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The2011 Wisconsin Spring Election was held in theU.S. state ofWisconsin on April 5, 2011. The featured race at the top of the ticket was a seat on theWisconsin Supreme Court, which was seen as an early referendum on the policies of the newly inaugurated governor,Scott Walker. Several other nonpartisan local and judicial offices were also decided on the April ballot, including mayoral elections in some of Wisconsin's larger cities—Green Bay,Madison, andRacine. Republicans' preferred candidate, incumbent justiceDavid Prosser Jr., won the Supreme Court election by a narrow margin that resulted in a contentious recount. The2011 Wisconsin Spring Primary was held February 15, 2011.[1]
2011 also saw the first set ofrecall elections incited by Governor Scott Walker's controversial2011 Wisconsin Act 10, which stripped public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights. Nine state senators faced recall in the Summer of 2011, with two Republican seats flipping to Democratic control.
Five special legislative elections were also held in 2011 to fill vacancies in theWisconsin State Assembly.
Nine Wisconsin state senators were subjects of coordinated recall efforts to remove them from office in the Summer of 2011. The first recall election was held on July 19, six were held on August 9, and two more were held on August 16. Two incumbents,Randy Hopper andDan Kapanke, were defeated in the recall. The net result was that Democrats reduced the Republican Senate majority to 17–16.
A special election was held inWisconsin's 60th Assembly district on May 3, 2011, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofMark Gottlieb to become secretary of theWisconsin Department of Transportation. The Republican nominee,Cedarburg school board memberDuey Stroebel, defeated the Democratic nominee, Rick Aaron.[2]
A special primary was held concurrent with the Spring general election, April 5, 2011. In the Republican primary, Stroebel narrowly prevailed over Cedarburg town supervisor Gary Wickert and a field of five other candidates, includingPaul Melotik.[1]
A special election was held inWisconsin's 83rd Assembly district on May 3, 2011, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofScott Gunderson to accept a job at theWisconsin Department of Natural Resources. The Republican nominee,Dave Craig, defeated Democratic nominee James Brownlow.[2]
A special election was held inWisconsin's 94th Assembly district on May 3, 2011, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofMichael Huebsch to become secretary of theWisconsin Department of Administration. The Democratic nominee,La Crosse County board chairmanSteve Doyle, defeated Republican nominee John Lautz.[2] This was a net gain for the Democrats.
A special primary was held concurrent with the Spring general election, April 5, 2011. In the Democratic primary, Doyle won a close election over American Red Cross executive director Cheryl Hancock. In the Republican primary, Lautz defeated four other candidates.[1]
A special election was held inWisconsin's 48th Assembly district on August 9, 2011, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofJoe Parisi to become Dane County executive. The Democratic nominee,Planned Parenthood executiveChris Taylor won the special election without opposition.[3]
A special primary was held on July 12, 2011, in which Taylor defeated five opponents.[3]
A special election was held inWisconsin's 95th Assembly district on November 8, 2011, to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation ofJennifer Shilling, who had been elected state senator in a recall. The Democratic nominee, La Crosse County supervisorJill Billings, defeated Republican nominee David A. Drewes.[3]
A special primary was held on October 11, 2011, in which Billings defeated three opponents.[3]
A regularly scheduledWisconsin Supreme Court election was held on April 5, 2011. The incumbent judgeDavid Prosser Jr., first appointed by GovernorTommy Thompson in 1998, won his second ten-year term, defeating assistant attorney generalJoanne Kloppenburg. His victory preserved the 4–3 conservative majority on the court.
On election night, Kloppenburg appeared to have won a narrow victory, but during a recount, the Waukesha County clerk discovered 14,000 missing votes from the city ofBrookfield, which broke heavily in favor of Prosser.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan Primary, February 15, 2011[4] | |||||
| Nonpartisan | David Prosser Jr. (incumbent) | 231,017 | 54.99% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Joanne Kloppenburg | 105,002 | 24.99% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Marla Stephens | 45,256 | 10.77% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Joel Winnig | 37,831 | 9.01% | ||
| Scattering | 1,004 | 0.24% | |||
| Total votes | 420,110 | 100.0% | |||
| General Election, April 5, 2011 (post-recount)[2] | |||||
| Nonpartisan | David Prosser Jr. (incumbent) | 752,694 | 50.23% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Joanne Kloppenburg | 745,690 | 49.77% | ||
| Scattering | 1,729 | 0.12% | |||
| Plurality | 7,004 | 0.47% | |||
| Total votes | 1,500,113 | 100.0% | |||
Two seats on theWisconsin Court of Appeals were up for election on April 5, 2011.
Forty one of the state's 249circuit court seats were up for election in 2011. Nine of those seats were contested, four incumbent judges faced a contested election and one was defeated.[1]
