2020 Wisconsin State Senate election

November 3, 2020

16 of 33 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate
17 seats needed for a majority
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Roger Roth Janet Bewley
Party Republican Democratic
Leader's seat 19th-Appleton 25th-Mason
Last election 11 seats, 52.31% 6 seats, 46.90%
Seats before 18 13
Seats won 10 6
Seats after 21 12
Seat change Increase2 Decrease2
Popular vote 1,665,487 1,402,108
Percentage 53.8% 45.29%
Swing Increase1.5 pp Decrease1.6 pp

Results of the elections:
     Republican gain      Democratic hold
     Republican hold      No election

The 2020 Wisconsin State Senate elections were taking place as part of the biennial 2020 United States elections. Wisconsin voters elected state senators in 16 of the state's 33 senate districts. State senators serve four-year terms in the Wisconsin State Senate, with roughly half of the seats up for election every two years. The primary elections on August 11, 2020, determined which candidates will appear on the November 3, 2020, general election ballot.

Following the previous election in 2018 and two announced vacancies (one from each party), Republicans had control of the Wisconsin State Senate with 18 seats against 13 held by Democrats. In the general election, Republicans picked up an open seat and defeated a Democratic incumbent to gain two seats in the chamber, leading to a 21-12 majority.

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[1] Likely R October 21, 2020

Summary

Seats Party
(majority caucus shading)
Total
Democratic Republican
Last election (2018) 6 11 17
Total after last election (2018) 14 19 33
Total before this election 13 18 31
Up for election 8 8 16
of which: Incumbent retiring 3 2 5
Vacated 1 1 2
Unopposed 3 2 5
This election 6 10 16
Change from last election Steady Decrease 1 Decrease 1
Total after this election 12 21 33
Change in total Decrease 2 Increase 2 Steady

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

  1. State Senate district 32, 0.6%
  2. State Senate district 8, 8.54%
  3. State Senate district 30, 9.4% (gain)

Candidates and results

District Incumbent This race
Member Party First elected Status Primary candidates[2][3] General election candidates[4] Result
2 Robert Cowles Republican 1987 Running Robert Cowles (Republican) Green tick Robert Cowles (Republican) Incumbent re-elected
4 Lena Taylor Democratic 2004 Running Lena Taylor (Democratic) Green tick Lena Taylor (Democratic) Incumbent re-elected
6 La Tonya Johnson Democratic 2016 Running
  • Alciro Deacon (Republican)
  • La Tonya Johnson (Democratic)
  • Cordelia Michelle Bryant (Democratic)
  • Green tickY La Tonya Johnson (Democratic) 88.83%
  • Alciro Deacon (Republican) 11.17%
Incumbent re-elected
8 Alberta Darling Republican 1992 Running
  • Alberta Darling (Republican)
  • Neal Plotkin (Democratic)
  • Green tickY Alberta Darling (Republican) 54.27%
  • Neal Plotkin (Democratic) 45.73%
Incumbent re-elected
10 Patty Schachtner Democratic 2018 Running
  • Patty Schachtner (Democratic)
  • Rob Stafsholt (Republican)
  • Cherie Link (Republican)
  • Green tickY Rob Stafsholt (Republican) 59.92%
  • Patty Schachtner (Democratic) 40.08%
Incumbent lost
New member elected
Republican gain
12 Tom Tiffany Republican 2012 Vacant
Incumbent vacated office to run for U.S. Representative
New member elected
Republican hold
14 Luther Olsen Republican 2004 Not running
  • Joni Anderson (Democratic)
  • Joan Ballweg (Republican)
  • Kenneth Van Dyke, Sr. (Republican)
  • Green tickY Joan Ballweg (Republican) 64.91%
  • Joni Anderson (Democratic) 35.09%
Incumbent retired
New member elected
Republican hold
16 Mark F. Miller Democratic 2004 Not running
  • Scott Barker (Republican)
  • Melissa Agard (Democratic)
  • Andrew McKinney (Democratic)
  • Green tickY Melissa Agard (Democratic) 73.5%
  • Scott Barker (Republican) 26.5%
Incumbent retired
New member elected
Democratic hold
18 Dan Feyen Republican 2016 Running
  • Dan Feyen (Republican)
  • Aaron Wojciechowski (Democratic)
  • Green tickY Dan Feyen (Republican) 59.13%
  • Aaron Wojciechowski (Democratic) 40.87%
Incumbent re-elected
20 Duey Stroebel Republican 2014 Running Duey Stroebel (Republican) Green tick Duey Stroebel (Republican) Incumbent re-elected
22 Robert Wirch Democratic 1996 Running Robert Wirch (Democratic) Green tick Robert Wirch (Democratic) Incumbent re-elected
24 Patrick Testin Republican 2016 Running
  • Patrick Testin (Republican)
  • Paul Piotrowski (Democratic)
  • Green tickY Patrick Testin (Republican) 56.47%
  • Paul Piotrowski (Democratic) 43.53%
Incumbent re-elected
26 Fred Risser Democratic 1962 Not running
  • Kelda Roys (Democratic)
  • Brian Benford (Democratic)
  • Amani Latimer Burris (Democratic)
  • Nada Elmikashfi (Democratic)
  • William Henry Davis III (Democratic)
  • John Imes (Democratic)
  • Aisha Moe (Democratic)
Green tick Kelda Roys (Democratic) Incumbent retired
New member elected
Democratic hold
28 Dave Craig Republican 2016 Not running
  • Julian Bradley (Republican)
  • Adam Murphy (Democratic)
  • Steven Gerard Bobowski (Republican)
  • Marina Croft (Republican)
  • Jim Engstrand (Republican)
  • Dan Griffin (Republican)
Incumbent retired
New member elected
Republican hold
30 Dave Hansen Democratic 2000 Not running
  • Jonathon Hansen (Democratic)
  • Eric Wimberger (Republican)
  • Sandra Jean Ewald (Democratic)
  • Green tickY Eric Wimberger (Republican) 54.7%
  • Jonathon Hansen (Democratic) 45.3%
Incumbent retired
New member elected
Republican gain
32 Jennifer Shilling Democratic 2011 Vacant
  • Dan Kapanke (Republican)
  • Brad Pfaff (Democratic)
  • Jayne Marie Swiggum (Democratic)
  • Paul Michael Weber (Democratic)
Incumbent vacated office
New member elected
Democratic hold

Outgoing incumbents

Retiring

  • Luther Olsen (R–Ripon), representing District 14 since 2004, announced in February 2020 that he would not seek reelection, stating "there comes a time in life when it’s time to move on."[5]
  • Mark F. Miller (D–Monona), representing District 16 since 2004, announced in January 2020 that he would not be running for reelection.[6]
  • Fred Risser (D–Madison), representing District 26 since 1962, announced in March 2020 that he would be stepping down from the Legislature. Upon his retirement, Risser was the longest-serving lawmaker in American history, having served in the Wisconsin House of Representatives and Senate for 64 years.[7]
  • Dave Craig (R–Vernon), representing District 28 since 2016, announced that he would not seek reelection to a second term in order to get "a break from public life."[8]
  • Dave Hansen (D–Green Bay), representing District 30 since 2000, announced in January 2020 that he would be retiring to spend more time with his family.[9]

Vacated office before term end

See also

References

  1. "October Overview: Handicapping the 2020 State Legislature Races". The Cook Political Report. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  2. Candidate Tracking by Office 2020 General Election - 11/3/2020 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin Elections Commission. June 5, 2020. Retrieved June 8, 2020.
  3. "Live: Wisconsin State Primary Election Results 2020". The New York Times. August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
  4. "Wisconsin Elections Results". elections.ap.org. November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  5. White, Laurel (February 24, 2020). "Longtime Republican State Sen. Luther Olsen Announces Retirement". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  6. Johnson, Shawn (January 21, 2020). "Democrat Mark Miller Won't Seek Re-Election To Wisconsin Senate". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  7. Vetterkind, Riley. "Sen. Fred Risser, longest-serving lawmaker in American history, to retire". madison.com. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  8. Rogan, Adam. "Conservative Sen. Dave Craig, who represents Waterford area, will not seek re-election". Journal Times. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  9. Johnson, Shawn (January 9, 2020). "Green Bay State Sen. Dave Hansen Won't Seek Re-election". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  10. Axelrod, Tal (May 12, 2020). "Republican Tom Tiffany wins Wisconsin special election". The Hill. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
  11. "Former Wisconsin Senate minority leader Shilling quits Legislature". Channel3000.com. May 15, 2020. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
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