2020 Wisconsin State Senate election

2020 Wisconsin State Senate election

← 2018 November 3, 2020 2022 →
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 2 2 Popular vote 1,665,487 1,402,108 Percentage 53.8% 45.29% Swing 1.5 pp 1.6 pp
Results of the elections:      Republican gain      Democratic hold      Republican hold      No election

2020 Wisconsin elections
Voting and registration in Wisconsin
Election Day: November 3, 2020
Polls opening: 7am–9pm Requisites for voting Voting precincts
Registration
Deadline: October 14 (Mail and Online), October 30 (In Person) 2020 Online form
Vote by mail
Application deadline: Received by October 29, 2020 Ballot mailing deadline: November 3, 2020 Received by: November 3, 2020 Online Form
v

Elections in Wisconsin
Federal government Presidential elections 1848 1852 1856 1860 1864 1868 1872 1876 1880 1884 1888 1892 1896 1900 1904 1908 1912 1916 1920 1924 1928 1932 1936 1940 1944 1948 1952 1956 1960 1964 1968 1972 1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 Presidential primaries Democratic 2004 2008 2016 2020 Republican 2008 2012 2016 2020 U.S. Senate elections 1848 1849 1851 1854 1857 1861 1863 1866 1872 1875 1879 1881 1881 sp 1885 1887 1890 1891 1893 1897 1899 1903 1905 1907 sp 1909 1911 1914 1916 1918 sp 1920 1922 1925 sp 1926 1928 1932 1934 1938 1940 1944 1946 1950 1952 1956 1957 sp 1958 1962 1964 1968 1970 1974 1976 1980 1982 1986 1988 1992 1994 1998 2000 2004 2006 2010 2012 2016 2018 2022 2024 U.S. House elections 1848 1850 1852 1854 1856 1858 1860 1862 1863 2nd sp 1864 1866 1868 1870 2nd sp 1872 1874 1876 1878 1880 1882 1884 1886 5th sp 1887 8th sp 1888 1890 1892 1893 4th sp 1894 7th sp 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 2nd sp 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 6th sp 11th sp 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 6th sp 1931 1st sp 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1941 1st sp 1942 1944 1946 1947 2nd sp 1948 1950 1952 1953 9th sp 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1969 7th sp 1970 1972 1974 1976 1978 1979 6th sp 1980 1982 1984 4th sp 1986 1988 1990 1992 1993 1st sp 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 7th sp 2022
State government Gubernatorial elections 1848 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1884 1886 1888 1890 1894 1896 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1914 1916 1918 1920 1922 1924 1926 1928 1930 1932 1934 1936 1938 1940 1942 1944 1946 1948 1950 1952 1954 1956 1958 1960 1962 1964 1966 1968 1970 1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1998 2002 2006 2010 2012 (recall) 2014 2018 2022 State Senate elections 2011 (recall) 2012 (recall) 2016 2018 2020 State Assembly elections 2016 2018 2020 Judicial Supreme Court, 2011 General elections 2000 2008 2010 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Ballot measures 2006 Referendum 1
Green Bay Mayoral elections 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
Madison Mayoral elections 1997 (special) 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019
Milwaukee Mayoral elections 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2022 (special)
v t

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[]

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			1	1
Total after this election		12	21	33
Change in total		2	2

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[]

District	Incumbent				This race
	Member	Party	First elected	Status	Primary candidates[2][3]	Candidates[4]	Results
2	Robert Cowles	Republican	1987	Running	Robert Cowles (Republican)	Y Robert Cowles (Republican)	Incumbent re-elected
4	Lena Taylor	Democratic	2004	Running	Lena Taylor (Democratic)	Y Lena Taylor (Democratic)	Incumbent re-elected
6	La Tonya Johnson	Democratic	2016	Running	Alciro Deacon (Republican) La Tonya Johnson (Democratic) Cordelia Michelle Bryant (Democratic)	Y 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)	Y 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)	Y Rob Stafsholt (Republican) 59.92% Patty Schachtner (Democratic) 40.08%	Incumbent lost New member elected Republican gain
12	Tom Tiffany	Republican	2012	Vacant	Mary Felzkowski (Republican) Ed Vocke (Democratic)	Y Mary Felzkowski (Republican) 65.71% Ed Vocke (Democratic) 34.29%	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)	Y 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)	Y 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)	Y Dan Feyen (Republican) 59.13% Aaron Wojciechowski (Democratic) 40.87%	Incumbent re-elected
20	Duey Stroebel	Republican	2014	Running	Duey Stroebel (Republican)	Y Duey Stroebel (Republican)	Incumbent re-elected
22	Robert Wirch	Democratic	1996	Running	Robert Wirch (Democratic)	Y Robert Wirch (Democratic)	Incumbent re-elected
24	Patrick Testin	Republican	2016	Running	Patrick Testin (Republican) Paul Piotrowski (Democratic)	Y 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)	Y 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)	Y Julian Bradley (Republican) 59.66% Adam Murphy (Democratic) 40.34%	Incumbent retired New member elected Republican hold
30	Dave Hansen	Democratic	2000	Not running	Jonathon Hansen (Democratic) Eric Wimberger (Republican) Sandra Jean Ewald (Democratic)	Y 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)	Y Brad Pfaff (Democratic) 50.3% Dan Kapanke (Republican) 49.7%	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[]

• Tom Tiffany (R–Hazelhurst), who had represented District 12 since 2014, left office on May 18, 2020, after winning the special election for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district.^[10]
• Jennifer Shilling (D–La Crosse), who had represented District 32 since 2011 and served as Minority Leader since 2015, resigned her seat on May 15, 2020 in order to explore "unspecified career opportunities."^[11]

See also[]

• Voter suppression in the United States 2019–2020: Wisconsin
• 2020 Wisconsin elections
  • 2020 Wisconsin State Assembly election
  • 2020 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary
  • 2020 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary
  • 2020 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin
• 2020 United States elections
• Wisconsin Senate
• Elections in Wisconsin

References[]

External links[]

• Wisconsin Elections Commission
• Wisconsin at Ballotpedia
• Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Wisconsin", Voting & Elections Toolkits
• "Wisconsin: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
• "League of Women Voters of Wisconsin". (State affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
• National Institute on Money in Politics; Campaign Finance Institute, "Wisconsin 2019 & 2020 Elections", Followthemoney.org