2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

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 2024 Presidential primaries Democratic 2000 2004 2008 2016 2020 2024 Republican 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024 U.S. Senate elections Class 1 1848 1851 1857 1863 1869 1875 1881 1887 1893 1899 1905 1911 1916 1922 1925 sp 1928 1934 1940 1946 1952 1957 sp 1958 1964 1970 1976 1982 1988 1994 2000 2006 2012 2018 2024 Class 3 1848 1849 1855 1861 1867 1872 1879 1881 sp 1885 1890 1891 1897 1903 1907 sp 1909 1914 1918 sp 1920 1926 1932 1938 1944 1950 1956 1962 1968 1974 1980 1982 1986 1992 1998 2004 2010 2016 2022 2028 U.S. House of Representatives 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 2024 8th sp 2026
State government General elections 1925 1995 2000 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Gubernatorial elections 1848 1849 1851 1853 1855 1857 1859 1861 1863 1865 1867 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 1879 1881 1884 1886 1888 1890 1892 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 2026 Lieutenant Gubernatorial elections 1942 1968 2012 (recall) Secretary of State elections 1978 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Attorney General elections 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Treasurer elections 2010 2014 2018 2022 2026 Superintendent elections 1925 2009 2013 2017 2021 2025 State Senate elections 1934 1996 2008 2010 2011 (recall) 2012 (recall) 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 State Assembly elections 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 2026 Supreme Court elections 1852 (3) 1855 1859 1860 sp. 1861 1863 1865 1867 1868 sp. (2) 1869 1871 1873 1875 1877 (2) 1878 1879 1881 (2) 1883 1885 1887 1889 1891 1892 sp. 1893 1895 1896 sp. 1897 1898 sp. 1899 (2) 1901 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 sp. 1909 1911 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 sp. 1919 1921 1922 sp. 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1929 1930 sp. 1931 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1939 1941 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 sp. 1951 1952 sp. 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1961 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1989 1990 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1999 2000 2001 2003 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2013 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2023 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2033
Ballot measures 2006 Referendum 1 2025 Question 1
Green Bay Mayoral elections 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Madison Mayoral elections 1874 1875 1876 1973 1997 sp. 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023
Milwaukee Mayoral elections 1898 1900 1902 1904 1906 1908 1910 1912 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2022 sp 2024
Kenosha Mayoral elections 1992 1996 2000 2004 2008 2012 2016 2020 2024
v t e

The 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018. It occurred concurrently with a Senate election in the state, elections to the state's U.S. House seats, and various other elections. Incumbent Republican governor Scott Walker sought re-election to a third term, and was challenged by Democratic candidate and then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, as well as Libertarian Phil Anderson and independent Maggie Turnbull. Evers, along with his running mate Mandela Barnes, managed to defeat Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch in a closely fought and widely watched race, ending the state's Republican trifecta.

The result was considered "too close to call" on election night, with Walker and Evers being separated by a mere few hundred votes for much of the night as counties reported their results. Shortly after midnight on November 7, Milwaukee County reported around 46,000 uncounted absentee ballots. From those ballots, Evers received 38,674 votes, or 84% of the total, and Walker 7,181, giving Evers a narrow lead. The race was called for him shortly after.

Wisconsin was the only state in the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle to elect a Democratic governor while voting more Republican than the national average. With a margin of 1.1%, this election was also the second-closest race of the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in Florida. Walker was one of two Republican incumbent governors to be defeated for re-election in 2018, the other being Bruce Rauner in neighboring Illinois, who had lost decisively to J. B. Pritzker.

• Robert Meyer, businessman and candidate for mayor of Sun Prairie in 2007
• Scott Walker, incumbent governor

• Rebecca Kleefisch, incumbent lieutenant governor

• Tony Evers, Wisconsin state superintendent of public instruction

• Matt Flynn, former chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, retired partner at Quarles & Brady and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1986
• Mike McCabe, former executive director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and candidate for the State Assembly in 1998
• Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2012
• Josh Pade, lawyer
• Kelda Helen Roys, former state representative and candidate for WI-02 in 2012
• Paul Soglin, mayor of Madison and nominee for WI-02 in 1996
• Kathleen Vinehout, state senator and candidate for governor in 2012

• Mike Crute, liberal talk radio broadcaster (endorsed McCabe)
• Michele Doolan, businesswoman (endorsed Flynn)
• Andy Gronik, businessman (remained on ballot; endorsed Roys)
• Bob Harlow, candidate for CA-18 in 2016 (endorsed Flynn)
• Kurt Kober, businessman (ran for lieutenant governor)
• Jeff Rumbaugh, disability rights activist (endorsed McCabe)
• Dana Wachs, state representative (remained on ballot; endorsed Evers)

• Chris Abele, Milwaukee County Executive
• Mark Bakken, businessman
• Peter Barca, state representative and former U.S. representative
• Tom Barrett, mayor of Milwaukee, former U.S. representative, and nominee for governor in 2010 and 2012
• John T. Chisholm, Milwaukee County District Attorney (endorsed Flynn)
• Kevin Conroy, president and CEO of Exact Sciences
• Timothy Cullen, former state senator
• Katherine Gehl, former president and CEO of Gehl Foods
• Gordon Hintz, minority leader of the State Assembly
• Brett Hulsey, former state representative and candidate for governor in 2014
• Ron Kind, U.S. representative
• James Kreuser, Kenosha County executive
• Joe Parisi, Dane County executive
• Mark Pocan, U.S. representative
• Jennifer Shilling, Democratic leader of the State Senate

An asterisk (*) denotes that a candidate withdrew before the primary but remains on the ballot.

Mandela Barnes, a former state representative from Milwaukee, defeated opponent Kurt Kober by a 2 to 1 margin for the nomination, becoming the first African American to be nominated by a major party for a Wisconsin gubernatorial ticket.

• Mandela Barnes, former state representative, and candidate for state senate in 2016

• Kurt J. Kober, businessman

• Phil Anderson, chairman of the Wisconsin Libertarian Party and Libertarian nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2016

• Patrick Baird, U.S. Navy veteran

• Michael White

• Nick De Leon, pastor (endorsed Matt Flynn)

• Tiffany Anderson

• Maggie Turnbull, astrobiologist

• Wil Losch, Turnbull's running mate

Despite the fact that Scott Walker had won three prior races for governor in 2010, 2012, and 2014 by fairly comfortable margins, his bid for a third term was complicated by rising unpopularity due to his policies concerning public education and infrastructure. Walker also faced backlash for a deal his administration made with Taiwanese company Foxconn in 2017 to create jobs in the state in exchange for around $4.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies. In 2018, the deal resulted in around $90 million of funding for roads being diverted to a stretch of I-94 that was set to be near a future Foxconn plant from the rest of state. The poor condition of many roads around the state as well as the lack of work being done to redo them prompted a campaign where potholes were being labeled as “Scott”-holes.

Walker's approval ratings were hobbled further by the unpopularity of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in Wisconsin. Walker himself sounded the alarm on this several times in early 2018 after Democrats won two special elections to the Wisconsin State Senate in typically Republican districts and an election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In April 2018, Walker warned that Wisconsin was "at risk of a blue wave" in November. The Walker campaign generally focused on promoting the popular parts of his record, such as a freeze on tuition at public universities and record low unemployment.

The result was expected to be close, with a record $93 million spent on the race by the two major campaigns and special interest groups from in and out of the state. In the end, Walker was ultimately defeated by Democrat Tony Evers, who garnered a slightly more than 1% margin of victory, as Democrats swept every statewide race up for election.

Evers won the election by a 1.09% margin.

• Grant (largest city: Platteville)
• Kenosha (largest city: Kenosha)
• Richland (largest city: Richland Center)

Despite losing the state, Walker won five of the eight congressional districts.

Despite the close result, Scott Walker was unable to request a recount due to a law he had signed himself two years prior, which requires the margin of difference to be within 1%.

Early in December 2018, a special legislative session was called by Walker to pass a series of bills to limit the powers of Governor-elect Evers, as well as incoming Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, who had defeated incumbent Brad Schimel in the concurrent Attorney General election.

Other bills being considered included restrictions on early voting and the passage of Medicaid work requirements, which Walker had previously held off on due to the election. A similar law restricting early voting that was passed several years prior had been ruled as unconstitutional.

The bills were widely denounced by Democrats and others as a "power grab." Representative Gwen Moore described the move as a "coup" that "hijacked the voters' will." Walker and other Republicans meanwhile argued that the bills were necessary ”checks on power” and that they did not actually strip any real powers from the executive. Lawsuits were filed by Evers and various labor unions almost immediately after Walker signed the bills into law.

• 2018 Wisconsin elections
• 2018 United States gubernatorial elections
• 2018 United States elections

• Candidates at Vote Smart
• Candidates at Ballotpedia

Official campaign websites

• Phil Anderson (L) for Governor
• Arnie Enz (WI Party) for Governor
• Tony Evers (D) for Governor
• Robbie Hoffman (I) for Governor
• Maggie Turnbull (I) for Governor
• Scott Walker (R) for Governor
• Michael White (G) for Governor