Presidential election in Wisconsin, 2020

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Wisconsin 2020 presidential election

Democratic primary: April 7, 2020 Democratic winner: Joe Biden

Republican primary: April 7, 2020 Republican winner: Donald Trump

Electoral College: 10 votes 2020 winner: Joe Biden (D) 2016 winner: Donald Trump (R) 2012 winner: Barack Obama (D)

Presidential election by state, 2020

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) won the presidential election in Wisconsin on November 3, 2020. Biden won the presidential election with 306 electoral votes to President Donald Trump's (R) 232 electoral votes.

Biden won the Democratic primary on April 7, 2020. Trump, who ran unopposed, won the Republican primary.

Wisconsin favored Democratic presidential candidates in the four elections between 2000 and 2012, then voted for Trump in 2016. Trump received 47.2 percent of the vote to Hillary Clinton's (D) 46.5 percent, Gary Johnson's (L) 3.6 percent, and Jill Stein's (G) 1 percent.

Between 1900 and 2016, Wisconsin supported Republicans candidates in 50 percent of presidential elections and Democratic candidates in 47 percent.

This page includes the following sections:

• Lawsuits related to the presidential election in Wisconsin
• Recount in Wisconsin
• Candidates and election results
• Polls in Wisconsin
• Pivot Counties in Wisconsin
• PredictIt markets in Wisconsin
• Campaign events in Wisconsin
• Government response to coronavirus pandemic in Wisconsin
• Democratic primary
• Republican primary
• Candidate filing requirements
• Historical election trends
• Presidential election by state

Lawsuits related to the presidential election in Wisconsin

See also: Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Presidential election results subject to lawsuits and recounts

Trump v. Biden

• Case name: Trump v. Biden
• Related election/s: Presidential election (Wisconsin)
• Court: Supreme Court of the United States (lower courts: Milwaukee County Circuit Court, Wisconsin Supreme Court)
• Issue: Whether certain absentee/mail-in ballots were accepted illegally and, if so, whether those ballots should be set aside and omitted from the final count.
• Current status/outcome: Judge Stephen Simanek dismissed the lawsuit from the bench, saying, "There is no credible evidence of misconduct or wide-scale fraud." The Wisconsin Supreme Court affirmed the judgment. The Supreme Court of the United States declined to take up the appeal, allowing the lower court's decision to stand.

• Click here to read a written summary of this case (click to expand)
  Summary: On December 7, 2020, Donald Trump (R), Mike Pence (R), and Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. filed suit against Joe Biden (D), Kamala Harris (D), and local and state election officials in the Milwaukee County Circuit Court. The plaintiffs alleged that election officials had violated several state laws governing the processing and counting of absentee/mail-in ballots. The plaintiffs' attorneys said, "The failure of the Milwaukee County Board of Canvassers to enforce Wisconsin's stringent absentee voting and recount procedures by excluding illegal votes has, in effect, harmed a corresponding number of Wisconsin voters who legally voted in the Election. As a result, Plaintiffs are entitled to a drawdown of equal to the number of absentee ballots and absentee ballot envelopes or certifications, that were improperly counted or included in the Recount[.]"

  On December 11, 2020, Judge Stephen Simanek dismissed the lawsuit. He issued his decision from the bench, saying, "There is no credible evidence of misconduct or wide-scale fraud."

  The plaintiffs appealed the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. On December 14, 2020, the court affirmed the lower court's judgment. Justice Brian Hagedorn delivered the opinion of the court. On December 29, 2020, the plaintiffs petitioned the Supreme Court of the United States for a writ of certiorari. On January 11, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States declined Trump's motion for expedited consideration of the case, although the court did not at that time deny the petition altogether. On February 22, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States denied the petition, thus concluding the matter.

Trump v. Evers

• Case name: Trump v. Evers
• Related election/s: Presidential election (Wisconsin)
• Court: Wisconsin Supreme Court
• Issue: Whether more than 200,000 absentee/mail-in ballots are defective and should, therefore, be excluded from the final results.
• Current status/outcome: The state supreme court voted 4-3 against taking up a the lawsuit. The court did not rule on the merits of the case, instead finding that the Trump campaign could not bypass the lower state courts and file its suit directly with the state supreme court.
• Order/decision date: December 3, 2020
• Order/opinion link: Pending

• Click here to read a written summary of this case (click to expand)
  Summary: On December 1, 2020, the Trump campaign filed suit in the state supreme court against Governor Tony Evers (D) and state and local election authorities, alleging that more than 200,000 defective absentee/mail-in ballots were illegally counted, including ballots:

  • Issued in Milwaukee and Dane counties without the required written application
  • Submitted with incomplete information, which was subsequently added by election clerks
  • Submitted by voters claiming indefinite confinement without providing voter identification
  • Received or otherwise acted on by poll workers at Madison's "Democracy in the Park" event

  The campaign asked that the court rescind Evers' certification and order election officials to exclude the challenged ballots from a subsequent certification.

  On December 3, 2020, the state supreme court voted 4-3 against taking up a the lawsuit. Justices Ann Walsh Bradley, Rebecca Dallet, Brian Hagedorn, and Jill Karofsky formed the majority. Chief Justice Patience Roggensack and Justices Annette Ziegler and Rebecca Bradley dissented. The court did not rule on the merits of the case, instead finding that the Trump campaign could not bypass the lower state courts and file its suit directly with the state supreme court.

Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission

• Case name: Trump v. Wisconsin Elections Commission
• Related election/s: Presidential election (Wisconsin)
• Court: Supreme Court of the United States (appellate court: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit; district court: United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin)
• Issue: Whether state and local officials violated state laws in the course of administering the 2020 election, thereby usurping the authority of the state legislature.
• Current status/outcome: Judge Brett H. Ludwig dismissed the complaint with prejudice and denied the motion for preliminary injunction as moot. The Seventh Circuit affirmed the district court's decision. Trump appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of the Untied States, which declined to take up the case.
• Order/decision date: December 24, 2020 (Supreme Court of the Untied States)
• Order/opinion link: Order denying certiorari (Supreme Court of the Untied States)

• Click here to read a written summary of this case (click to expand)
  Summary: On December 2, 2020, Trump filed suit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin against Governor Tony Evers (D), Secretary of State Douglas La Follette (D), the state election commission, and several local officials, alleging that the defendants had violated a number of state laws in the course of administering the 2020 election. Trump's attorneys argued that these "practices usurped the Wisconsin Legislature's exclusive authority to direct the election for presidential electors in Wisconsin and also violated equal protection and due process standards, significantly undercutting the predictable and uniform application of the law."

  Trump's attorneys asked that the court declare "that the constitutional violations of the defendants likely tainted more than 50,000 ballots" and authorize "the Wisconsin Legislature to consider the defendants' violations of the Electors, Equal Protection, and Due Process Clauses and determine what remedy, if any, the Wisconsin Legislature should impose."

  On December 12. 2020, Judge Brett H. Ludwig dismissed the complaint with prejudice and denied the motion for preliminary injunction as moot. He wrote, "This is an extraordinary case. A sitting president who did not prevail in his bid for reelection has asked for federal court help in setting aside the popular vote based on disputed issues of election administration, issues he plainly could have raised before the vote occurred. This Court has allowed plaintiff the chance to make his case and he has lost on the merits." Trump's attorneys filed an appeal.

  On December 24, 2020, the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit affirmed Ludwig's decision. Judge Michael Scudder wrote, "We confine our conclusions to applications of the Electors Clause. We are not the ultimate authority on Wisconsin law. That responsibility rests with the State’s Supreme Court. Put another way, the errors that the President alleges occurred in the Commission’s exercise of its authority are in the main matters of state law. They belong, then, in the state courts, where the President had an opportunity to raise his concerns. ... For our part, all we need to say is that, even on a broad reading of the Electors Clause, Wisconsin lawfully appointed its electors in the manner directed by its Legislature."

  On December 30, 2020, Trump appealed the decision to the Supreme Court of the United States. On January 11, 2021, the court denied Trump's motion for expedited consideration, and on March 8, 2021, dismissed the appeal altogether.

Recount in Wisconsin

See also: Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Presidential election results subject to lawsuits and recounts

On November 18, 2020, President Donald Trump (R) and Vice President Mike Pence (R) petitioned the Wisconsin Elections Commission for recounts in Dane and Milwaukee counties. In their petition, Trump and Pence alleged that "mistakes and fraud were committed throughout the state of Wisconsin, including particularly in the city of Madison, the city of Milwaukee, and throughout Dane County and Milwaukee County."

The Trump campaign wired the state elections commission $3 million to pay for the costs of the recounts. Late in the evening on November 18, 2020, after deadlocking on a number of procedural points, the commission's three Democrats and three Republicans voted unanimously to approve the recount, which got underway on November 19, 2020.

On November 27, 2020, Milwaukee County announced the results of its recount. On November 29, 2020, Dane County followed suit. The recounts in these two counties resulted in a net gain of 87 votes for Biden.

Candidates and election results

General election

Presidential election in Wisconsin, 2020

		Candidate/Running mate	%	Popular votes	Electoral votes
✔		Joe Biden/Kamala D. Harris (D)	49.5	1,630,673	10
		Donald Trump/Mike Pence (R)	48.8	1,610,065	0
		Jo Jorgensen/Spike Cohen (L)	1.2	38,491	0
		Brian T. Carroll/Amar Patel (American Solidarity Party)	0.2	5,258	0
		Don Blankenship/William Mohr (Constitution Party)	0.2	5,144	0
		Other write-in votes	0.2	7,721	0

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Incumbents are bolded and underlined The results have been certified.

Total votes: 3,297,352

Primary election

Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary on April 7, 2020

	Candidate	%	Votes	Pledged delegates
	Joe Biden	62.9	581,463	56
	Bernie Sanders	31.7	293,441	28
	Elizabeth Warren	1.5	14,060	0
	Michael Bloomberg	1.0	8,846	0
	Amy Klobuchar	0.7	6,079	0
	Tulsi Gabbard	0.6	5,565	0
	Pete Buttigieg	0.5	4,946	0
	Andrew Yang	0.4	3,349	0
	Thomas Steyer	0.1	836	0
	John Delaney	0.1	529	0
	Michael Bennet	0.1	475	0
	Deval Patrick	0.0	311	0
	Other	0.6	5,165	0

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Source

Total votes: 925,065 • Total pledged delegates: 84

Wisconsin Republican presidential primary on April 7, 2020

	Candidate	%	Votes	Pledged delegates
	Donald Trump	97.9	616,782	52
	Other	2.1	13,416	0

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Source

Total votes: 630,198 • Total pledged delegates: 52

Pivot Counties in Wisconsin

See also: Election results, 2020: Pivot Counties' margins of victory analysis

Pivot Counties are the 206 counties nationwide Ballotpedia identified as having voted for Barack Obama (D) in the 2008 and 2012 presidential elections and Donald Trump (R) in 2016. Media and political observers sometimes refer to these counties as swing counties.

Ballotpedia defines Pivot Counties Trump won in 2020 as Retained Pivot Counties and those Joe Biden (D) won as Boomerang Pivot Counties.

Trump won 181 Retained Pivot Counties across 32 states to Biden's 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties across 16 states. Trump's median margin of victory was 13.2 percentage points in those 181 counties, while Biden's median margin of victory was 3.4 percentage points among the 25 he won.

In 2020, Wisconsin had 21 Retained Pivot Counties, two Boomerang Pivot Counties, 12 Solid Democratic counties, and 37 Solid Republican counties.

Biden won Wisconsin by 0.6 percentage points. He saw a margin change of 1.4 percentage points compared to 2016, flipping the state which had previously voted for Trump.

Both Biden and Trump increased their respective vote shares in every county category. Biden increased the Democratic margin in all categories apart from Retained Pivot Counties. His largest margin change was 3.4 percentage points in Solid Democratic counties. Trump increased his margin in Retained Pivot Counties by 0.8 percentage points.

The table below compares margins in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. Percentages show the share of the vote received by a candidate. Margins and changes are shown as changes in percentage points. The overall winner of a given category can be found under the "2020" data. The "Percentage point change" section shows changes in vote share and in margins. Figures were calculated by combining the vote totals across all counties of a given category and may not equal 100% due to rounding.

Wisconsin presidential election results by county category, 2016-2020
Year	#	2016				2020				Percentage point change
		Clinton	Trump	Third party	Margin	Biden	Trump	Third party	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Third party	Margin
Retained	21	42.8%	51.0%	6.1%	R+8.2	44.7%	53.6%	1.7%	R+8.9	+1.8	+2.6	-4.4	R+0.8
Boomerang	2	46.4%	47.8%	5.9%	R+1.4	50.0%	48.4%	1.6%	D+1.6	+3.6	+0.6	-4.2	D+3.0
Solid Dem.	12	62.6%	30.9%	6.5%	D+31.7	66.6%	31.6%	1.8%	D+35.1	+4.0	+0.7	-4.7	D+3.4
Solid Repub.	37	35.5%	58.2%	6.3%	R+22.7	38.6%	59.7%	1.7%	R+21.1	+3.1	+1.5	-4.6	D+1.7
All	58	46.5%	47.2%	6.3%	R+0.8	49.4%	48.8%	1.7%	D+0.6	+3.0	+1.6	-4.6	D+1.4

Wisconsin presidential election vote totals by county category, 2016-2020
Year	#	2016				2020				Change
		Clinton	Trump	Third party	Margin	Biden	Trump	Third party	Margin	Democratic	Republican	Third party	Margin
Retained	21	201,816	240,255	28,964	R+38,439	235,485	282,496	9,150	R+47,011	+33,669	+42,241	-19,814	R+8,572
Boomerang	2	22,704	23,379	2,866	R+675	28,152	27,245	923	D+907	+5,448	+3,866	-1,943	D+1,582
Solid Dem.	12	661,462	326,708	68,347	D+334,754	758,348	359,475	20,052	D+398,873	+96,886	+32,767	-48,295	D+64,119
Solid Repub.	37	496,554	814,942	88,153	R+318,388	608,881	940,968	26,866	R+332,087	+112,327	+126,026	-61,287	R+13,699
All	72	1,382,536	1,405,284	188,330	R+22,748	1,630,866	1,610,184	56,991	D+20,682	+248,330	+204,900	-131,339	D+43,430

Both Biden and Trump received their largest shares of new votes from Solid Republican counties at 45.2% and 61.5%, respectively.

Retained Pivot Counties made up 14.4% of Biden's statewide vote total and 17.5% of Trump's. Boomerang Pivot Counties accounted for 1.7% of both Biden's and Trump's vote total.

The table below shows how much of a candidate's vote total came from a particular county category. Data under "New votes, 2020" shows the percentage of a candidate's new votes by county category compared to 2016 vote totals.

Percentage of votes by county category in Wisconsin's 2016 and 2020 presidential elections
Year	#	2016		2020		New votes, 2020
		Clinton	Trump	Biden	Trump	Democratic votes	Republican votes
Total votes	72	1,382,536	1,405,284	1,630,866	1,610,184	+248,330	+204,900
Retained	21	14.6%	17.1%	14.4%	17.5%	13.6%	20.6%
Boomerang	2	1.6%	1.7%	1.7%	1.7%	2.2%	1.9%
Solid Dem.	12	47.8%	23.2%	46.5%	22.3%	39.0%	16.0%
Solid Repub.	37	35.9%	58.0%	37.3%	58.4%	45.2%	61.5%

PredictIt market in Wisconsin

See also: PredictIt markets in the 2020 presidential election

What is a PredictIt market?

PredictIt is an online political futures market in which users purchase shares relating to the outcome of political events using real money. Each event, such as an election, has a number of contracts associated with it, each correlating to a different outcome. For instance, an election contested between four candidates would be represented by eight separate contracts, with each contract correlating to a particular candidate winning or losing the election.

The price of a share in each individual contract rises and falls based on market demand. Once the event's outcome is decided, holders of shares that correlate with the correct outcome receive a $1 payout for each share they held.

For example, a user buys 10 shares at 20 cents each in a presidential primary saying Candidate A will win. If Candidate A wins the election, the user earns $10. If the candidate loses, the user earns no money and loses his original $2 investment.

Why do PredictIt markets matter?

Services such as PredictIt are being used to gain insight into the likely outcome of elections. Microsoft Research economist David Rothschild argues that they are better suited to the task than polls: "I can create a poll that can mimic everything about a prediction market...except markets have a way of incentivizing you to come back at 2 a.m. and update your answer."

Campaign events in Wisconsin

This section features clips of Biden and Trump at presidential campaign events in Wisconsin during the 2020 general election.

Biden in Wisconsin

Biden in Milwaukee, October 30, 2020

Biden in Manitowoc, September 21, 2020

Biden in Kenosha, September 3, 2020

Trump in Wisconsin

Trump in Kenosha, November 2, 2020

Trump in Green Bay, October 30, 2020

Trump in West Salem, October 27, 2020

Trump in Waukesha, October 24, 2020

Trump in Janesville, October 17, 2020

Trump in Mosinee, September 17, 2020

Trump in Oshkosh, August 17, 2020

Government response to coronavirus pandemic in Wisconsin

Summary of changes to election dates and procedures

Wisconsin modified its absentee/mail-in voting procedures for the November 3, 2020, general election as follows:

• Absentee/mail-in voting: Absentee and mail-in ballot applications were sent to most registered voters in the general election.

For a full timeline about election modifications made in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, click here.

Frequently asked questions

See also: Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk: Presidential election

The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. Our readers had questions about what to expect in elections at all levels of government, from the casting of ballots to the certification of final results. Ballotpedia's 2020 Election Help Desk was designed to answer those questions. Ballotpedia is in the process of compiling and answering frequently asked questions related to the 2020 elections. Questions related to this election will be available soon.

Additional resources

• Documenting Wisconsin's path to recovery from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020-2021
• Government responses to and political effects of the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 (Wisconsin)
• [[[School responses in Wisconsin to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic during the 2020-2021 school year]]
• Debate in Wisconsin over responses to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020
• Changes to election dates, procedures, and administration in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 2020

Democratic primary

See also: Democratic presidential nomination, 2020

HIGHLIGHTS

Wisconsin held a Democratic primary on April 7, 2020.

Wisconsin had an estimated 97 delegates comprised of 84 pledged delegates and 13 superdelegates. Delegate allocation was proportional.

The Democratic primary was open, meaning registered voters did not have to be members of the party to vote in its primary.

Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) was formally nominated as the Democratic presidential nominee at the 2020 Democratic National Convention on August 18, 2020. The convention was originally scheduled to take place July 13-16, 2020. Organizers postponed the event in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Prior to the national convention, individual state caucuses and primaries were held to allocate convention delegates. These delegates vote at the convention to select the nominee. In 2020, a Democratic presidential candidate needed support from 1,991 delegates to secure the nomination.

With the plurality of pledged delegates, Biden became the presumptive Democratic nominee on April 8, 2020, after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) suspended his presidential campaign. Biden crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination on June 5, 2020.

Biden announced U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris (D) as his running mate on August 11, 2020. Harris is the first Black woman to appear on a major party's ticket in the United States.

Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin, was the host of the 2020 Democratic convention. DNC Chairman Tom Perez (D) said of the city, "The Democratic Party is the party of working people, and Milwaukee is a city of working people. We saw in this last election what we can accomplish when we come together, invest, and fight for working people, and that was proven right here in Wisconsin." It was Milwaukee's first national major-party convention, the first Democratic convention in the Midwest since 1996, and the first Democratic convention in a Midwestern city other than Chicago since 1916.

The choice signalled a Democratic focus on Wisconsin and nearby states and a repudiation of the Hillary Clinton campaign's decision not to emphasize the region in 2016, according to National Public Radio analyst Don Gonyea. In 2016, Donald Trump (R) carried Wisconsin by a margin of 0.7 percentage points. He was the first Republican presidential candidate to carry the state since Ronald Reagan (R) in 1984.

Republican primary

See also: Republican presidential nomination, 2020

HIGHLIGHTS

Wisconsin held its Republican primary on April 7, 2019.

Wisconsin had an estimated 52 delegates. Delegate allocation was hybrid, with at-large delegates going to the statewide plurality winner and congressional district delegates allocated to winners of each district.

The primary was open, meaning registered voters did not have to be members of the party to vote in its primary.

The Republican Party selected President Donald Trump as its presidential nominee at the 2020 Republican National Convention, which was held from August 24-27, 2020.

Prior to the national convention, individual state caucuses and primaries were held to allocate convention delegates. These delegates vote at the convention to select the nominee. Trump crossed the delegate threshold necessary to win the nomination—1,276 delegates—on March 17, 2020.

George H.W. Bush (R) was the last incumbent to face a serious primary challenge, defeating political commentator Pat Buchanan in 1992. He was also the last president to lose his re-election campaign. Franklin Pierce (D) was the first and only elected president to lose his party's nomination in 1856.

Sixteen U.S. presidents—approximately one-third—have won two consecutive elections.

Candidate filing requirements

See also: Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Wisconsin

The tables below detail filing requirements for presidential candidates in Wisconsin in the 2020 election cycle. For additional information on candidate ballot access requirements in Wisconsin, click here.

Presidential primary candidates

Filing requirements for presidential primary candidates in Wisconsin, 2020
State	Party	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
Wisconsin	Qualified political parties	8,000	1,000 signatures from each congressional district	N/A	N/A	1/28/2020	Source

Independent presidential candidates

Filing requirements for independent candidates in Wisconsin, 2020
State	Signatures required	Signature formula	Filing fee	Filing fee formula	Filing deadline	Source
Wisconsin	2,000	Fixed by statute	N/A	N/A	8/4/2020	Source

Historical election results

2016

General election

U.S. presidential election, Wisconsin, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Hillary Clinton/Tim Kaine	46.5%	1,382,536	0
	Republican	Donald Trump/Mike Pence	47.2%	1,405,284	10
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson/Bill Weld	3.6%	106,674	0
	Green	Jill Stein/Ajamu Baraka	1%	31,072	0
	Constitution	Darrell Lane Castle/Scott Bradley	0.4%	12,162	0
	Workers Party	Monica Moorehead/Lamont Lilly	0.1%	1,770	0
	American Delta	Rocky De La Fuente/Michael Steinberg	0.1%	1,502	0
	-	Write-in votes	1.2%	35,150	0
Total Votes				2,976,150	10
Election results via: Wisconsin Elections Commission

Note: The vote totals above are from the recount.

Primary election

Wisconsin Democratic Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Bernie Sanders	56.6%	567,936	48
Hillary Clinton	43.1%	432,767	38
Martin O'Malley	0.2%	1,765	0
Other	0.1%	1,436	0
Totals		1,003,904	86
Source: The New York Times and Wisconsin Vote

Wisconsin Republican Primary, 2016
Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Delegates
Ted Cruz	48.2%	531,129	36
Donald Trump	35.1%	386,290	6
John Kasich	14.1%	155,200	0
Jeb Bush	0.3%	3,156	0
Ben Carson	0.5%	5,608	0
Chris Christie	0.1%	1,310	0
Carly Fiorina	0.1%	825	0
Jim Gilmore	0%	242	0
Mike Huckabee	0.1%	1,428	0
Rand Paul	0.2%	2,491	0
Marco Rubio	1%	10,569	0
Rick Santorum	0%	510	0
Other	0.2%	2,288	0
Totals		1,101,046	42
Source: The New York Times and Wisconsin Vote

2012

U.S. presidential election, Wisconsin, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Barack Obama/Joe Biden Incumbent	52.8%	1,620,985	10
	Republican	Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan	45.9%	1,407,966	0
	Libertarian	Gary Johnson/Jim Gray	0.7%	20,439	0
	Green	Jill Stein/Cheri Honkala	0.2%	7,665	0
	N/A	Write-ins	0.2%	5,170	0
	Constitution	Virgil Goode/James Clymer	0.2%	4,930	0
Total Votes				3,067,155	10
Election results via: U.S. Election Atlas

Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Jerry White, Peta Lindsay, Ross Anderson, and Roseanne Barr.

2008

U.S. presidential election, Wisconsin, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Democratic	Barack Obama/Joe Biden	56.2%	1,677,211	10
	Republican	John McCain/Sarah Palin	42.3%	1,262,393	0
	Independent	Ralph Nader/Matt Gonzalez	0.6%	17,605	0
	Libertarian	Bob Barr/Wayne Allyn Root	0.3%	8,858	0
	N/A	Write-ins	0.2%	6,521	0
	Constitution	Chuck Baldwin/Darrell Castle	0.2%	5,072	0
	WI Green	Cynthia McKinney/Rosa Clemente	0.1%	4,216	0
Total Votes				2,981,876	10
Election results via: U.S. Election Atlas

Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Jeffrey Wamboldt, Brian Moore, and Gloria LaRiva.

Presidential statewide margins of victory of 5 percentage points or fewer, 1948-2016

See also: Presidential statewide margins of victory of 5 percentage points or fewer, 1948-2016

The following map shows the number of times, in presidential elections held between 1948 and 2016, that the margin of victory was 5 percentage points or fewer in each state.

• Wisconsin was the state with the most frequently narrow margins during this time period, appearing on the list in 10 presidential elections.
• Five states appeared eight times: Florida, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
• The state with the narrowest margin of victory was Florida in 2000 at 537 votes or one-hundredth of a percentage point.

Historical election trends

See also: Presidential voting history by state

Wisconsin presidential election results (1900-2020)

• 15 Democratic wins
• 16 Republican wins
• 1 other win

Year	1900	1904	1908	1912	1916	1920	1924	1928	1932	1936	1940	1944	1948	1952	1956	1960	1964	1968	1972	1976	1980	1984	1988	1992	1996	2000	2004	2008	2012	2016	2020	2024
Winning Party	R	R	R	D	R	R	P	R	D	D	D	R	D	R	R	R	D	R	R	D	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	D	R

See also: Presidential election accuracy

Below is an analysis of Wisconsin's voting record in presidential elections. The state's accuracy is based on the number of times a state has voted for a winning presidential candidate. The majority of statistical data is from the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and was compiled, here, by Ballotpedia, unless otherwise noted.

Presidential election voting record in Wisconsin, 1900-2016

Between 1900 and 2016:

• Wisconsin participated in 30 presidential elections.
• Wisconsin voted for the winning presidential candidate 76.67 percent of the time. The average accuracy of voting for winning presidential candidates for all 50 states in this time frame was 72.31 percent.
• Wisconsin voted Democratic 46.67 percent of the time and Republican 50 percent of the time.

Third-party candidate races

In 1924, Calvin Coolidge ran as a Republican, John W. Davis ran as a Democrat, and Robert M. La Follette Sr. ran as a Progressive; La Follette only won Wisconsin, his home state.

Presidential election voting record in Wisconsin, 2000-2016

• Accuracy: 60 percent
• 2000 state winner: Al Gore (D)
• 2004 state winner: John Kerry (D)
• 2008 state winner: Barack Obama (D)*
• 2012 state winner: Barack Obama (D)*
• 2016 state winner: Donald Trump (R)*

*An asterisk indicates that that candidate also won the national electoral vote in that election.

State profile

See also: Wisconsin and Wisconsin elections, 2019

Partisan data

The information in this section was current as of May 7, 2019

Presidential voting pattern

• Wisconsin voted for the Democratic candidate in five out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

Congressional delegation

• Following the 2018 elections, one U.S. senator from Wisconsin was a Democrat and the other was a Republican.
• Five of Wisconsin's eight U.S. representatives were Republicans and three were Democrats.

State executives

• Democrats held five of Wisconsin's 11 state executive offices. The other six offices were nonpartisan.
• Wisconsin's governor was Democrat Tony Evers.

State legislature

• Republicans controlled the Wisconsin State Senate with a 19-14 majority.
• Republicans controlled the Wisconsin State Assembly with a 63-35 majority.

Wisconsin Party Control: 1992-2025
Two years of Democratic trifectas  •  Ten years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.

Year	92	93	94	95	96	97	98	99	00	01	02	03	04	05	06	07	08	09	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25
Governor	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	D	D	D
Senate	D	R	R	R	D	D	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	D	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R
House	D	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	D	D	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R	R

Wisconsin quick stats

• Became a state in 1848
• 30th state admitted to the United States
• The Republican Party was founded in Ripon, Wisconsin, in 1854.
• Members of the Wisconsin State Senate: 33
• Members of the Wisconsin State Assembly: 99
• U.S. senators: 2
• U.S. representatives: 8

More Wisconsin coverage on Ballotpedia:

• Wisconsin elections, 2019
• Presidential voting trends in Wisconsin
• United States congressional delegations from Wisconsin
• Public policy in Wisconsin
• Influencers in Wisconsin
• Almanac of American Politics state profile
• More...

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 election by state

See also: Presidential election by state, 2020

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https://ballotpedia.org/Presidential_election_in_STATE,_2020

See also

• Presidential candidates, 2020
• Democratic presidential nomination, 2020
• Republican presidential nomination, 2020
• Presidential election by state, 2020