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| Turnout | 67.34% [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 County results Congressional district results Precinct results
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The2016 United States presidential election in Wisconsin was held on November 8, 2016, as part of the2016 United States presidential election.Wisconsin voters chose ten electors to represent them in theElectoral College via a popular vote pittingRepublican nomineeDonald Trump againstDemocratic nomineeHillary Clinton.
On April 5, 2016, in thepresidential primaries, Wisconsin voters expressed their preferences for theDemocratic andRepublican parties' respective nominees for president in anopen primary; voters were allowed to vote in either party's primary regardless of their own party affiliation.Bernie Sanders prevailed inWisconsin's Democratic primary, whileTed Cruz wonWisconsin's Republican primary.
In the general election, Donald Trump unexpectedly won Wisconsin, defeating Clinton by a margin of 0.77%, with 47.22% of the total votes to 46.45%, the lowest percentage of victory since 2000. Trump's victory in Wisconsin was attributed to overwhelming and underestimated support from whiteworking-class citizens in the state's rural areas, a demographic that had previously tended to either vote for the Democratic candidate or did not vote at all.[2][3][4] As of the2024 presidential election, this is the last time thatDoor County voted for the Republican candidate, and the only time since1960 that the Democratic presidential nominee won the nationwide popular vote without winning Wisconsin.
Wisconsin held its presidential primaries on April 5, 2016.
TheDemocrats held theirsixth presidential debate on February 11, 2016, inMilwaukee, Wisconsin, at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. The debate was hosted byPBS NewsHour anchorsGwen Ifill andJudy Woodruff; it aired onPBS and wassimulcast byCNN. Participants wereHillary Clinton andBernie Sanders.
| 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| Martin O'Malley(withdrawn) | 1,732 | 0.17% | |||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:[5][6] | |||||
TheRepublicans held theirfourth presidential debate on November 10, 2015, in Milwaukee, at theMilwaukee Theatre. Moderated byNeil Cavuto,Maria Bartiromo andGerard Baker, the debate aired on theFox Business Network and was sponsored byThe Wall Street Journal. Eight candidates includingDonald Trump,Ben Carson,Marco Rubio,Ted Cruz,Jeb Bush,Carly Fiorina,John Kasich, andRand Paul, participated in the primetime debate that was mostly focused on jobs, taxes, and the general health of the U.S. economy, as well as on domestic and international policy issues. The accompanying undercard debate featuredChris Christie,Mike Huckabee,Rick Santorum, andBobby Jindal, who ended his campaign a week after the debate.
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | Actual delegate count | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bound | Unbound | Total | |||
| Ted Cruz | 533,079 | 48.20% | 36 | 0 | 36 |
| Donald Trump | 387,295 | 35.02% | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| John Kasich | 155,902 | 14.10% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marco Rubio(withdrawn) | 10,591 | 0.96% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ben Carson(withdrawn) | 5,660 | 0.51% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jeb Bush(withdrawn) | 3,054 | 0.28% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rand Paul(withdrawn) | 2,519 | 0.23% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Uncommitted | 2,281 | 0.21% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mike Huckabee(withdrawn) | 1,424 | 0.13% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Chris Christie(withdrawn) | 1,191 | 0.11% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Carly Fiorina(withdrawn) | 772 | 0.07% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Santorum(withdrawn) | 511 | 0.05% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Gilmore(withdrawn) | 245 | 0.02% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Victor Williams(write-in) | 39 | <0.01% | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Unprojected delegates: | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total: | 1,105,944 | 100.00% | 42 | 0 | 42 |
| Source:The Green Papers | |||||
The Wisconsin Green Party held its presidential preference vote at its annual state convention inMadison, Wisconsin, on April 16.[7]
| Candidate | Votes | Percentage | National delegates |
|---|---|---|---|
 Jill Stein | – | – | 7 |
| William Kreml | – | – | 1 |
| Sedinam Moyowasifza-Curry | – | – | – |
| Darryl Cherney | – | – | – |
| Kent Mesplay | – | – | – |
| Total | - | 100.00% | 8 |
Wisconsin joined the Union in May 1848 and has participated in all elections from 1848 onwards. Since 1900, Wisconsin has been won by the Democrats and Republicans the same number of times.[9] Republican-turned-ProgressiveRobert M. La Follette Sr. carried the state in the1924 presidential election.
The state voted for the Democratic nominee in the seven elections from1988 to2012, although sometimes by small margins, as it was in1992,2000, and2004. There were other occasions, in contrast, when the margin of victory was substantial, such as1996,2008, and2012.[9]
| Source | Ranking | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Times[10] | Likely D | November 6, 2016 |
| CNN[11] | Lean D | November 4, 2016 |
| Cook Political Report[12] | Lean D | November 7, 2016 |
| Electoral-vote.com[13] | Likely D | November 8, 2016 |
| Rothenberg Political Report[14] | Tilt D | November 7, 2016 |
| Sabato's Crystal Ball[15] | Likely D | November 7, 2016 |
| RealClearPolitics[16] | Lean D | November 8, 2016 |
| Fox News[17] | Lean D | November 7, 2016 |
Polls consistently showed Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton leading by a margin of two to eight points in a four-way race.[18] The last poll published prior to the election was bySurveyMonkey and had Hillary Clinton with a two-point lead over Donald Trump.[18] Clinton never visited the state during the general election campaign, while Trump visited six times.[19] On election day, Trump ended up carrying the state by less than a point, a difference of an average of five to six points from most pre-election polling.[18] Prior to the election, many major news networks and professional and election analysts predicted the state as either lean or likely Democratic. Wisconsin's unexpected swing to Trump, along with two other Rust Belt states (Pennsylvania, Michigan), was the deciding factor in his win of 306–232 over Clinton, despite her garnering a plurality of the votes. Clinton referenced the loss in her memoirWhat Happened: "If there's one place where we were caught by surprise, it was Wisconsin. Polls showed us comfortably ahead, right up until the end. They also looked good for the Democratrunning for Senate,Russ Feingold."[20]
| Party | Candidate | Running mate | Votes | Percentage | Electoral votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Donald Trump | Mike Pence | 1,405,284 | 47.22% | 10 | |
| Democratic | Hillary Clinton | Tim Kaine | 1,382,536 | 46.45% | 0 | |
| Libertarian | Gary Johnson | Bill Weld | 106,674 | 3.58% | 0 | |
| Green | Jill Stein | Ajamu Baraka | 31,072 | 1.04% | 0 | |
| Constitution | Darrell L. Castle | Scott N. Bradley | 12,162 | 0.41% | 0 | |
| Independent (write-in votes) | Evan McMullin | Nathan Johnson | 11,855 | 0.40% | 0 | |
| Workers World | Monica Moorehead | Lamont Lilly | 1,770 | 0.06% | 0 | |
| Independent | Rocky De La Fuente | Michael Steinberg | 1,502 | 0.05% | 0 | |
| Others / Write-In Votes | - | - | 23,295 | 0.78% | 0 | |
| Totals | 2,976,150 | 100.00% | 10 | |||
| Source:Wisconsin Elections Commission | ||||||
| County | Donald Trump Republican | Hillary Clinton Democratic | Various candidates Other parties | Margin | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | % | # | % | # | % | # | % | ||
| Adams | 5,966 | 58.89% | 3,745 | 36.97% | 419 | 4.14% | 2,221 | 21.92% | 10,130 |
| Ashland | 3,303 | 41.12% | 4,226 | 52.61% | 503 | 6.27% | -923 | -11.49% | 8,032 |
| Barron | 13,614 | 60.05% | 7,889 | 34.80% | 1,168 | 5.15% | 5,725 | 25.25% | 22,671 |
| Bayfield | 4,124 | 42.90% | 4,953 | 51.53% | 535 | 5.57% | -829 | -8.63% | 9,612 |
| Brown | 67,210 | 52.10% | 53,382 | 41.38% | 8,419 | 6.52% | 13,828 | 10.72% | 129,011 |
| Buffalo | 4,048 | 57.99% | 2,525 | 36.17% | 408 | 5.84% | 1,523 | 21.82% | 6,981 |
| Burnett | 5,410 | 61.91% | 2,949 | 33.75% | 379 | 4.34% | 2,461 | 28.16% | 8,738 |
| Calumet | 15,367 | 57.78% | 9,642 | 36.25% | 1,586 | 5.97% | 5,725 | 21.53% | 26,595 |
| Chippewa | 17,916 | 56.75% | 11,887 | 37.66% | 1,765 | 5.59% | 6,029 | 19.09% | 31,568 |
| Clark | 8,652 | 63.28% | 4,221 | 30.87% | 800 | 5.85% | 4,431 | 32.41% | 13,673 |
| Columbia | 14,163 | 47.69% | 13,528 | 45.55% | 2,007 | 6.76% | 635 | 2.14% | 29,698 |
| Crawford | 3,836 | 49.64% | 3,419 | 44.24% | 473 | 6.12% | 417 | 5.40% | 7,728 |
| Dane | 71,275 | 23.04% | 217,697 | 70.37% | 20,382 | 6.59% | -146,422 | -47.33% | 309,354 |
| Dodge | 26,635 | 61.83% | 13,968 | 32.42% | 2,475 | 5.75% | 12,667 | 29.41% | 43,078 |
| Door | 8,580 | 48.77% | 8,014 | 45.55% | 998 | 5.68% | 566 | 3.22% | 17,592 |
| Douglas | 9,661 | 42.87% | 11,357 | 50.39% | 1,518 | 6.74% | -1,696 | -7.52% | 22,536 |
| Dunn | 11,486 | 51.96% | 9,034 | 40.87% | 1,586 | 7.17% | 2,452 | 11.09% | 22,106 |
| Eau Claire | 23,331 | 42.40% | 27,340 | 49.69% | 4,354 | 7.91% | -4,009 | -7.29% | 55,025 |
| Florence | 1,898 | 71.46% | 665 | 25.04% | 93 | 3.50% | 1,233 | 46.42% | 2,656 |
| Fond du Lac | 31,022 | 59.89% | 17,387 | 33.57% | 3,387 | 6.54% | 13,635 | 26.32% | 51,796 |
| Forest | 2,787 | 61.32% | 1,579 | 34.74% | 179 | 3.94% | 1,208 | 26.58% | 4,545 |
| Grant | 12,350 | 50.68% | 10,051 | 41.25% | 1,967 | 8.07% | 2,289 | 9.43% | 24,368 |
| Green | 8,693 | 45.79% | 9,122 | 48.05% | 1,170 | 6.16% | -429 | -2.26% | 18,985 |
| Green Lake | 6,216 | 66.02% | 2,693 | 28.60% | 507 | 5.38% | 3,523 | 37.42% | 9,416 |
| Iowa | 4,809 | 39.18% | 6,669 | 54.33% | 797 | 6.49% | -1,860 | -15.15% | 12,275 |
| Iron | 2,081 | 59.24% | 1,275 | 36.29% | 157 | 4.47% | 806 | 22.95% | 3,513 |
| Jackson | 4,906 | 52.94% | 3,818 | 41.20% | 543 | 5.86% | 1,088 | 11.74% | 9,267 |
| Jefferson | 23,417 | 54.32% | 16,569 | 38.44% | 3,123 | 7.24% | 6,848 | 15.88% | 43,109 |
| Juneau | 7,130 | 60.76% | 4,073 | 34.71% | 532 | 4.53% | 3,057 | 26.05% | 11,735 |
| Kenosha | 36,037 | 47.23% | 35,799 | 46.92% | 4,468 | 5.85% | 238 | 0.31% | 76,304 |
| Kewaunee | 6,618 | 61.47% | 3,627 | 33.69% | 522 | 4.84% | 2,991 | 27.78% | 10,767 |
| La Crosse | 26,378 | 41.43% | 32,406 | 50.89% | 4,890 | 7.68% | -6,028 | -9.46% | 63,674 |
| Lafayette | 3,977 | 51.91% | 3,288 | 42.91% | 397 | 5.18% | 689 | 9.00% | 7,662 |
| Langlade | 6,478 | 63.60% | 3,250 | 31.91% | 458 | 4.49% | 3,228 | 31.69% | 10,186 |
| Lincoln | 8,401 | 57.10% | 5,371 | 36.51% | 940 | 6.39% | 3,030 | 20.59% | 14,712 |
| Manitowoc | 23,244 | 56.99% | 14,538 | 35.64% | 3,004 | 7.37% | 8,706 | 21.35% | 40,786 |
| Marathon | 39,014 | 56.12% | 26,481 | 38.09% | 4,023 | 5.79% | 12,533 | 18.03% | 69,518 |
| Marinette | 13,122 | 64.50% | 6,409 | 31.50% | 812 | 4.00% | 6,713 | 33.00% | 20,343 |
| Marquette | 4,709 | 59.68% | 2,808 | 35.58% | 374 | 4.74% | 1,901 | 24.10% | 7,891 |
| Menominee | 267 | 20.41% | 1,002 | 76.61% | 39 | 2.98% | -735 | -56.20% | 1,308 |
| Milwaukee | 126,069 | 28.58% | 288,822 | 65.48% | 26,162 | 5.94% | -162,753 | -36.90% | 441,053 |
| Monroe | 11,356 | 57.65% | 7,052 | 35.80% | 1,291 | 6.55% | 4,354 | 21.85% | 19,699 |
| Oconto | 13,345 | 66.04% | 5,940 | 29.40% | 921 | 4.56% | 7,405 | 36.64% | 20,206 |
| Oneida | 12,132 | 56.35% | 8,109 | 37.66% | 1,290 | 5.99% | 4,023 | 18.69% | 21,531 |
| Outagamie | 49,879 | 53.10% | 38,068 | 40.53% | 5,986 | 6.37% | 11,811 | 12.57% | 93,933 |
| Ozaukee | 30,464 | 55.84% | 20,170 | 36.97% | 3,926 | 7.19% | 10,204 | 18.87% | 54,560 |
| Pepin | 2,206 | 59.06% | 1,344 | 35.98% | 185 | 4.96% | 862 | 23.08% | 3,735 |
| Pierce | 11,272 | 52.73% | 8,399 | 39.29% | 1,705 | 7.98% | 2,873 | 13.44% | 21,376 |
| Polk | 13,810 | 60.72% | 7,565 | 33.26% | 1,370 | 6.02% | 6,245 | 27.46% | 22,745 |
| Portage | 17,305 | 44.84% | 18,529 | 48.02% | 2,755 | 7.14% | -1,224 | -3.18% | 38,589 |
| Price | 4,559 | 60.24% | 2,667 | 35.24% | 342 | 4.52% | 1,892 | 25.00% | 7,568 |
| Racine | 46,681 | 49.50% | 42,641 | 45.22% | 4,980 | 5.28% | 4,040 | 4.28% | 94,302 |
| Richland | 4,013 | 49.73% | 3,569 | 44.23% | 487 | 6.04% | 444 | 5.50% | 8,069 |
| Rock | 31,493 | 41.40% | 39,339 | 51.71% | 5,242 | 6.89% | -7,846 | -10.31% | 76,074 |
| Rusk | 4,564 | 64.39% | 2,171 | 30.63% | 353 | 4.98% | 2,393 | 33.76% | 7,088 |
| Sauk | 14,799 | 47.20% | 14,690 | 46.85% | 1,868 | 5.95% | 109 | 0.35% | 31,357 |
| Sawyer | 5,185 | 56.75% | 3,503 | 38.34% | 449 | 4.91% | 1,682 | 18.41% | 9,137 |
| Shawano | 12,769 | 64.46% | 6,068 | 30.63% | 973 | 4.91% | 6,701 | 33.83% | 19,810 |
| Sheboygan | 32,514 | 54.40% | 23,000 | 38.48% | 4,252 | 7.12% | 9,514 | 15.92% | 59,766 |
| St. Croix | 26,222 | 55.19% | 17,482 | 36.80% | 3,804 | 8.01% | 8,740 | 18.39% | 47,508 |
| Taylor | 6,579 | 69.46% | 2,393 | 25.27% | 499 | 5.27% | 4,186 | 44.19% | 9,471 |
| Trempealeau | 7,366 | 53.82% | 5,636 | 41.18% | 685 | 5.00% | 1,730 | 12.64% | 13,687 |
| Vernon | 7,004 | 49.06% | 6,371 | 44.63% | 900 | 6.31% | 633 | 4.43% | 14,275 |
| Vilas | 8,166 | 60.00% | 4,770 | 35.05% | 675 | 4.95% | 3,396 | 24.95% | 13,611 |
| Walworth | 28,863 | 56.16% | 18,710 | 36.41% | 3,818 | 7.43% | 10,153 | 19.75% | 51,391 |
| Washburn | 5,436 | 59.13% | 3,282 | 35.70% | 475 | 5.17% | 2,154 | 23.43% | 9,193 |
| Washington | 51,740 | 67.41% | 20,852 | 27.17% | 4,165 | 5.42% | 30,888 | 40.24% | 76,757 |
| Waukesha | 142,543 | 59.99% | 79,224 | 33.34% | 15,826 | 6.67% | 63,319 | 26.65% | 237,593 |
| Waupaca | 16,209 | 62.12% | 8,451 | 32.39% | 1,435 | 5.49% | 7,758 | 29.73% | 26,095 |
| Waushara | 7,667 | 63.50% | 3,791 | 31.40% | 616 | 5.10% | 3,876 | 32.10% | 12,074 |
| Winnebago | 43,445 | 49.86% | 37,047 | 42.52% | 6,643 | 7.62% | 6,398 | 7.34% | 87,135 |
| Wood | 21,498 | 56.85% | 14,225 | 37.61% | 2,095 | 5.54% | 7,273 | 19.24% | 37,818 |
| Totals | 1,405,284 | 47.22% | 1,382,536 | 46.45% | 188,330 | 6.33% | 22,748 | 0.77% | 2,976,150 |
| Democratic Hold | Republican Hold Gain from Democratic |
Trump won six of eight congressional districts, including one held by a Democrat.[22]
| District | Trump | Clinton | Representative |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 52% | 42% | Paul Ryan |
| 2nd | 29% | 65% | Mark Pocan |
| 3rd | 49% | 44% | Ron Kind |
| 4th | 22% | 73% | Gwen Moore |
| 5th | 57% | 37% | Jim Sensenbrenner |
| 6th | 55% | 38% | Glenn Grothman |
| 7th | 57% | 37% | Sean Duffy |
| 8th | 56% | 38% | Mike Gallagher |
Trump became the first Republican candidate to win the state sinceRonald Reagan in1984. He also became the first Republican to win a majority inIron County since1920.[a]
The only counties in the state to swing leftward were the three most college-educated counties in the state (see the map), namelyDane (home to theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison), and theWOW counties ofWaukesha andOzaukee. The other WOW county ofWashington County andMilwaukee County only narrowly shifted rightward. These swings were insufficient to prevent Trump from flipping the state, but they were enough to keep the state's margin of victory under 1%.[23]
Wisconsin weighed in for this election as 2.9% more Republican than the nation at large, the first time it voted to the right of the nation since 2000. Trump was the first Republican to win Adams, Buffalo, Crawford, Dunn, Jackson, Trempealeau, and Vernon counties since 1984, Grant, Sauk, and Lafayette counties since 1988, and Kenosha and Pepin counties since 1972.[24] Wisconsin was also one of eleven states to have voted twice forBill Clinton but not for Hillary Clinton.
On November 25, 2016, with 90 minutes remaining on the deadline to petition for a recount to the state's electoral body, 2016Green presidential candidateJill Stein filed for a recount of the election results inWisconsin. She signaled she intended to file for similar recounts in the subsequent days in the states ofMichigan andPennsylvania.[25] On November 26, theClinton campaign announced that they were joining the recount effort in Wisconsin.[26] Trump filed a lawsuit to halt the process, but it was rejected by a federal judge.[27] The final result of the recount confirmed Trump's victory in Wisconsin, where he gained a net 131 votes.[28] Trump gained 837 additional votes, while Clinton gained 706 additional votes.[29]
State and district results of the2016 United States presidential election | ||
|---|---|---|
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