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The2009 Wisconsin Spring Election was held in theU.S. state ofWisconsin on April 7, 2009. There were contested elections for justice of theWisconsin Supreme Court andSuperintendent of Public Instruction at the top of the ticket, along with various nonpartisan local and judicial offices. The2009 Wisconsin Spring Primary was held February 17, 2009.
Democrats' preferred candidates won both elections in the premier races in 2009. Incumbent chief justiceShirley Abrahamson won re-election with 60% of the vote, andTony Evers was elected Superintendent with 57% of the vote.[1]
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 County results Evers: 50–60% 60–70% Fernandez: 50–60% 60–70% | ||||||||||||||
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A regularly scheduled election forSuperintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin was held at the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. Incumbent superintendentElizabeth Burmaster did not run for a third four-year term. Deputy SuperintendentTony Evers was elected to succeed her, receiving 57% of the vote against Rose Fernandez, the president of the Wisconsin Coalition ofVirtual School Families.[1]
Evers and Fernandez emerged from a primary field which includedBeloit schools superintendent Lowell Holtz,Concordia University Wisconsin professor Van Mobley, andNational Louis University professor Todd Price.[2]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonpartisan Primary, February 17, 2009[3] | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Tony Evers | 89,883 | 34.99% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Rose Fernandez | 79,757 | 31.04% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Van Mobley | 34,940 | 13.60% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Todd Price | 28,927 | 11.26% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Lowell Holtz | 22,373 | 8.71% | ||
| Scattering | 1,431 | 0.18% | +0.06pp | ||
| Total votes | 256,909 | 100.0% | +7.89% | ||
| General Election, April 7, 2009[1] | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Tony Evers | 439,248 | 57.14% | ||
| Nonpartisan | Rose Fernandez | 328,511 | 42.74% | ||
| Scattering | 905 | 0.12% | +0.02pp | ||
| Plurality | 110,737 | 14.41% | -10.00pp | ||
| Total votes | 768,664 | 100.0% | +6.22% | ||
There were no special legislative elections in 2009.
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 County results Abrahamson: 50–60% 60–70% 70–90% Koschnick: 50–60% | |||||||||||||
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A regularly scheduledWisconsin Supreme Court election was held at the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. Incumbent chief justiceShirley Abrahamson, first appointed by GovernorPatrick Lucey in 1976, won her fourth ten-year term—the most Wisconsin Supreme Court elections won by any person. She defeated Jefferson County circuit judge Randy R. Koschnick, taking 59.67% of the general election vote.[1]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General Election, April 7, 2009 | |||||
| Nonpartisan | Shirley S. Abrahamson (incumbent) | 473,712 | 59.67% | −3.74pp | |
| Nonpartisan | Randy R. Koschnick | 319,706 | 40.27% | ||
| Scattering | 446 | 0.06% | |||
| Plurality | 154,006 | 19.40% | -7.57pp | ||
| Total votes | 793,864 | 100.0% | +4.60% | ||
Two seats on theWisconsin Court of Appeals were up for election at the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. Neither were contested.[1]
Sixty four of the state's 249 circuit court seats were on the ballot for the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. Of those seats, two were newly created. Sixteen seats were contested, four incumbent judges faced a challenger, one was defeated.[1]
A regularly scheduled county executive election was held inDane County, Wisconsin, concurrent with the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. The incumbentKathleen Falk, first elected in 1997, won her fourth four-year term with 60% of the vote, defeating formerMadison Metropolitan School District board member Nancy Mistele.[4]
A regularly scheduled mayoral election was held inLa Crosse, Wisconsin, at the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. The incumbent Mark Johnsrud, first elected in 2005, sought a second four-year term but did not advance from the nonpartisan primary, coming in fifth place. In the general election, 24-year-old first time candidate Matt Harter defeated city councilmember Dorothy Lenard, becoming the youngest mayor in La Crosse history and one of the youngest mayors in the country.[5] In addition to the incumbent mayor, four other candidates ran in the nonpartisan primary: city councilmembers Jim Bloedorn and Andrea Richmond, city public works employee Gary Padesky, and realtor Mick Lesky.
A regularly scheduled mayoral election was held inManitowoc, Wisconsin, at the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. The incumbent Kevin Crawford, first elected in 1989, did not run for a sixth four-year term. In the general election, 22-year-old city councilmember Justin Nickels defeated city councilmember Dave Soeldner by a margin of just 15 votes (17 votes after recount), becoming one of the youngest mayors in the country.[6] Three other candidates were eliminated in the nonpartisan primary: Manitowoc County clerk Jamie Aulik, city councilmember and Manitowoc County Board chair Jim Brey, and businessman Bob Knox.[7]
There was a special mayoral election inRacine, Wisconsin, held on May 5, 2009, due to the arrest and subsequent resignation of the former mayor, Gary Becker.[8] Real estate businessmanJohn Dickert won the special election with 55% of the vote, defeating state representativeRobert L. Turner.[9] A special primary was held concurrent with the Spring general election, April 7, 2009, in which Turner and Dickert emerged from a field of 11 candidates, which also included former state senatorKimberly Plache, and city councilmembers Greg Helding, Pete Karas,Q. A. Shakoor II, and Jim Spangenberg.
A regularly scheduled mayoral election was held inSheboygan, Wisconsin, at the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. The incumbentJuan Perez, first elected in 2005, sought a second four-year term but did not advance from the nonpartisan primary. In the general election, city councilmemberBob Ryan defeated state representativeTerry Van Akkeren.[10]
A regularly scheduled mayoral election was held inOshkosh, Wisconsin, at the Spring general election, April 7, 2009. City councilmember Paul Esslinger was elected mayor for a two-year term, defeating the incumbent mayor Frank Tower in a rematch of the 2007 election.[11]
