2000 Wisconsin elections

2000 Wisconsin elections

April 4, 2000 November 7, 2000

The 2000 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on November 7, 2000. One of Wisconsin's U.S. Senate seats was up for election, as well as Wisconsin's nine seats in the United States House of Representatives, the sixteen even-numbered seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly. Voters also chose eleven electors to represent them in the Electoral College, which then participated in selecting the president of the United States. The 2000 Fall Partisan Primary was held on September 12, 2000.

In the Fall general election, the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Al Gore, narrowly won Wisconsin's eleven electoral votes, defeating Texas Governor George W. Bush by a mere 5,708 votes. All nine of Wisconsin's incumbent members of Congress were reelected. Democrats gained one seat in the Wisconsin Senate; Republicans gained one seat in the Wisconsin Assembly.

The 2000 Wisconsin Spring Election was held April 4, 2000. This election featured a contested election for Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Presidential preference primary for both major political parties, as well as various nonpartisan local and judicial offices. The 2000 Wisconsin Spring Primary was held on February 15, 2000.

Wisconsin Republicans celebrated the results of the April election with the victory of their preferred candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. The Presidential preference primary was not seriously contested on either the Democratic or Republican side, as most candidates had already dropped out before Wisconsin's vote.

Federal offices

U.S. President

Main article: 2000 United States presidential election in Wisconsin

Incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton was term-limited and was not a candidate for reelection. In Wisconsin, voters chose Clinton's vice president, Al Gore, over Texas Governor George W. Bush. Vice President Gore received Wisconsin's eleven electoral votes, but did not win the national electoral vote.

Results

United States Presidential Election in Wisconsin, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 7, 2000
	Democratic	Al Gore / Joe Lieberman	1,242,987	47.83%	−1.03%
	Republican	George W. Bush / Dick Cheney	1,237,279	47.61%	+9.09%
	Green	Ralph Nader / Winona LaDuke	94,070	3.62%	+2.31%
	Reform	Pat Buchanan / Ezola Foster	11,471	0.44%	−9.92%
	Libertarian	Harry Browne / Art Olivier	6,640	0.26%	−0.11%
	Constitution	Howard Phillips / J. Curtis Frazier	2,042	0.08%	−0.32%
	Workers World	Monica Moorehead / Gloria La Riva	1,063	0.04%	−0.02%
	Independent	John Hagelin / Nat Goldhaber	853	0.03%	−0.03%
	Socialist Workers	James Harris / Margaret Trowe	306	0.01%	−0.01%
		Scattering	1,896	0.07%
Plurality			5,708	0.22%	-10.12%
Total votes			2,598,607	100.0%	+18.45%
	Democratic hold

U.S. Senate

Main article: 2000 United States Senate election in Wisconsin

Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was reelected to a third six-year term, defeating Republican John Gillespie.

United States Senate Election in Wisconsin, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, November 7, 2000
	Democratic	Herb Kohl (incumbent)	1,563,238	61.54%	+3.23%
	Republican	John Gillespie	940,744	37.04%	−3.66%
	Libertarian	Tim Peterson	21,348	0.84%	−0.15%
	Independent	Eugene A. Hem	9,555	0.38%
	Constitution	Robert R. Raymond	4,296	0.17%
		Scattering	902	0.04%
Plurality			622,494	24.51%	+6.89%
Total votes			2,540,083	100.0%	+62.30%
	Democratic hold

U.S. House

District	Incumbent			Candidates	Results
	Member		First elected
Wisconsin 1	Paul Ryan		1998	Y Paul Ryan (Rep) 66.57% Jeffrey Thomas (Dem) 33.32%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 2	Tammy Baldwin		1998	Y Tammy Baldwin (Dem) 51.36% John Sharpless (Rep) 48.57%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 3	Ron Kind		1996	Y Ron Kind (Dem) 63.74% Susan Tully (Rep) 35.91%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 4	Jerry Kleczka		1984	Y Jerry Kleczka (Dem) 60.77% Tim Riener (Rep) 37.81% Nikola Rajnovic (Lib) 1.38%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 5	Tom Barrett		1992	Y Tom Barrett (Dem) 77.68% Jonathan Smith (Republican) 22.02%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 6	Tom Petri		1979 (Special)	Y Tom Petri (Rep) 65.02% Dan Flaherty (Dem) 34.88%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 7	Dave Obey		1969 (Special)	Y Dave Obey (Dem) 63.27% Sean Cronin (Rep) 36.66%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 8	Mark Andrew Green		1998	Y Mark Andrew Green (Rep) 74.62% Dean Reich (Dem) 25.27%	Incumbent re-elected.
Wisconsin 9	Jim Sensenbrenner		1978	Y Jim Sensenbrenner (Rep) 74.04% Mike Clawson (Dem) 25.88%	Incumbent re-elected.

State offices

Legislature

State Senate

The 16 even-numbered seats in the Wisconsin State Senate were up for election in 2000. Each party controlled 8 seats up for election in 2000, with Democrats holding a 1-seat majority in the full Senate, 17–16. Republicans picked up one Democrat-held seat in the 2000 general election, but Democrats picked up two previously Republican-held seats, for a net result of the Democratic Party gaining 1 seat and increasing their majority to 18–15.

Summary

Seats	Party (majority caucus shading)		Vacant	Total
	Democratic	Republican
Total after last election (1998)	18	15	33	0
Total before this election	17	16	33	0
Up for election	8	8	16
This election	9	7
Total after this election	18	15	33	0
Change in total	1	1

Candidates

District	Incumbent				Elected			Defeated candidates	Result
	Senator		1996 Vote%	Status	Candidate		Vote%
02	Robert Cowles		62.92%	Running	Robert Cowles		99.62%		Party hold.
04	Gwen Moore		100.00%	Running	Gwen Moore		99.09%		Party hold.
06	Gary R. George		100.00%	Running	Gary R. George		99.17%		Party hold.
08	Alberta Darling		58.78%	Running	Alberta Darling		65.88%	Sara Lee Johann (Dem) 33.95%	Party hold.
10	Alice Clausing		54.12%	Running	Sheila Harsdorf		50.34%	Alice Clausing (Dem) 47.15% Jim Nelson (Ind) 2.50%	Republican gain.
12	Roger Breske		57.41%	Running	Roger Breske		88.34%	John E. Bailey (Lib) 11.54%	Party hold.
14	Robert Welch		100.0%	Running	Robert Welch		66.34%	Dick Goldsmith (Dem) 33.59%	Party hold.
16	Charles Chvala		53.67%	Running	Charles Chvala		57.93%	Lisa B. Nelson (Rep) 42.01%	Party hold.
18	Carol Roessler		73.77%	Running	Carol Roessler		67.90%	Kevin McGee (Dem) 31.98%	Party hold.
20	Mary Panzer		84.83%	Running	Mary Panzer		73.03%	Dale Koski (Dem) 26.89%	Party hold.
22	Robert Wirch		56.81%	Running	Robert Wirch		55.98%	Dave Duecker (Rep) 43.99%	Party hold.
24	Kevin Shibilski		84.08%	Running	Kevin Shibilski		99.49%		Party hold.
26	Fred Risser		100.00%	Running	Fred Risser		98.95%		Party hold.
28	Mary Lazich		52.04%	Running	Mary Lazich		67.48%	Kathleen S. Arciszewski (Dem) 32.46%	Party hold.
30	Gary Drzewiecki		51.79%	Running	Dave Hansen		50.72%	Gary Drzewiecki (Rep) 49.10%	Democratic gain.
32	Brian Rude		75.10%	Not running	Mark Meyer		50.96%	Dan Kapanke (Rep) 48.90%	Democratic gain.

State Assembly

All 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election in 2000. Republicans gained 1 seat in the 2000 general election, increasing their majority to 56–43.

Summary

Seats	Party (majority caucus shading)		Vacant	Total
	Democratic	Republican
Total after last election (1998)	44	55	99	0
Total before this election	44	55	99	0
Total after this election	43	56	99	0
Change in total	1	1

Judiciary

State Supreme Court

2000 Wisconsin Supreme Court election

April 4, 2000

Candidate Diane S. Sykes Louis B. Butler Popular vote 535,805 281,048 Percentage 65.5% 34.4%

County results Sykes:      50–60%      60–70%      70–80%

Justice before election Diane S. Sykes Elected Justice Diane S. Sykes

Incumbent Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Diane S. Sykes defeated Milwaukee municipal court judge Louis B. Butler in the April general election. Justice Sykes had been appointed to the court in 1999 by Governor Tommy Thompson, to replace Justice Donald W. Steinmetz, who had retired. Justice Steinmetz's term was already set to expire in 2000, thus no special election needed to be scheduled.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 2000

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
General Election, April 4, 2000
	Nonpartisan	Diane S. Sykes (incumbent)	535,805	65.52%
	Nonpartisan	Louis B. Butler	281,048	34.37%
		Scattering	895	0.11%
Plurality			254,757	31.15%	+27.43%
Total votes			817,748	100.0%	+19.27%

State Court of Appeals

Three seats of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals were up for election in 2000. None of the elections was contested.

• In District I, Judge Ralph Adam Fine was elected to his third six-year term.
• In District II, Judge Richard S. Brown was elected to his fourth six-year term.
• In District IV, Judge Margaret J. Vergeront was elected to her second six-year term.

State Circuit Courts

Forty nine of the state's 241 circuit court seats were up for election in 2000. One of those seats—in Waupaca County—was newly created by the 1999 budget act passed by the Wisconsin Legislature. Eight of the seats were contested. Only one incumbent judge was defeated seeking re-election, Michael G. Grzeca—an appointee of Governor Tommy Thompson in the Brown County Circuit.

Circuit	Branch	Incumbent	Elected			Defeated			Defeated in Primary
			Name	Votes	%	Name	Votes	%	Name(s)
Ashland		Robert E. Eaton	Robert E. Eaton	1,782	99.78%
Barron	2	Edward R. Brunner	Edward R. Brunner	5,541	99.87%
Brown	2	Michael G. Grzeca	Mark A. Warpinski	26,058	68.40%	Michael G. Grzeca	12,002	31.51%
Clark		Jon M. Counsell	Jon M. Counsell	4,903	66.24%	Charles S. Senn	2,492	33.67%	Darwin L. Zwieg Frank Vazquez
Dane	3	John C. Albert	John C. Albert	48,077	99.57%
	8	Patrick J. Fiedler	Patrick J. Fiedler	48,853	99.56%
	9	Gerald C. Nichol	Gerald C. Nichol	49,139	99.66%
	12	David T. Flanagan	David T. Flanagan	47,869	99.65%
	17	Paul B. Higginbotham	Paul B. Higginbotham	49,239	99.66%
Door	1	John D. Koehn	D. Todd Ehlers	4,334	51.43%	Philip L. Johnson	4,087	48.50%
	2	Peter C. Diltz	Peter C. Diltz	7,110	99.45%
Eau Claire	1	Thomas H. Barland	Lisa K. Stark	9,217	59.69%	Michael D. O'Brien	6,197	40.13%	Mike O'Brien
	3	William M. Gabler	William M. Gabler	11,833	99.54%
	4	Benjamin D. Proctor	Benjamin D. Proctor	12,208	99.57%
	5	Paul J. Lenz	Paul J. Lenz	11,925	99.61%
Kenosha	7	S. Michael Wilk	S. Michael Wilk	12,488	99.70%
Milwaukee	4	Mel Flanagan	Mel Flanagan	115,045	99.21%
	6	Kitty Brennan	Kitty Brennan	116,005	99.25%
	8	William Sosnay	William Sosnay	112,081	99.26%
	13	Victor Manian	Victor Manian	116,145	99.34%
	20	Dennis P. Moroney	Dennis P. Moroney	112,357	99.34%
	23	Elsa C. Lamelas	Elsa C. Lamelas	111,652	99.29%
	28	Thomas R. Cooper	Thomas R. Cooper	111,772	99.38%
	35	Lee Wells	Lee Wells	112,271	99.41%
	38	Jeffrey A. Wagner	Jeffrey A. Wagner	115,872	99.34%
	39	Michael Malmstadt	Michael Malmstadt	113,139	99.36%
	43	Marshall B. Murray	Marshall B. Murray	110,440	99.38%
	46	Bonnie L. Gordon	Bonnie L. Gordon	110,560	99.34%
Oneida	2	Mark A. Mangerson	Mark A. Mangerson	5,895	99.63%
Outagamie	4	Harold V. Froehlich	Harold V. Froehlich	17,832	99.84%
	5	Dee R. Dyer	Dee R. Dyer	17,916	99.88%
	7	John A. Des Jardins	John A. Des Jardins	18,032	99.81%
Portage	3	Thomas T. Flugaur	Thomas T. Flugaur	7,170	99.82%
Racine	8	Dennis J. Flynn	Dennis J. Flynn	20,913	99.52%
	10	Richard J. Kreul	Richard J. Kreul	19,694	99.59%
Rock	7	James E. Welker	James E. Welker	14,334	99.07%
St. Croix	3	Scott R. Needham	Scott R. Needham	5,414	99.96%
Sauk	1	Patrick J. Taggart	Patrick J. Taggart	6,690	99.58%
	3	Virginia A. Wolfe	Guy D. Reynolds	5,443	62.75%	Patricia Barrett	3,222	37.15%	Joseph J. Screnock David McFarlane Randall M. Holtz David McFarlane
Sheboygan	5	James J. Bolgert	James J. Bolgert	16,290	99.82%
Walworth	1	Robert J. Kennedy	Robert J. Kennedy	7,698	50.31%	Henry A. Sibbing	7,601	49.68%
Washington	3	David Resheske	David Resheske	13,058	99.59%
	4	Leo F. Schlaefer	Andrew T. Gonring	12,964	99.46%
Waukesha	11	Robert G. Mawdsley	Robert G. Mawdsley	41,745	99.55%
	12	Kathryn W. Foster	Kathryn W. Foster	42,017	99.51%
Waupaca	3	New seat	Raymond S. Huber	6,042	56.24%	John P. Snider	4,701	43.75%	Steven L. Toney
Winnebago	1	William E. Crane	Thomas J. Gritton	11,900	56.78%	Frank Slattery	9,033	43.10%
	2	Robert A. Haase	Robert A. Haase	17,309	99.51%
	4	Robert A. Hawley	Robert A. Hawley	17,228	99.43%

Local

Milwaukee

• Incumbent Mayor John Norquist was reelected to a fourth four-year term, defeating businessman George Watts.

Monroe County

• Ed Thompson, brother of incumbent Governor Tommy Thompson, was elected Mayor of Tomah, Wisconsin, defeating incumbent Bud Johnson.