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2018 Wisconsin Secretary of State election

{{Short description|none}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox election

| election_name = 2018 Wisconsin Secretary of State Election

| country = Wisconsin

| type = presidential

| ongoing = no

| party_name =

| previous_election = 2014 Wisconsin Secretary of State election

| previous_year = 2014

| election_date = November 6, 2018

| next_election = 2022 Wisconsin Secretary of State election

| next_year = 2022

| image1 = Secretary La Follette (7166302470) (1).jpg

| candidate1 = Doug La Follette

| party1 = Democratic Party (United States)

| popular_vote1 = 1,380,752

| percentage1 = 52.7%

| image2 = 3x4.svg

| candidate2 = Jay Schroeder

| party2 = Republican Party (United States)

| popular_vote2 = 1,235,034

| percentage2 = 47.2%

| map_image = {{switcher |250px |County results |250px |Congressional district results |default=1}}

| map_size = 250px

| map_caption = La Follette: {{legend0|#7996e2|50–60%}} {{legend0|#6674de|60–70%}} {{legend0|#584cde|70–80%}}

Schroeder: {{legend0|#e27f7f|50–60%}} {{legend0|#d75d5d|60–70%}} {{legend0|#d72f30|70–80%}}

| title = Secretary of State

| before_election = Doug La Follette

| before_party = Democratic Party (United States)

| after_election = Doug La Follette

| after_party = Democratic Party (United States)

}}

{{ElectionsWI}}

The 2018 Wisconsin Secretary of State election took place on November 6, 2018 to elect the Wisconsin Secretary Of State. It occurred concurrently with a Senate election in the state, elections to the state's U.S. House seats, and various other elections. Incumbent Doug La Follette who had been serving in the position since 1983 won re-election to a 10th four-year term, defeating Republican nominee Jay Schroeder 53-47%.

Schroeder, La Follette's opponent made a pledge to abolish the position entirely if elected.{{cite web|url=https://storage.googleapis.com/wzukusers/user-31869683/documents/5a8a051d309fe5HYoJrK/Press%20Release%20for%20Jay%20Schroeder.doc2,16,18-3%20copy.pdf|title=Schroeder Campaign:Eliminate Secretary of State Position|date=February 19, 2018|access-date=May 22, 2022}} This was likely a response to the power of the office slowly being weakened ever since 1990, with more and more powers the office once had going to the legislature, other agencies, or being abolished entirely. According to analyses published by the Council of State Governments, the office is the weakest directly elected member of the National Association of Secretaries of State.{{Cite web|url=https://issuu.com/csg.publications/docs/bos_2021_issuu|title=2021 Book of the States|publisher=The Council of State Governments|pages=154–156|access-date=March 9, 2022}}

Background

In 1974, La Follette was elected to his first term as Secretary of State. He served for one four-year term, but did not run for re-election, in order to run for lieutenant governor in 1978. He was succeeded as Secretary of State by Vel Phillips. After losing his bid for lieutenant governor, La Follette primaried Phillips in 1982 and subsequently won the general election. La Follette had run for re-election every cycle, and had been re-elected every time, even as the governorship and other offices at the top of the ticket went to the Republicans. Since returning in 1982, power had slowly been stripped from the office and instead given to jurisdictions. These powers include lobbying regulation and business registration, which La Follette had long advocated for the return of.

Though he had won most of his re-election campaigns with ease, 2010 was his closest result since 1986, winning only by 2%. This close result can be attributed to the red wave year of 2010, which saw many big wins for Wisconsin Republicans, including the ousting of popular Democratic senator Russ Feingold, as well as Scott Walker winning the governorship by 5% on the same ticket. La Follette was able to improve on his margin in 2014, winning by 4% under similar circumstances as the 2010 election, but this was still a notable decrease based on the results he had had in the past. The 2018 elections were expected to be very favorable for Democrats, making La Follette a favorite going into it.

Democratic primary

Incumbent Doug La Follette was challenged from the left by Arvina Martin, a member of Madison Common Council. La Follette won the primary decisively, receiving 65% of the vote, and notably carrying all counties, including Dane County, home to Madison, which both candidates are from.

= Nominated =

= Eliminated in primary =

  • Arvina Martin, member of the Madison Common Council

= Results =

[[File:2018 Wisconsin Secretary of State Democratic primary election results map by county.svg|thumb|Results by county:

La Follette:
{{legend0|#5f8dd3ff|50-60%}}

{{legend0|#3a75c9ff|60–70%}}
{{legend0|#175fbfff|70-80%}}

]]

{{Election box begin no change

| title=Democratic primary results}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Doug La Follette (incumbent)

|votes = 327,020

|percentage = 65.9

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Arvina Martin

|votes = 169,130

|percentage = 34.1

}}

{{Election box total no change

|votes = 496,150

|percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box end}}

Republican primary

= Nominated =

  • Jay Harvey Schroeder

= Eliminated in primary =

  • Spencer Zimmerman, perennial candidate

= Results =

{{Election box begin no change

| title=Republican primary results}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Jay Harvey Schroeder

|votes = 254,424

|percentage = 71.4

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Spencer Zimmerman

|votes = 101,818

|percentage = 28.6

}}

{{Election box total no change

|votes = 356,242

|percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box end}}

General election

=Predictions=

class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

!Source

!Ranking

!As of

Governing{{cite web|url=https://www.governing.com/archive/gov-secretary-state-races-2018.html|title=Secretary of State Races Are More Competitive and Important Than Ever|website=Governing|language=en|access-date=2022-05-20}}

| {{USRaceRating|Safe|D

}

|June 1, 2018

|}

With La Follette holding the position for so long, the race was seen to be not very competitive. In the end, La Follette won by six percentage points.

{{Election box begin no change

| title=Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2018}}

=Results=

{{Election box winning candidate with party link

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Doug La Follette (incumbent)

|votes = 1,380,752

|percentage = 52.7

|change = +2.7%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Jay Schroeder

|votes = 1,235,034

|percentage = 47.2

|change = +0.9%

}}

{{Election box write-in with party link

| votes = 2,162

| percentage = 0.1

|change = N/A

}}

{{Election box total

|votes = 2,617,948

|percentage = 100.0

|change = +12.7%

}}

{{Election box end}}

{{collapse top|1=By county|left=yes|bg=#B0CEFF;line-height:135%;|border=none}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:right;"
! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| La Follette
{{small|Democratic}}

! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Schroeder
{{small|Republican}}

! style="text-align:center;" colspan="2"| Margin

! style="text-align:center;" | County Total

align=center | County

! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #

! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %

! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #

! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %

! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #

! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| %

! style="text-align:center;" data-sort- type="number"| #

style="text-align:left;"|Adams

| 3,892

| 44.59%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 5,088

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 55.41%%

| 993

| 10.81%

| 9,183

style="text-align:left;"|Ashland

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 4,441

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 64.05%

| 2,493

| 35.95%

| 1,948

| 28.09%

| 6,934

style="text-align:left;"|Barron

| 7,623

| 41.05%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 10,300

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 57.38%

| 2,305

| 12.60%

| 18,295

style="text-align:left;"|Bayfield

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 5,315

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 61.21%

| 3,368

| 38.79%

| 1,947

| 22.42%

| 8,683

style="text-align:left;"|Brown

| 55,195

| 48.82%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 57,858

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 51.18%

| 2,663

| 7.48%

| 113,053

style="text-align:left;"|Buffalo

| 2,628

| 45.16%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 3,191

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 54.84%

| 563

| 9.68%

| 5,819

style="text-align:left;"|Burnett

| 2,959

| 39.59%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 4,515

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 60.41%

| 1,556

| 20.82%

| 7,474

style="text-align:left;"|Calumet

| 9,758

| 42.03%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 13,457

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 57.97%

| 3,699

| 15.93%

| 23,215

style="text-align:left;"|Chippewa

| 12,529

| 46.17%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 14,607

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 53.83%

| 2,078

| 7.66%

| 27,136

style="text-align:left;"|Clark

| 4,599

| 40.40%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 6,786

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 59.60%

| 2,187

| 19.21%

| 11,385

style="text-align:left;"|Columbia

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 14,368

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 54.06%

| 12,211

| 45.94%

| 2,157

| 8.12%

| 26,579

style="text-align:left;"|Crawford

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 3,567

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 54.94%

| 2,925

| 45.06%

| 642

| 9.89%

| 6,492

}

! style="text-align:left;"|Dane

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 219,538

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 76.04%

| 69,184

| 23.96%

| 150,354

| 52.08%

| 288,722

style="text-align:left;"|Dodge

| 14,527

| 39.30%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 22,440

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 60.70%

| 7,913

| 21.41%

| 36,967

style="text-align:left;"|Door

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 8,151

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 51.02%

| 8,141

| 48.98%

| 339

| 2.04%

| 16,621

style="text-align:left;"|Douglas

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 11,243

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 60.73%

| 7,269

| 39.27%

| 3,974

| 21.47%

| 18,512

style="text-align:left;"|Dunn

| 9,019

| 49.73%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 9,118

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 50.27%

| 99

| 0.55%

| 18,137

style="text-align:left;"|Eau Claire

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 27,636

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 57.91%

| 20,088

| 42.09%

| 7,548

| 15.82%

| 47,724

style="text-align:left;"|Florence

| 676

| 31.43%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 1,475

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 68.57%

| 799

| 37.15%

| 2,151

style="text-align:left;"|Fond du Lac

| 17,631

| 39.82%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 26,649

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 60.18%

| 9,018

| 20.37%

| 44,280

style="text-align:left;"|Forest

| 1,635

| 42.67%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 2,197

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 57.33%

| 562

| 14.67%

| 3,832

style="text-align:left;"|Grant

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 9,772

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 51.01%

| 9,378

| 48.96%

| 394

| 2.05%

| 19,150

style="text-align:left;"|Green

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 9,595

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 57.32%

| 7,144

| 42.68%

| 2,451

| 14.64%

| 16,739

style="text-align:left;"|Green Lake

| 2,836

| 35.24%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 5,211

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 64.76%

| 2,375

| 29.51%

| 8,047

style="text-align:left;"|Iowa

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 6,819

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 62.31%

| 2,695

| 37.69%

| 2,385

| 24.63%

| 10,943

style="text-align:left;"|Iron

| 1,366

| 45.01%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 1,669

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 54.99%

| 303

| 9.98%

| 3,035

style="text-align:left;"|Jackson

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 4,041

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 51.38%

| 3,824

| 48.62%

| 217

| 2.76%

| 7,865

style="text-align:left;"|Jefferson

| 16,781

| 45.09%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 20,437

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 56.28%

| 3,656

| 9.82%

| 37,218

style="text-align:left;"|Juneau

| 4,249

| 42.66%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 5,710

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 57.34%

| 1,461

| 14.67%

| 9,959

style="text-align:left;"|Kenosha

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 35,781

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 53.72%

| 30,829

| 46.28%

| 4,952

| 7.43%

| 66,610

style="text-align:left;"|Kewaunee

| 3,926

| 42.01%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 5,420

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 57.99%

| 1,494

| 15.99%

| 9,346

style="text-align:left;"|La Crosse

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 33,060

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 59.33%

| 22,663

| 40.67%

| 10,397

| 18.66%

| 55,723

style="text-align:left;"|Lafayette

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 3,347

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 52.15%

| 3071

| 47.85%

| 276

| 4.30%

| 6,418

style="text-align:left;"|Langlade

| 3,395

| 37.62%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 5,630

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 62.38%

| 2,235

| 24.76%

| 9,025

style="text-align:left;"|Lincoln

| 5,662

| 43.22%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 7,439

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 56.78%

| 1,777

| 13.56%

| 13,101

style="text-align:left;"|Manitowoc

| 15,354

| 44.19%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 19,388

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 55.81%

| 4,034

| 11.61%

| 34,742

style="text-align:left;"|Marathon

| 26,567

| 43.69%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 34,239

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 56.31%

| 7,672

| 12.62%

| 60,806

style="text-align:left;"|Marinette

| 6,662

| 39.15%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 10,356

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 60.85%

| 3,694

| 21.71%

| 17,018

style="text-align:left;"|Marquette

| 3,044

| 43.18%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 4,006

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 56.82%

| 962

| 13.65%

| 7,050

style="text-align:left;"|Menominee

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 847

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 78.14%

| 237

| 21.86%

| 610

| 56.27%

| 1,084

style="text-align:left;"|Milwaukee

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 269,143

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 70.34%

| 113,482

| 29.66%

| 155,661

| 40.68%

| 382,625

style="text-align:left;"|Monroe

| 7,347

| 44.45%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 9,182

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 55.55%

| 1,835

| 11.10%

| 16,529

style="text-align:left;"|Oconto

| 6,276

| 36.46%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 10,936

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 63.54%

| 4,660

| 27.07%

| 17,212

style="text-align:left;"|Oneida

| 8,540

| 44.73%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 10,553

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 55.27%

| 2,013

| 10.54%

| 19,093

style="text-align:left;"|Outagamie

| 38,391

| 47.11%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 43,109

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 52.89%

| 4,718

| 5.79%

| 81,500

style="text-align:left;"|Ozaukee

| 19,801

| 39.38%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 30,480

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 60.62%

| 10,679

| 21.24%

| 50,281

style="text-align:left;"|Pepin

| 1,374

| 44.95%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 1,683

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 55.05%

| 309

| 10.11%

| 3,057

style="text-align:left;"|Pierce

| 8,421

| 48.62%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 8,899

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 51.38%

| 478

| 2.76%

| 17,320

style="text-align:left;"|Polk

| 7,635

| 41.41%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 10,803

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 58.59%

| 3,168

| 17.18%

| 18,438

style="text-align:left;"|Portage

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 19,075

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 56.12%

| 14,916

| 43.88%

| 2,559

| 12.24%

| 33,991

style="text-align:left;"|Price

| 2,916

| 44.33%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 3,662

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 55.67%

| 746

| 11.34%

| 6578

style="text-align:left;"|Racine

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 42,821

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 50.07%

| 42705

| 49.93%

| 116

| 0.14%

| 85,526

style="text-align:left;"|Richland

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 3,648

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 52.86%

| 3,253

| 47.14%

| 395

| 5.72%

| 6,901

style="text-align:left;"|Rock

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 40,630

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 60.92%

| 26,068

| 39.08%

| 14,562

| 21.83%

| 66,698

style="text-align:left;"|Rusk

| 2,418

| 40.41%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 3,565

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 59.59%

| 1,147

| 19.17%

| 5,983

style="text-align:left;"|Sauk

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 15,870

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 56.00%

| 12,468

| 44.00%

| 3,402

| 12.01%

| 28,338

style="text-align:left;"|Sawyer

| 3,662

| 45.58%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 4,372

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 54.42%

| 710

| 8.84%

| 8,034

style="text-align:left;"|Shawano

| 6,416

| 36.50%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 11,164

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 63.50%

| 4,748

| 27.01%

| 17,580

style="text-align:left;"|Sheboygan

| 22,949

| 43.93%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 29,289

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 56.07%

| 6,340

| 12.14%

| 52,238

style="text-align:left;"|St. Croix

| 17,267

| 43.57%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 22,365

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 56.43%

| 5,098

| 12.86%

| 39,632

style="text-align:left;"|Taylor

| 2,650

| 33.72%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 5,209

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 66.28%

| 2,559

| 32.56%

| 7,859

style="text-align:left;"|Trempealeau

| 5,864

| 49.06%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 6,088

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 50.94%

| 224

| 1.87%

| 11,952

style="text-align:left;"|Vernon

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 6,898

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 53.94%

| 5,891

| 46.06%

| 1,007

| 7.87%

| 12,789

style="text-align:left;"|Vilas

| 4,901

| 39.64%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 7,464

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 60.36%

| 2,563

| 20.73%

| 12,365

style="text-align:left;"|Walworth

| 18,499

| 41.39%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 26,200

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 58.61%

| 7,701

| 17.23%

| 44,699

style="text-align:left;"|Washburn

| 3,374

| 43.40%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 4,401

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 56.60%

| 1,027

| 13.21%

| 7,775

style="text-align:left;"|Washington

| 20,697

| 29.80%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 48,749

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 70.20%

| 28,052

| 40.39%

| 69,446

style="text-align:left;"|Waukesha

| 77,918

| 35.90%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 139,149

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 64.10%

| 61,231

| 28.21%

| 217,067

style="text-align:left;"|Waupaca

| 8,540

| 38.85%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 13,441

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 61.15%

| 4,901

| 22.30%

| 21,981

style="text-align:left;"|Waushara

| 3,939

| 37.88%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 6,461

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 62.13%

| 2,522

| 24.25%

| 10,400

style="text-align:left;"|Winnebago

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 37,353

| {{Party shading/Democratic}} | 50.25%

| 36,980

| 49.75%

| 373

| 0.50%

| 74,333

style="text-align:left;"|Wood

| 14,719

| 45.52%

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 17,618

| {{Party shading/Republican}} | 54.48%

| 2,899

| 8.96%

| 32,337

style="text-align:left;"|Totals

| 1,380,752

| 52.7%

| 1,235,034

| 47.2%

| 145,718

| 5.5%

| 2,615,786

{{collapse bottom}}

==By congressional district==

Despite losing the state, Schroeder won five of eight congressional districts.{{Cite web|url=https://davesredistricting.org/maps#viewmap::7d07ec5b-34c7-42a4-bd43-cc076bf366d6|title=DRA 2020|website=Daves Redistricting|accessdate=August 18, 2024}}

class=wikitable
District

! La Follette

! Schroeder

! Representative

align=center

! {{party shading/Republican}}|{{ushr|Wisconsin|1|1st}}

| 47%

| 53%

| {{party shading/Republican}}|Paul Ryan

align=center

! {{party shading/Democratic}}|{{ushr|Wisconsin|2|2nd}}

| 72%

| 28%

| {{party shading/Democratic}}|Mark Pocan

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! {{party shading/Democratic}}|{{ushr|Wisconsin|3|3rd}}

| 53%

| 47%

| {{party shading/Democratic}}|Ron Kind

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! {{party shading/Democratic}}|{{ushr|Wisconsin|4|4th}}

| 78%

| 22%

| {{party shading/Democratic}}|Gwen Moore

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! {{party shading/Republican}}|{{ushr|Wisconsin|5|5th}}

| 41%

| 59%

| {{party shading/Republican}}|Jim Sensenbrenner

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! {{party shading/Republican}}|{{ushr|Wisconsin|6|6th}}

| 45%

| 55%

| {{party shading/Republican}}|Glenn Grothman

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! {{party shading/Republican}}|{{ushr|Wisconsin|7|7th}}

| 44%

| 56%

| {{party shading/Republican}}|Sean Duffy

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! {{party shading/Republican}}|{{ushr|Wisconsin|8|8th}}

| 45%

| 55%

| {{party shading/Republican}}|Mike Gallagher

See also

References

{{reflist}}

{{2018 United States elections}}

Wisconsin

Secretary of State

Category:Wisconsin Secretary of State elections