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Politics of Wisconsin

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Wisconsin's political history encompasses, on the one hand, Robert La Follette and the Progressive movement, and on the other, the Republican and anti-Communist Joe McCarthy. From the early 20th century, the Socialist Party of America had a base in Milwaukee. The phenomenon was referred to as "sewer socialism" because the elected officials were more concerned with public works and reform than with revolution (although revolutionary socialism existed in the city as well). Its influence faded in the late 1950s largely because of the red scare and racial tensions.[1] The first Socialist mayor of a large city in the United States was Emil Seidel, elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1910; another Socialist, Daniel Hoan, was mayor of Milwaukee from 1916 to 1940; and a third, Frank P. Zeidler, from 1948 to 1960. Succeeding Frank Zeidler, the last of Milwaukee's Socialist mayors, Henry Maier, a former Wisconsin State Senator and member of the Democratic Party was elected mayor of Milwaukee in 1960. Maier remained in office for 28 years, the longest-serving mayor in Milwaukee history. Socialist newspaper editor Victor Berger was repeatedly elected as a U.S. Representative, although he was prevented from serving for some time because of his opposition to the First World War.

During the Civil War, Wisconsin was a Republican state; in fact, it is the state that gave birth to the Republican Party, although ethno-religious issues in the late 19th century caused a brief split in the coalition. The Bennett Law campaign of 1890 dealt with foreign language teaching in schools. Many Germans switched to the Democratic Party because of the Republican Party's support of the law.[2]

Through the first half of the 20th century, Wisconsin's politics were dominated by Robert La Follette and his sons, originally of the Republican Party, but later of the revived Progressive Party. Since 1945, the state has maintained a close balance between Republicans and Democrats. Recent leading Republicans include former Governor Tommy Thompson and Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner; prominent Democrats include Senators Herb Kohl and Russ Feingold, the only Senator to vote against the Patriot Act in 2001, and Congressman David Obey.[3]

Some have argued the state has experienced democratic backsliding since 2011.[4][5][6] Some political scientists classify Wisconsin as a hybrid regime;[4] the state's House of Representative and legislature elections are considered to be free but not fair, with districts undergoing "extreme partisan gerrymanders" to entrench Republicans "beyond electoral rotation".[4][5][7]

Federal elections

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United States presidential election results for Wisconsin[8]
Year Republican / Whig Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 1,697,298 49.71% 1,667,881 48.85% 49,294 1.44%
2020 1,610,184 48.82% 1,630,866 49.45% 56,991 1.73%
2016 1,405,284 47.22% 1,382,536 46.45% 188,330 6.33%
2012 1,407,966 45.89% 1,620,985 52.83% 39,483 1.29%
2008 1,262,393 42.31% 1,677,211 56.22% 43,813 1.47%
2004 1,478,120 49.32% 1,489,504 49.70% 29,383 0.98%
2000 1,237,279 47.61% 1,242,987 47.83% 118,341 4.55%
1996 845,029 38.48% 1,071,971 48.81% 279,169 12.71%
1992 930,855 36.78% 1,041,066 41.13% 559,193 22.09%
1988 1,047,499 47.80% 1,126,794 51.41% 17,315 0.79%
1984 1,198,800 54.19% 995,847 45.02% 17,369 0.79%
1980 1,088,845 47.90% 981,584 43.18% 202,792 8.92%
1976 1,004,987 47.83% 1,040,232 49.50% 56,117 2.67%
1972 989,430 53.40% 810,174 43.72% 53,286 2.88%
1968 809,997 47.89% 748,804 44.27% 132,737 7.85%
1964 638,495 37.74% 1,050,424 62.09% 2,896 0.17%
1960 895,175 51.77% 830,805 48.05% 3,102 0.18%
1956 954,844 61.58% 586,768 37.84% 8,946 0.58%
1952 979,744 60.95% 622,175 38.71% 5,451 0.34%
1948 590,959 46.28% 647,310 50.70% 38,531 3.02%
1944 674,532 50.37% 650,413 48.57% 14,207 1.06%
1940 679,206 48.32% 704,821 50.15% 21,495 1.53%
1936 380,828 30.26% 802,984 63.80% 74,748 5.94%
1932 347,741 31.19% 707,410 63.46% 59,657 5.35%
1928 544,205 53.52% 450,259 44.28% 22,367 2.20%
1924 311,614 37.06% 68,115 8.10% 461,097 54.84%
1920 498,576 71.10% 113,422 16.17% 89,282 12.73%
1916 220,822 49.39% 191,363 42.80% 34,949 7.82%
1912 130,596 32.65% 164,230 41.06% 105,149 26.29%
1908 247,747 54.52% 166,662 36.67% 40,032 8.81%
1904 280,315 63.21% 124,205 28.01% 38,921 8.78%
1900 265,760 60.06% 159,163 35.97% 17,578 3.97%
1896 268,135 59.93% 165,523 37.00% 13,751 3.07%
1892 171,101 46.05% 177,325 47.72% 23,155 6.23%
1888 176,553 49.79% 155,232 43.77% 22,829 6.44%
1884 161,135 50.38% 146,453 45.79% 12,247 3.83%
1880 144,398 54.04% 114,644 42.91% 8,145 3.05%
1876 130,067 50.57% 123,926 48.19% 3,184 1.24%
1872 104,994 54.60% 86,477 44.97% 834 0.43%
1868 108,900 56.25% 84,703 43.75% 0 0.00%
1864 83,458 55.88% 65,884 44.12% 0 0.00%
1860 86,113 56.59% 65,021 42.73% 1,049 0.69%
1856 66,090 55.30% 52,843 44.22% 579 0.48%
1852 22,210 34.34% 33,658 52.04% 8,814 13.63%
1848 13,747 35.10% 15,001 38.30% 10,418 26.60%
See also: United States presidential elections in Wisconsin
A middle-aged man in a white shirt and black and yellow striped tie speaks into a microphone on stage in front of a crowd.
Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan was the 2012 Republican Party nominee for vice-president.

In 2020, Wisconsin leaned back in the Democratic party's direction as Joe Biden won the state by an even narrower margin of 0.7%. Biden's win was largely carried by Milwaukee and Dane counties with the rural areas of the state being carried by Trump.[9]

Wisconsin has leaned Democratic in recent presidential elections, although Donald Trump managed to win the state in 2016 by a narrow margin of 0.8%. This marked the first time Wisconsin voted for a Republican presidential candidate since 1984, when every state except Minnesota and Washington D.C. went Republican. In 2012, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney chose Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan, a native of Janesville, as his running mate against incumbent Democratic President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden. Obama nevertheless carried Wisconsin by a margin of 53% to 46%. Both the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were quite close, with Wisconsin receiving heavy doses of national advertising, in accord with its status as a "swing", or pivot, state. Al Gore carried the presidential vote in 2000 by 5,700 votes, and John Kerry won Wisconsin in 2004 by 11,000 votes. Barack Obama carried the state in 2008 by 381,000 votes (56%).

Republicans had a stronghold in the Fox Valley, but elected a Democrat, Steve Kagen, of Appleton, for the 8th Congressional District in 2006. However, Kagen survived only two terms and was replaced by Republican Reid Ribble in the Republican Party's sweep of Wisconsin in November 2010, the first time the Republican Party had taken back both chambers of the state legislature and the governorship in the same election. The City of Milwaukee heads the list of Wisconsin's Democratic strongholds, which also includes Madison and the state's Native American reservations. Wisconsin's largest Congressional district, the 7th, had voted Democratic since 1969. Its representative, David Obey, chaired the powerful House Appropriations Committee.[10] However, Obey retired and the once-Democratic seat was taken by Republican Sean Duffy in November 2010. The 2010 elections saw a huge Republican resurgence in Wisconsin. Republicans took control of the governor's office and both houses of the state legislature. Republican Ron Johnson defeated Democratic incumbent U.S. Senator Russ Feingold and Republicans took two previously Democratic-held House seats, creating a 5–3 Republican majority House delegation.

State elections

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The 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 led to large protests around the state capitol building in Madison.[11]

At the statewide level, Wisconsin is competitive, with control regularly alternating between the two parties. In 2006, Democrats gained in a national sweep of opposition to the Bush administration, and the Iraq War. The retiring GOP 8th District Congressman, Mark Green, of Green Bay, ran against the incumbent Governor Jim Doyle. Green lost by 8% statewide, making Doyle the first Democratic governor to be re-elected in 32 years. The Republicans lost control of the state Senate. Although Democrats gained eight seats in the state Assembly, Republicans retained a five-vote majority. In 2008, Democrats regained control of the State Assembly by a 52–46 margin, marking the first time since 1986 that the governor and state legislature were both Democratic.[12]

With the election of Scott Walker in 2010, Republicans won both chambers of the legislature and the governorship, the first time all three changed partisan control in the same election. His first year in office saw the introduction of the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, which removed collective bargaining rights for state employees. On February 14, 2011, the Wisconsin State Capitol erupted with protests when the Legislature took up a bill that would end most collective bargaining rights for state employees, except for wages, to address the $3.6 billion deficit. The protests attracted tens of thousands of people each day for months and garnered international attention. The Assembly passed the bill 53–42 on March 10 after the State Senate passed it the night before, and sent it to the Governor for his signature.[13] In response to the bill, enough signatures were gathered to force a recall election against Governor Walker. Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee and Walker's 2010 opponent, won the Democratic primary and faced Walker again. Walker won the election by 53% to 46% and became the first governor in United States history to retain his seat after a recall election. Walker enacted other bills promoting conservative governance, such as a right-to-work law,[14] abortion restrictions,[15] and legislation removing certain gun controls.[16][17][18]

Following the 2014 general election on November 4, 2014, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Attorney General and State Treasurer were all Republicans, while the Secretary of State remained in the Democratic camp.[19] However, Walker was defeated for a third term in 2018 by Democrat Tony Evers. Democratic U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin was also elected to a second term and Democrats won all constitutional statewide offices on the ballot including Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Secretary of State, and State Treasurer, the first time this happened in Wisconsin since 1982. When Walker lost re-election in 2018, he collaborated with the Republican-held legislature to strip several powers from the incoming Governor and Attorney General.[20]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Smith, Kevin D. (Spring 2003). "From Socialism to Racism: The Politics of Class and Identity in Postwar Milwaukee". Michigan Historical Review. 29 (1): 71–95. doi:10.2307/20174004. JSTOR 20174004.
  2. ^ Kellogg, Louise Phelps (September 1918). "The Bennett Law in Wisconsin". Wisconsin Magazine of History. 2 (1): 3–25. JSTOR 4630124.
  3. ^ Conant, James K. (March 1, 2006). "1". Wisconsin Politics and Government: America's Laboratory of Democracy. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-1548-1.
  4. ^ a b c Ginsburg, Tom; Huq, Aziz (2018). How to Save a Constitutional Democracy. University of Chicago Press. pp. 7–11, 13, 16, 22, 31. ISBN 9780226564388. Wisconsin's elections can be criticized along the third of these criteria, China's along all three. The result is a series of "blurred and imperfect" boundaries between democracy and its alternatives, in addition to myriad pathways away from democratic ordering toward one of a range of alternatives.
  5. ^ a b Grumbach, Jacob M. (December 1, 2022). "Laboratories of Democratic Backsliding". American Political Science Review. 117 (3): 967–984. doi:10.1017/S0003055422000934. ISSN 0003-0554. S2CID 234000893.
  6. ^ Levine, Sam (April 5, 2023). "Liberal judge's Wisconsin supreme court race win shows a shake-up in US politics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  7. ^ Tharoor, Ishaan (November 8, 2022). "U.S. democracy slides toward 'competitive authoritarianism'". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on March 30, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
  8. ^ Leip, David. "Presidential General Election Results Comparison – Wisconsin". US Election Atlas. Archived from the original on October 27, 2022. Retrieved October 26, 2022.
  9. ^ "Live election results: 2020 Wisconsin results". www.politico.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 18, 2021.
  10. ^ "David Obey, former U.S. Representative". GovTrack.us. Archived from the original on March 3, 2012. Retrieved February 18, 2012.
  11. ^ Abby Sewell (February 27, 2011). "Protesters out in force nationwide to oppose Wisconsin's anti-union bill". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  12. ^ Walters, S.; Marley, P. (November 9, 2008). "ELECTION 2008 Darling Wins Despite Tough Day for GOP Democrats to Control Assembly for First Time in 14 Years". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. p. Z3 – via ProQuest.
  13. ^ "Wisconsin Assembly passes bill to curb collective bargaining". CNN. March 10, 2011. Archived from the original on February 19, 2013. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  14. ^ Governor Walker of Wisconsin signs right-to-work bill Archived February 23, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, nytimes.com, March 10, 2015.
  15. ^ Stein, Jason (July 20, 2015). "Scott Walker Signs 20-Week Abortion Ban, Trooper Pay Raise". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  16. ^ Stein, Jason (July 8, 2011). "Walker Signs Concealed-Carry Measure Into Law". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  17. ^ Stein, Jason (December 7, 2011). "Walker Signs 'Castle Doctrine' Bill, Other Measures". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  18. ^ Strauss, Daniel (June 24, 2015). "Scott Walker Signs Two Pro-Gun Bills". Politico. Archived from the original on October 31, 2016. Retrieved October 30, 2016.
  19. ^ Wisconsin 2014 election results Archived January 2, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, wisconsinvote.org; accessed November 5, 2014.
  20. ^ Johnson, Shawn (January 17, 2023). "Lawsuit challenging Wisconsin 'lame duck' law persists more than 4 years after it was passed". Wisconsin Public Radio. Archived from the original on February 6, 2023. Retrieved February 6, 2023.
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