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The2000 Wisconsin Fall General Election was held in theU.S. state ofWisconsin on November 7, 2000. One of Wisconsin'sU.S. Senate seats was up for election, as well asWisconsin's nine seats in theUnited States House of Representatives, the sixteen even-numbered seats in theWisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in theWisconsin State Assembly. Voters also chose eleven electors to represent them in theElectoral College, which then participated in selecting the president of the United States. The2000 Fall Partisan Primary was held on September 12, 2000.
In the Fall general election, the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice PresidentAl Gore, narrowly wonWisconsin's eleven electoral votes, defeating Texas GovernorGeorge 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.[1]
The2000 Wisconsin Spring Election was held April 4, 2000. This election featured a contested election forWisconsin Supreme Court and the Presidential preference primary for both major political parties, as well as various nonpartisan local and judicial offices.[2] The2000 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 theWisconsin Supreme Court election. The Presidential preference primary was not seriously contested on either theDemocratic orRepublican side, as most candidates had already dropped out before Wisconsin's vote.
Incumbent Democratic PresidentBill Clinton was term-limited and was not a candidate for reelection. In Wisconsin, voters chose Clinton's vice president,Al Gore, over Texas GovernorGeorge W. Bush.[1]: 1 Vice President Gore received Wisconsin's eleven electoral votes, but did not win the national electoral vote.
| 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% | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
Incumbent Democratic U.S. SenatorHerb Kohl was reelected to a third six-year term, defeating Republican John Gillespie.[1]: 2
| 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% | ||
| Democratichold | |||||
| District | Incumbent | Candidates | Results | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Member | First elected | ||||
| Wisconsin 1 | Paul Ryan | 1998 |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Wisconsin 2 | Tammy Baldwin | 1998 |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Wisconsin 3 | Ron Kind | 1996 |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Wisconsin 4 | Jerry Kleczka | 1984 |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Wisconsin 5 | Tom Barrett | 1992 |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Wisconsin 6 | Tom Petri | 1979(Special) |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Wisconsin 7 | Dave Obey | 1969(Special) |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Wisconsin 8 | Mark Andrew Green | 1998 |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
| Wisconsin 9 | Jim Sensenbrenner | 1978 |
| Incumbent re-elected. | |
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.
| 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 |  | |
| District | Incumbent | Elected[1] | 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% |
| 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. | ||
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.
| 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 | | |
In the Supreme Court election (held during the spring elections) , incumbentWisconsin Supreme Court JusticeDiane S. Sykes defeated Milwaukee municipal court judgeLouis B. Butler in the April general election. Justice Sykes had been appointed to the court in 1999 by GovernorTommy Thompson, to replace JusticeDonald W. Steinmetz, who had retired. Justice Steinmetz's term was already set to expire in 2000, thus the election did not need to be scheduled any earlier than it otherwise would have been.
| 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% | ||
Three seats of theWisconsin Court of Appeals were up for election in 2000. None of the elections was contested.[2]: 1–2
Forty nine of the state's 241circuit 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.[3] Eight of the seats were contested. Only one incumbent judge was defeated seeking re-election, Michael G. Grzeca—an appointee of GovernorTommy Thompson in the Brown County Circuit.[2]: 3
| Circuit | Branch | Incumbent | Elected[2]: 2–16 | 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% | |||||
Incumbent mayor ofSuperior, Wisconsin, Margaret Ciccone, was successfully recalled, being replaced by her opponent from 1999, Richard Van Rossem.
Incumbent MayorJohn Norquist was reelected to a fourth four-year term, defeating businessman George Watts.[4]
Ed Thompson, brother of incumbent GovernorTommy Thompson, was elected Mayor ofTomah, Wisconsin, defeating incumbent Bud Johnson.[5]
