Wisconsin judicial elections, 2016
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Five seats on Wisconsin's state-level courts were up for election on April 5, 2016. One seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court joined four seats on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals. The supreme court seat was held by Justice Rebecca Bradley going into the election.
Judges in Wisconsin participate in nonpartisan elections. Wisconsin is one of four states that hold judicial elections every year, along with Louisiana, New York, and Ohio.[1][2]
The race between Bradley and Kloppenburg had the highest voter turnout of any supreme court election in Wisconsin state history, with over 1,900,000 votes cast.[4][5]
General election candidates
Supreme Court
■ Rebecca Bradley 
(Incumbent)
■ JoAnne Kloppenburg
Court of Appeals
First District
■ Joan Kessler (Unopposed)
Second District
■ Paul Reilly (Unopposed)
Third District
■ Thomas M. Hruz (Unopposed)
Fourth District
■ Brian Blanchard (Unopposed)[6]
Race background
Supreme Court
- Main article: Wisconsin Supreme Court elections, 2016
Bradley was appointed to the state supreme court on October 9, 2015 by Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker after the death of Justice N. Patrick Crooks on September 21, 2015. She is considered a conservative justice, giving the court a 5-2 conservative majority. Both of Bradley's former primary opponents are considered liberal. JoAnne Kloppenburg was endorsed by left-leaning organizations when she previously ran for a seat on the state supreme court in 2011. Martin Joseph Donald was endorsed in the race by leading Democrats in the state, including Rep. Gwen Moore and former United States Senator Herb Kohl. The three faced off in a primary election on February 16, 2016. The top two vote-earners, Bradley and Kloppenburg, then competed in the general election on April 5, 2016, which Bradley won.[7]
Court of Appeals
Each of the four court of appeals districts had one seat up for election in 2016. However, no candidates filed to challenge any of the incumbent judges. This continued a recent trend in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals elections, where incumbents seldom face opponents.[8]
General election results
| Wisconsin Supreme Court, Rebecca Bradley's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Rebecca Bradley Incumbent |
52.35% | 1,024,892 |
| JoAnne Kloppenburg | 47.47% | 929,377 |
| Write-in votes | 0.19% | 3,678 |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 1,957,947 | |
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Official Results | ||
| Wisconsin Court of Appeals, First District, Joan Kessler's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Joan Kessler Incumbent (unopposed) |
98.77% | 175,733 |
| Write-in votes | 1.23% | 2,189 |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 177,922 | |
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Official Results | ||
| Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Second District, Paul Reilly's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Paul Reilly Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.49% | 388,214 |
| Write-in votes | 0.51% | 2,008 |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 390,222 | |
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Official Results | ||
| Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Third District, Thomas Hruz's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Thomas M. Hruz Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.62% | 364,032 |
| Write-in votes | 0.38% | 1,393 |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 365,425 | |
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Official Results | ||
| Wisconsin Court of Appeals, Fourth District, Brian Blanchard's Seat, 2016 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
| Brian Blanchard Incumbent (unopposed) |
99.43% | 407,280 |
| Write-in votes | 0.57% | 2,351 |
| Total Votes (100% Reporting) | 409,631 | |
| Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Official Results | ||
Primary results
Supreme Court
The primary election was held February 16, 2016.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ideology[9] | Candidate | Percentage | Votes | |
| Liberal | Martin Joseph Donald | 12.1% | 68,746 | |
| Liberal | JoAnne Kloppenburg |
43.2% | 244,729 | |
| Conservative | Rebecca Bradley |
44.7% | 252,932 | |
| Vote Total: | 566,407 | |||
3474 of 3474 precincts reporting
Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board Official Results
Past elections
In Wisconsin, there were more judicial elections in 2015 than there were in 2014. The total number of candidates in the 2015 general election was 81, while in 2014 there were only 48. As to be expected, there were numerically more incumbents and unopposed candidates who ran in 2015. However, percentage-wise, the 2014 judicial elections had a larger proportion of both incumbents and unopposed candidates. While 79 percent of 2015 candidates were incumbents, 85 percent of candidates in 2014 were incumbents. Similarly, 63 percent of candidates in 2015 ran unopposed, and 81 percent were unopposed in 2014.
| Year | General election candidates | Incumbents | Unopposed |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 81 | 64 | 51 |
| 2014 | 48 | 41 | 39 |
Process
Primary election
A primary is held on the third Tuesday in February to nominate judicial candidates for the spring election. Candidates seeking election must file by December 1 preceding the spring general election.[1] A primary is required to be held if more than two candidates file for nomination to the supreme court, the same district of an appellate court or for the same branch of a circuit court.[1] If the number of candidates for office does not exceed twice the number to be elected to the office a primary is not held, and all the candidates will appear on the ballot in the spring election.[1] The two candidates who receive the most votes in a primary race advance to the general election.[10]
General election
A spring election is held on the first Tuesday in April.[1]
Campaign finance
State candidates, which includes candidates of the supreme court, courts of appeals and circuit courts, are required to file campaign finance reports eight days before both the primary and general. This is mandatory regardless of whether the candidate is unopposed or lost during the primary.[11]
Access Wisconsin statutes regarding campaign finance here.
State profile
| Demographic data for Wisconsin | ||
|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | U.S. | |
| Total population: | 5,767,891 | 316,515,021 |
| Land area (sq mi): | 54,158 | 3,531,905 |
| Race and ethnicity** | ||
| White: | 86.5% | 73.6% |
| Black/African American: | 6.3% | 12.6% |
| Asian: | 2.5% | 5.1% |
| Native American: | 0.9% | 0.8% |
| Pacific Islander: | 0% | 0.2% |
| Two or more: | 2.1% | 3% |
| Hispanic/Latino: | 6.3% | 17.1% |
| Education | ||
| High school graduation rate: | 91% | 86.7% |
| College graduation rate: | 27.8% | 29.8% |
| Income | ||
| Median household income: | $53,357 | $53,889 |
| Persons below poverty level: | 15% | 11.3% |
| Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015) Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in Wisconsin. **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here. | ||
Presidential voting pattern
- See also: Presidential voting trends in Wisconsin
Wisconsin voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the six presidential elections between 2000 and 2020.
Pivot Counties (2016)
Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, 23 are located in Wisconsin, accounting for 11.17 percent of the total pivot counties.[12]
Pivot Counties (2020)
In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. Wisconsin had 21 Retained Pivot Counties and two Boomerang Pivot Counties, accounting for 11.60 and 8.00 percent of all Retained and Boomerang Pivot Counties, respectively.
More Wisconsin coverage on Ballotpedia
- Elections in Wisconsin
- United States congressional delegations from Wisconsin
- Public policy in Wisconsin
- Endorsers in Wisconsin
- Wisconsin fact checks
- More...
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wisconsin court election 2016. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Wisconsin Legislative Council, "Overview of the Election Law in Wisconsin," archived March 31, 2014
- ↑ Judgepedia.org, "Judicial Elections by State," accessed April 30, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," accessed January 16, 2015
- ↑ AP, "Wisconsin Summary Vote Results," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Election Results," accessed April 6, 2016
- ↑ Duluth News Tribune, "Ballots set for spring elections in Wisconsin," January 10, 2016
- ↑ Twincities.com Molly Beck, "3 officially vie for seat on Wisconsin Supreme Court," accessed January 21, 2016
- ↑ Ballotpedia, "Wisconsin Court of Appeals," accessed January 22, 2016
- ↑ This is a nonpartisan election, but where possible Ballotpedia draws on endorsements, court decisions, and other data to infer ideological affiliation.
- ↑ American Judicature Society, "Methods of Judicial Selection: Wisconsin," accessed March 31, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "State Candidates & Committees," accessed March 20, 2015
- ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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Federal courts:
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: Eastern District of Wisconsin, Western District of Wisconsin
State courts:
Wisconsin Supreme Court • Wisconsin Court of Appeals • Wisconsin Circuit Courts • Wisconsin Municipal Courts
State resources:
Courts in Wisconsin • Wisconsin judicial elections • Judicial selection in Wisconsin
