the 24th state assembly district. |
|
| Duey Stroebel (Redistricted from the 20th district) |
Rep. | 2015 (special) |
Incumbent lost re-election. Democratic gain. | |||
| 10 | R+17.1 | Rob Stafsholt | Rep. | 2020 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| 12 | R+25.6 | Mary Felzkowski | Rep. | 2020 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| 14 | D+4 | Howard Marklein[a] (Redistricted from the 17th district) |
Rep. | 2014 | Incumbent representing 17th district until January 4, 2027. New member elected. Democratic gain. |
|
| 16 | D+35.3 | None (open seat) | No incumbent. New member elected. Democratic hold. |
| ||
| 18 | D+8.5 | None (open seat) | No incumbent. New member elected. Democratic gain. |
| ||
| 20 | R+34.8 | Dan Feyen (Redistricted from the 18th district) |
Rep. | 2016 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| 22 | D+10.3 | Robert Wirch | Dem. | 1996 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| 24 | R+11.6 | Patrick Testin | Rep. | 2016 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| 26 | D+71.8 | Kelda Roys | Dem. | 2020 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
| Melissa Agard (Redistricted from the 16th district) |
Dem. | 2020 | Running for Dane County executive | |||
| 28 | R+22.2 | None (open seat) | Incumbent re-elected. |
| ||
| 30 | D+3.2 | Eric Wimberger | Rep. | 2020 | Ran for the 2nd district |
|
| Robert Cowles (Redistricted from the 2nd district) |
Rep. | 1987 (special) |
Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain. | |||
| André Jacque[b] (Redistricted from the 1st district) |
Rep. | 2018 | Serving as Senator until January 4, 2027 | |||
| 32 | D+10.7 | Brad Pfaff | Dem. | 2020 | Incumbent re-elected. |
|
Detailed results
editDistrict 2
editIncumbent Republican Robert Cowles declined to seek re-election. Fellow Republican Eric Wimberger decided to move to this district and faced Democrat Kelly Peterson in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Eric Wimberger | |||
| Democratic | Kelly Peterson | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 4
editIncumbent Democrat Dora Drake ran for re-election unopposed. In the primary she defeated state representative LaKeshia Myers in a rematch from the special election primary earlier in 2024.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dora Drake (incumbent) | 12,630 | 62.35 | |
| Democratic | LaKeshia Myers | 7,605 | 37.54 | |
| Write-in | 23 | 0.11 | ||
| Total votes | 20,258 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Dora Drake (incumbent) | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 6
editIncumbent Democrat La Tonya Johnson ran for re-election unopposed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | La Tonya Johnson (incumbent) | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 8
editIncumbent Republican Dan Knodl declined to seek re-election after redistricting put fellow Republican Duey Stroebel into his district. Stroebel faced Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin, who was a candidate for this district in a 2023 special election, and was defeated by her in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jodi Habush Sinykin | |||
| Republican | Duey Stroebel | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 10
editIncmbent Republican Rob Stafsholt ran for re-election. He faced and defeated Democrat Paul Hambleton in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rob Stafsholt (incumbent) | |||
| Democratic | Paul Hambleton | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 12
editIncumbent Republican Mary Felzkowski ran for re-election. She faced and defeated Democrat Andi Rich in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Mary Felzkowski (incumbent) | |||
| Democratic | Andi Rich | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 14
editIncumbent Republican Joan Ballweg sought re-election after being drawn out of this district due to redistricting. In the general election she faced and was defeated by Democrat Sarah Keyeski.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sarah Keyeski | |||
| Republican | Joan Ballweg (incumbent) | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 16
editIncumbent Democrat Melissa Agard declined to seek re-election, leaving the seat open. In the primary, three Democrats faced off, being state representatives Jimmy Anderson, Samba Baldeh, and Melissa Ratcliff, from the 47th, 48th, and 46th districts respectively. Ratcliff defeated both Anderson and Baldeh by a wide margin and was unopposed in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Melissa Ratcliff | 17,205 | 52.04 | |
| Democratic | Jimmy Anderson | 10,258 | 31.03 | |
| Democratic | Samba Baldeh | 5,575 | 16.86 | |
| Write-in | 25 | 0.07 | ||
| Total votes | 33,063 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Melissa Ratcliff | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 18
editIncumbent Republican Dan Feyen was moved into the 20th district due to redistricting, leaving the district open. Two Republicans filed to succeed Feyen, being Anthony Phillips and Blong Yang. Phillips defeated Yang by a wide margin and faced Democrat Kristin Alfheim in the general election, whom he was defeated by.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Anthony Phillips | 8,611 | 62.17 | |
| Republican | Blong Yang | 5,226 | 37.73 | |
| Write-in | 13 | 0.10 | ||
| Total votes | 13,850 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kristin Alfheim | |||
| Republican | Anthony Phillips | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 20
editIncumbent Republican Duey Stroebel was drawn into the 8th district as a result of redistricting, while Dan Feyen was drawn into this district from the 18th due to redistricting. In the primary, Feyen faced former Republican representative and election denier Timothy Ramthun. Feyen advanced to the general election, where he faced and defeated Democrat Michael Rapp.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Feyen | 17,243 | 64.29 | |
| Republican | Timothy Ramthun | 9,543 | 35.59 | |
| Write-in | 31 | 0.12 | ||
| Total votes | 26,817 | 100.0 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Dan Feyen | |||
| Democratic | Michael Rapp | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 22
editIncumbent Democrat Robert Wirch ran for re-election unopposed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Robert Wirch (incumbent) | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 24
editIncumbent Republican Patrick Testin sought re-election. In the general election he faced and defeated Democrat Collin McNamara.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Patrick Testin (incumbent) | |||
| Democratic | Collin McNamara | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 26
editIncumbent Democrat Kelda Roys ran for re-election unopposed.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Kelda Roys (incumbent) | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 28
editIncumbent Republican Julian Bradley sought re-election after being drawn out of this district due to redistricting. In the general election he faced and defeated Democrat Megan Lach.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Julian Bradley (incumbent) | |||
| Democratic | Megan Lach | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 30
editIncumbent Republican Eric Wimberger declined to seek re-election in this district, instead opting to run for the neighboring 2nd district, leaving this district open. In the general election, Democrat Jamie Wall defeated Republican Jim Rafter.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jamie Wall | |||
| Republican | Jim Rafter | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 32
editIncumbent Democrat Brad Pfaff ran for re-election. In the general election he faced and defeated Republican and former candidate for U.S. Senate Stacey Klein.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Brad Pfaff (incumbent) | |||
| Republican | Stacey Klein | |||
| Total votes | ||||
See also
editNotes
editReferences
edit- ^ "2024 Partisan Primary". elections.wi.gov. April 19, 2023. Retrieved June 20, 2023.
- ^ "2024 Wisconsin State Senate General Election Results". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. November 6, 2024. Retrieved November 6, 2024.
- ^ Kremer, Rich (February 1, 2024). "Wisconsin Supreme Court consultants say Republican-drawn legislative maps are gerrymanders, don't deserve consideration". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved February 6, 2024.
- ^ Kremer, Rich (February 19, 2024). "Evers signs new maps into law, effectively ending Wisconsin redistricting lawsuit". WPR. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
- ^ Kremer, Rich (February 22, 2024). "What do Wisconsin's new maps mean for the Legislature's balance of power?". WPR. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Karnopp, Hope (February 21, 2024). "You have questions about Wisconsin's new election maps and how they affect you? We have answers". Journal Sentinel. Retrieved February 23, 2024.
- ^ Walters, Steven (May 14, 2024). "Political parties target five Wisconsin Senate seats without incumbents". Isthmus | Madison, Wisconsin. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ "Democrats commit $7 million to TV ads in 5 key state Senate races". AP News. May 8, 2024. Retrieved May 17, 2024.
- ^ Bauer, Scott (April 9, 2024). "Evers vetoes a Republican-backed bill targeting PFAS chemicals". Associated Press. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ "Gov. Evers again calls Republican lawmakers into special meeting". Wisconsin Law Journal. May 7, 2024. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ Spears, Baylor (May 7, 2024). "Democrats target Republicans on budget committee, aim for control of Legislature". Wisconsin Examiner. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
- ^ "Cowles, Wisconsin Senate's longest-serving member, will not seek reelection". WLUK-TV. April 8, 2024. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ "Knodl campaign: Announces run for 24th Assembly District". WisPolitics. February 29, 2024. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
- ^ "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ "24 WI Forecast". projects.cnalysis.com. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
- ^ "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Wisconsin Senate races". WisPolitics. March 5, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2024.
- ^ Candidate Tracking by Office - 2024 General Election - 11/13/2024 (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. May 13, 2024. Retrieved May 13, 2024.
- ^ "Roys campaign: Launches 2024 re-election campaign". April 22, 2024. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
- ^ "Lach announces bid for State Senate District 28". Waukesha County Freeman. April 23, 2024. Retrieved May 7, 2024 – via GMToday.com.
- ^ a b c d "2024 Wisconsin State Senate Primary Election Results" (PDF). Wisconsin Elections Commission. August 27, 2024.
