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The2016 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary was held on April 5 in the U.S. state ofWisconsin as one of theDemocratic Party's primaries ahead of the2016 presidential election. Vermont senatorBernie Sanders won the contest with 56.5%, distancing nationwide frontrunnerHillary Clinton by 13 percentage points.
TheWisconsin Republican primary, held on the same day in conjunction with the Democratic primary, yielded a win forTed Cruz, who distanced nationwide frontrunnerDonald Trump by 13%. With no other primaries being scheduled for that day by either party and just two weeks ahead of the importantNew York primary, the Wisconsin primary was in the national spotlight.
The two parties' primaries were held in conjunction with this year's Wisconsin judicial elections, whereWisconsin Supreme Court justiceRebecca Bradley was confirmed for a 10-year elected term, winning over Appeals Court judgeJoAnne Kloppenburg.[2]
Wisconsin provided a friendly setting for Sanders's brand ofeconomic populism.[3]Liberals made up two-thirds of the majority-white primary electorate, and theeconomy, followed byincome inequality, were of top concern to voters, according toexit polls.[3]
Clinton lost Wisconsin by a narrow margin of 0.77% in thegeneral election, against Republican nomineeDonald Trump.
As Wisconsin held anopen primary, residents could choose freely which party's primary they wished to participate in, when showing up at the polls on election day, regardless of their official registration with either party or none. Polling stations were opened between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m.Central Time.[4]
The two parties' primaries were held in conjunction with this year's spring elections that included the election of theWisconsin Supreme Court justice.[2]
TheDemocratic Party of Wisconsin pledges only 86 out of 96 delegates to the2016 Democratic National Convention based on the popular vote at the primary election on the basis of proportional apportion. However, only the 18 at-large delegates and 10 pledged "Party Leaders and Elected Officials" (PLEOs) are apportioned according to the statewide vote, while the 57 district delegates are apportioned according to the vote within each of the state'seight congressional districts. The remaining ten Wisconsin delegates are unpledged "Party Leaders and Elected Officials" (PLEOs), or "Superdelegates", who may vote for whomever they wish at the party's upcoming National Convention.[5]
While three candidates appeared on the Democratic primary ballot,[6] onlyBernie Sanders andHillary Clinton actively campaigned for the Wisconsin contest, afterMartin O'Malley had already suspended his campaign.
TheDemocratic Party held itssixth presidential debate on February 11, 2016 in Milwaukee, at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Moderated byPBS NewsHour anchorsGwen Ifill andJudy Woodruff, the debate aired onPBS and wassimulcast byCNN. Participants were Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.
| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official Primary results[7] | April 5, 2016 | Bernie Sanders 56.6% | Hillary Clinton 43.1% | Others / Uncommitted 0.4% | |
| ARG[8] Margin of error: ± 5.0% | April 1–3, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 49% | Bernie Sanders 48% | Others / Undecided 3% | |
| Emerson[9] Margin of error: ± 4.2% | March 30 – April 3, 2016 | Bernie Sanders 51% | Hillary Clinton 43% | Others / Undecided 6% | |
| CBS News/YouGov[10] Margin of error: ± 3.7% | March 29 – April 1, 2016 | Bernie Sanders 49% | Hillary Clinton 47% | Others / Undecided 4% | |
| FOX Business[11] Margin of error: ± 3.0% | March 28–30, 2016 | Bernie Sanders 48% | Hillary Clinton 43% | Others / Undecided 10% | |
| Loras College[12] Margin of error: ± 4.8% | March 28–29, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 47% | Bernie Sanders 41% | Others / Undecided 12% | |
| Public Policy Polling[13] Margin of error: ± 3.7% | March 28–29, 2016 | Bernie Sanders 49% | Hillary Clinton 43% | Others / Undecided 8% | |
| MULaw Poll[14] Margin of error: ± 6.3% | March 24–28, 2016 | Bernie Sanders 49% | Hillary Clinton 45% | Others / Undecided 6% | |
| Emerson College[15] Margin of error: ± 4.6% | March 20–22, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 50% | Bernie Sanders 44% | Others / Undecided 6% | |
| MULaw Poll[16] Margin of error: ± 6.9% | February 18–21, 2016 | Bernie Sanders 44% | Hillary Clinton 43% | Others / Undecided 13% | |
| MULaw Poll[17] Margin of error: ± 6.5% | January 21–24, 2016 | Hillary Clinton 45% | Bernie Sanders 43% | Martin O'Malley 1% | Not Reported |
| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette Law School[18] Margin of error: ± 6.1% | November 12–15, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 50% | Bernie Sanders 41% | Martin O'Malley 2% | Undecided 7% |
| St. Norbert College[19] Margin of error: ± 6% | October 14–17, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 35% | Bernie Sanders 33% | Joe Biden 21% | Martin O'Malley 1%, Lincoln Chafee 0%, Jim Webb 0%, Not Sure 10% |
| Hillary Clinton 47% | Bernie Sanders 42% | – | Martin O'Malley 1%, Lincoln Chafee 1%, Jim Webb <1%, Not Sure 7% | ||
| Marquette University[20] Margin of error: ± 5.9% | September 24–28, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 42% | Bernie Sanders 30% | Joe Biden 17% | Martin O'Malley 1%, Lincoln Chafee 0%, Jim Webb 0% |
| Marquette University[21] Margin of error: ± 6.1% | August 13–16, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 44% | Bernie Sanders 32% | Joe Biden 12% | Lincoln Chafee 1%, Martin O'Malley 1%, Jim Webb 1% |
| Marquette University[22] Margin of error: ± 5.1% | April 7–10, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 58.2% | Elizabeth Warren 14.3% | Joe Biden 12% | Martin O'Malley 0.9%, Jim Webb 0.9%, Someone else 3.7%, Don't know 8.9% |
| Public Policy Polling[23] Margin of error: ± 4.4% | March 6–8, 2015 | Hillary Clinton 60% | Joe Biden 14% | Elizabeth Warren 12% | Bernie Sanders 5%, Martin O'Malley 1%, Jim Webb 1%, Other/Undecided 7% |
| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Policy Polling[24] Margin of error: ± 4.1% | April 17–20, 2014 | Hillary Clinton 57% | Russ Feingold 19% | Joe Biden 8% | Elizabeth Warren 5%, Cory Booker 1%, Andrew Cuomo 1%, Mark Warner 1%, Kirsten Gillibrand 0%, Martin O'Malley 0%, Someone else/Not sure 8% |
| Poll source | Date | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette University[25] Margin of error: ± 5% | October 21–27, 2013 | Hillary Clinton 64% | Elizabeth Warren 10.8% | Joe Biden 10.6% | Andrew Cuomo 1.9%, Martin O'Malley 0.8%, Someone else 2.1%, Don't know 9.2% |
| Public Policy Polling[26] Margin of error: ± 4.6% | September 13–16, 2013 | Hillary Clinton 50% | Russ Feingold 20% | Joe Biden 11% | Elizabeth Warren 4%, Cory Booker 3%, Andrew Cuomo 2%, Kirsten Gillibrand 0%, Martin O'Malley 0%, Mark Warner 0%, Someone else/Not sure 9% |
| Marquette University[27] Margin of error: ± 5.5% | May 6–9, 2013 | Hillary Clinton 61.5% | Joe Biden 13% | Elizabeth Warren 4.8% | Andrew Cuomo 4.2%, Deval Patrick 1.5%, Martin O'Malley 1.1%, Mark Warner 0.7%, Someone else 1.5%, Don't Know 11% |
| Public Policy Polling[28] Margin of error: | February 21–24, 2013 | Hillary Clinton 50% | Russ Feingold 25% | Joe Biden 11% | Andrew Cuomo 3%, Elizabeth Warren 2%, Martin O'Malley 1%, Deval Patrick 1%, Brian Schweitzer 0%, Mark Warner 0%, Someone Else/Undecided 8% |
| Wisconsin Democratic primary, April 5, 2016 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Popular vote | Estimated delegates | |||
| Count | Percentage | Pledged | Unpledged | Total | |
| Bernie Sanders | 570,192 | 56.59% | 48 | 1 | 49 |
| Hillary Clinton | 433,739 | 43.05% | 38 | 9 | 47 |
| Martin O'Malley(withdrawn) | 1,732 | 0.17% | |||
| Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente(write-in) | 18 | 0.00% | |||
| Scattering | 431 | 0.04% | |||
| Uncommitted | 1,488 | 0.15% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 1,007,600 | 100% | 86 | 10 | 96 |
| Source:[29][30] | |||||
| County | Clinton | % | Sanders | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams | 1,375 | 47.22% | 1,515 | 52.03% |
| Ashland | 1,248 | 36.00% | 2,204 | 63.57% |
| Barron | 5,572 | 46.11% | 2,965 | 53.16% |
| Bayfield | 1,488 | 36.09% | 2,619 | 63.52% |
| Brown | 16,701 | 42.40% | 22,559 | 57.27% |
| Buffalo | 825 | 41.46% | 1,149 | 57.74% |
| Burnett | 918 | 49.04% | 936 | 50.00% |
| Calumet | 3,028 | 42.86% | 4,017 | 56.86% |
| Chippewa | 4,022 | 43.77% | 5,127 | 55.79% |
| Clark | 1,473 | 42.67% | 1,969 | 57.04% |
| Columbia | 4,187 | 39.21% | 6,460 | 60.49% |
| Crawford | 1,146 | 41.61% | 1,592 | 57.81% |
| Dane | 61,405 | 37.27% | 102,986 | 62.51% |
| Dodge | 4,505 | 41.75% | 6,249 | 57.91% |
| Door | 2,943 | 46.06% | 3,426 | 53.62% |
| Douglas | 3,577 | 43.82% | 4,512 | 55.27% |
| Dunn | 2,421 | 35.95% | 4,279 | 63.54% |
| Eau Claire | 7,689 | 35.88% | 13,674 | 63.81% |
| Florence | 175 | 36.92% | 293 | 61.81% |
| Fond du Lac | 5,519 | 42.65% | 7,385 | 57.07% |
| Forest | 610 | 47.25% | 667 | 51.67% |
| Grant | 3,068 | 40.37% | 4,491 | 59.10% |
| Green | 2,766 | 38.59% | 4,368 | 60.95% |
| Green Lake | 871 | 42.89% | 1,148 | 56.52% |
| Iowa | 2,164 | 40.14% | 3,202 | 59.40% |
| Iron | 437 | 42.93% | 563 | 55.30% |
| Jackson | 1,294 | 40.64 | 1,872 | 58.79% |
| Jefferson | 4,775 | 38.60% | 7,555 | 61.07% |
| Juneau | 1,355 | 42.21% | 1,839 | 57.29% |
| Kenosha | 10,897 | 42.49% | 14,653 | 57.13% |
| Kewaunee | 1,497 | 47.06% | 1,667 | 52.40% |
| La Crosse | 8,908 | 36.93% | 15,156 | 62.84% |
| Lafayette | 1,170 | 46.37% | 1,331 | 52.75% |
| Langlade | 1,192 | 44.83% | 1,447 | 54.42% |
| Lincoln | 1,732 | 41.33% | 2,442 | 58.27% |
| Manitowoc | 4,999 | 43.37% | 6,458 | 56.03% |
| Marathon | 8,061 | 40.66% | 11,673 | 58.87% |
| Marinette | 2,580 | 48.59% | 2,698 | 50.81% |
| Marquette | 994 | 42.62% | 1,321 | 56.56% |
| Menominee | 204 | 36.36% | 355 | 63.28% |
| Milwaukee | 100,798 | 51.68% | 93,688 | 48.02% |
| Monroe | 2,269 | 38.86% | 3,539 | 60.61% |
| Oconto | 2,422 | 47.99% | 2,590 | 51.32% |
| Oneida | 2,500 | 39.40% | 3,813 | 60.09% |
| Outagamie | 11,228 | 39.62% | 17,021 | 60.07% |
| Ozaukee | 6,587 | 48.75% | 6,897 | 51.04% |
| Pepin | 435 | 43.54% | 561 | 56.16% |
| Pierce | 2,343 | 41.82% | 3,208 | 57.27% |
| Polk | 2,165 | 46.21% | 2,476 | 52.85% |
| Portage | 5,088 | 35.08% | 9,351 | 64.46% |
| Price | 862 | 37.56% | 1,418 | 61.79% |
| Racine | 14,111 | 48.84% | 14,681 | 50.82% |
| Richland | 1,276 | 41.55% | 1,786 | 58.16% |
| Rock | 11,262 | 39.20% | 17,360 | 60.42% |
| Rusk | 816 | 42.52% | 1,092 | 56.90% |
| St. Croix | 4,895 | 45.90% | 5,679 | 53.25% |
| Sauk | 4,527 | 38.48% | 7,203 | 61.22% |
| Sawyer | 976 | 36.86% | 1,654 | 62.46% |
| Shawano | 2,117 | 41.19% | 3,303 | 58.44% |
| Sheboygan | 7,145 | 44.13% | 8,952 | 55.30% |
| Taylor | 852 | 39.68% | 1,279 | 59.57% |
| Trempealeau | 1,989 | 44.76% | 2,430 | 54.68% |
| Vernon | 1,936 | 35.60% | 3,481 | 64.01% |
| Vilas | 1,414 | 36.36% | 2,147 | 60.09% |
| Walworth | 5,188 | 37.96% | 8,426 | 61.65% |
| Washburn | 1,058 | 42.32% | 1,419 | 56.76% |
| Washington | 6,388 | 45.24% | 7,690 | 54.46% |
| Waukesha | 24,835 | 48.28% | 26,442 | 51.40% |
| Waupaca | 2,585 | 39.68% | 3,894 | 59.77% |
| Waushara | 1,241 | 43.45% | 1,600 | 56.02% |
| Winnebago | 11,212 | 38.44% | 17,854 | 61.22% |
| Wood | 4,428 | 39.46% | 6,756 | 60.20% |
| Total | 433,739 | 43.05% | 570,192 | 56.59% |
| District | Total | Bernie Sanders | Hillary Clinton | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | Delegates | Votes | Delegates | Votes | Delegates | |
| 1st district | 104,747 | 6 | 57,327 | 3 | 47,420 | 3 |
| 2nd district | 204,897 | 11 | 127,466 | 7 | 77,431 | 4 |
| 3rd district | 117,465 | 7 | 72,043 | 4 | 45,422 | 3 |
| 4th district | 144,659 | 10 | 68,255 | 5 | 76,404 | 5 |
| 5th district | 100,823 | 5 | 54,809 | 3 | 46,014 | 2 |
| 6th district | 105,348 | 6 | 60,490 | 3 | 44,858 | 3 |
| 7th district | 98,860 | 6 | 56,683 | 3 | 42,177 | 3 |
| 8th district | 107,841 | 6 | 61,965 | 3 | 45,876 | 3 |
| At-large delegates | 1,002,036 | 19 | 567,865 | 11 | 434,171 | 8 |
| Pledged PLEOs | 1,002,036 | 10 | 567,865 | 6 | 434,171 | 4 |
| Total | 1,002,036 | 86 | 567,865 | 48 | 434,171 | 38 |
Bernie Sanders scored a large victory in Wisconsin, a largelyliberal and bigmanufacturing state. He was bolstered by a 73-26 showing among younger voters, a 64-35 showing amongmen, a 72-28 showing among self-identifiedIndependents, and a 59-40 showing amongwhite voters who comprised 83% of the electorate in the Cheese State. Sanders also wonwomen 50–49, but lostAfrican American voters to Clinton, 69–31. Sanders swept all income and educational attainment levels in Wisconsin.
Sanders wonunions 54–46, a key demographic in the industrialRust Belt.
Sanders swept all counties in Wisconsin but one. He was victorious in the southeast 55–45, in the southwest 62–38, and inrural northeastern and northwestern Wisconsin 57–42. He carried the major cities ofMadison, which has a younger electorate, as well asEau Claire,Green Bay,Oshkosh, andKenosha. Clinton won inMilwaukee 51–48, likely thanks to her ardent African-American support.[32]
