United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin, 2016
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August 9, 2016 |
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The2016 U.S. House of Representatives elections inWisconsin took place onNovember 8, 2016. Voterselected eight candidates to serve in theU.S. House, one from each of the state's eight congressional districts.
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: Aprimary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Wisconsin utilizes anopen primary system; registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, seethis article.
Partisan breakdown
Heading into the November 8 election, the Republican Party held five of the eight congressional seats fromWisconsin.
| Members of the U.S. House from Wisconsin -- Partisan Breakdown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | As of November 2016 | After the 2016 Election | |
| Democratic Party | 3 | 3 | |
| Republican Party | 5 | 5 | |
| Total | 8 | 8 | |
Incumbents
Heading into the 2016 election, the incumbents for the eight congressional districts were:
| Name | Party | District |
|---|---|---|
| Paul Ryan |  Republican | 1 |
| Mark Pocan |  Democratic | 2 |
| Ron Kind | Democratic | 3 |
| Gwen Moore | Democratic | 4 |
| Jim Sensenbrenner | Republican | 5 |
| Glenn Grothman | Republican | 6 |
| Sean Duffy | Republican | 7 |
| Reid Ribble | Republican | 8 |
Margin of victory for winners
The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the two candidates who received the most votes. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100 percent.
| District | Winner | Margin of Victory | Total Vote | Top Opponent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District 1 |  Paul Ryan | 34.8% | 353,990 | Ryan Solen |
| District 2 |  Mark Pocan | 37.6% | 397,581 | Peter Theron |
| District 3 | Ron Kind | 99.9% | 257,570 | Write-in |
| District 4 | Gwen Moore | 65.3% | 285,858 | Robert Raymond |
| District 5 | Jim Sensenbrenner | 37.4% | 390,507 | Khary Penebaker |
| District 6 | Glenn Grothman | 19.9% | 356,935 | Sarah Lloyd |
| District 7 | Sean Duffy | 23.4% | 362,061 | Mary Hoeft |
| District 8 | Mike Gallagher | 25.4% | 363,592 | Tom Nelson |
Candidates
| Candidate ballot access |
|---|
 |
| Find detailed information onballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
District 1
General election candidates: Paul Ryan aRyan Solen Jason Lebeck Spencer Zimmerman |
Primary candidates:[2] |
Democratic Ryan Solen[4] a | Republican aPaul Nehlen[6] |
Third Party/Other aSpencer Zimmerman (Trump Conservative)[5] a |
| Withdrew: John Eleniewski (Independent)[8] |
District 2
General election candidates: Mark PocanaPeter Theron |
Primary candidates:[2] |
Democratic a | Republican a |
District 3
General election candidates: Ron Kinda |
Primary candidates:[2] |
Democratic aMyron Buchholz[5] | Republican |
District 4
General election candidates: Gwen MooreaAndy CraigRobert Raymond |
Primary candidates:[2] |
Democratic aGary George[5] | Republican |
Third Party/Other aRobert Raymond (Independent)[5] a |
| Withdrew: Weldon Carnahan (R)[5] |
District 5
General election candidates: Jim SensenbrenneraKhary PenebakerJohn Arndt |
Primary candidates:[2] |
Democratic a | Republican a |
Third Party/Other a |
District 6
General election candidates: Glenn GrothmanaSarah LloydJeff Dahlke |
Primary candidates:[2] |
Democratic Sarah Lloyd[5] a | Republican a |
Third Party/Other a |
District 7
General election candidates: Sean DuffyaMary Hoeft |
Primary candidates:[2] |
Democratic aJoel Lewis - Marathon County board supervisor[13] | Republican aDonald Raihala[5] |
| Withdrew: Phil Salamone (D)[14][15] Ethel Quisler (D)[5] Ken Driessen (Populist)[5] Robert Burke (Libertarian)[5] |
District 8
General election candidates: Mike GallagheraTom Nelson |
Primary candidates:[2] |
Democratic a | Republican Mike Gallagher - Former Marine captain[18] aTerry McNulty[19] |
Did not run: |
| Withdrew: Tony Saladino (D)[21][5] Gary Schomburg (R)[5] Jerry Kobishop (D)[22] Robbie Hoffman (Independent)[23] Wendy Gribben (Independent Progressive)[5] |
Important dates and deadlines
- See also:Wisconsin elections, 2016
The calendar below lists important dates for political candidates in Wisconsin in 2016.
| Dates and requirements for candidates in 2016 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | Event type | Event description | |
| January 5, 2016 | Ballot access | Last day for candidates to file nomination papers, declarations of candidacy and campaign registration statements for the spring election | |
| January 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | January continuing report due | |
| February 8, 2016 | Campaign finance | Spring pre-primary report due | |
| March 28, 2016 | Campaign finance | Spring pre-election report due | |
| June 1, 2016 | Ballot access | Last day for candidates to file nomination papers, declarations of candidacy and campaign registration statements for the general election | |
| July 15, 2016 | Campaign finance | July continuing report due | |
| August 1, 2016 | Campaign finance | Fall partisan primary report due | |
| August 9, 2016 | Election date | State partisan primary election | |
| September 27, 2016 | Campaign finance | Fourth Tuesday in September report due | |
| October 31, 2016 | Campaign finance | Fall general election report due | |
| November 8, 2016 | Election date | General election | |
| Sources:Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Calendar of Election and Campaign Events," accessed January 11, 2016 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "New Campaign Finance Laws Effective January 1, 2016," December 21, 2015 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2016
- United States Senate election in Wisconsin, 2016
- U.S. House battlegrounds, 2016
- List of U.S. Congress incumbents who did not run for re-election in 2016
- U.S. House primaries, 2016
Footnotes
- ↑Wisconsin State Legislature, "Wis. Stat. § 5.62," accessed January 5, 2026
- ↑2.02.12.22.32.42.52.62.7Candidates are listed by party and alphabetically within each party.
- ↑Tom Breu for Congress, "Home," accessed February 17, 2016
- ↑Ryan Solen for Congress, "About," accessed March 21, 2016
- ↑5.005.015.025.035.045.055.065.075.085.095.105.115.125.135.145.155.165.175.185.195.205.215.225.23Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed June 2, 2016
- ↑The Washington Times, "Paul Ryan faces primary challenge from wealthy businessman ‘betrayed’ by House speaker," March 28, 2016
- ↑Wispolitics.com, "Lebeck Campaign: Libertarian Jason Lebeck announces challenge to Speaker Paul Ryan for Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District," January 19, 2016
- ↑John Eleniewski for U.S. Congress, "Home," accessed March 24, 2016
- ↑Independent Political Report, "Libertarian Andy Craig running for Congress in Wisconsin’s 4th District," January 17, 2015
- ↑Khary Penebaker for Congress, "Home," accessed February 15, 2016
- ↑Jeff Dahlke for Congress, "Home," accessed May 16, 2016
- ↑Mary Hoeft for Congress, "Home," accessed May 17, 2016
- ↑Wisconsin Public Radio, "Wausau Democrat Announces Run For Sean Duffy's Seat In Congress," April 11, 2016
- ↑Facebook, "Phil Salamone for U.S. Congress," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑Phil for Wisconsin, "Home," accessed May 20, 2016
- ↑Post-Crescent, "Tom Nelson announces run for Congress," April 7, 2016
- ↑greenbaypressgazette.com, "Frank Lasee plans District 8 run for Congress," February 13, 2016
- ↑Fox 11 News, "Mike Gallagher announces run for Ribble's seat," February 27, 2016
- ↑Green Bay Press-Gazette, "McNulty announces 8th Congressional District run," February 17, 2016
- ↑Politico, "GOP Rep. Reid Ribble retiring," January 30, 2016
- ↑Facebook, "Saladino 4 District 8," accessed March 3, 2016
- ↑Door County Pulse, "Jerry Kobishop Announces Congressional Campaign," March 11, 2016
- ↑Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidate Tracking by Office," accessed April 25, 2016
For information about public policy issues in the 2016 elections, see:Public policy in the 2016 elections!
