Wisconsin down ballot state executive elections, 2014
 |
August 12, 2014 |
November 4, 2014 |
Governor • Lt. Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General Down Ballot Treasurer |
Campaign themes Polls Campaign finance Past elections Key deadlines Recent news |
 |
One down ballot state executive position was up for election in the state of Wisconsin in 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
The lone down ballot race in 2014 featured candidates running for Wisconsin State Treasurer. Incumbent Kurt Schuller (R) first won election in 2010 and did not file for re-election in 2014 because he pledged to only serve one term. Five candidates were seeking the treasurer's office, including Democratic candidate David Sartori and Republican Matt Adamczyk. Matt Adamczyk won in the general election.
The hot topic in the 2014 treasurer's race was a failed effort in the Wisconsin State Legislature to eliminate the office. All five candidates made public statements about the issue available here.
The treasurer's office has gone back and forth between Republican and Democratic officeholders since 2002. Wisconsin voters have proven willing to choose challengers over incumbents with incumbents Jack Voight and Dawn Marie Sass ousted in 2006 and 2010, respectively. Learn more about how past treasurer elections fit into the larger political picture in Wisconsin by jumping to the past elections section.
A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Wisconsin utilizes an open primary system; registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.[1][2]
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Treasurer
Candidates
General election
Matt Adamczyk[3]
David Sartori[4]
Andrew Zuelke - Constitution Party candidate[4]
Ron Hardy - Winnebago County Supervisor[5]
Jerry Shidell - Libertarian candidate[6]
Lost in primary
Randall Melchert[6]
David Leeper[4]
Declined to run
Kurt Schuller - Incumbent
Scott Feldt - Deputy state treasurer and member of the Janesville School Board[7]
Jack Voight - Former state treasurer[7]
Dan Bohrod - Budget analyst for the City of Madison[8]
Brandon White[4]
Results
Primary election
Democratic primary
| Wisconsin Treasurer Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 David Sartori |
51.5% | 119,756 | ||
| David Leeper | 48.5% | 112,584 | ||
| Total Votes | 232,340 | |||
| Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. | ||||
Republican primary
| Wisconsin Treasurer Republican Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Matt Adamczyk |
61.8% | 132,598 | ||
| Randall Melchert | 38.2% | 82,117 | ||
| Total Votes | 214,715 | |||
| Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. | ||||
General election
| Wisconsin Treasurer, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Matt Adamczyk |
48.8% | 1,120,140 | |
| Democratic | David Sartori | 44.7% | 1,026,548 | |
| Green | Ron Hardy | 2.9% | 66,120 | |
| Libertarian | Jerry Shidell | 2.3% | 53,113 | |
| Constitution | Andrew Zuelke | 1.2% | 28,053 | |
| Nonpartisan | Scattering | 0.1% | 1,244 | |
| Total Votes | 2,295,218 | |||
| Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board | ||||
Duties
The Wisconsin treasurer serves as the chief banking officer of the state. The treasurer is responsible for managing the unclaimed property program, college savings program and a local government investment funds pool.[9]
Campaign themes
Proposed elimination of treasurer's office
The continued existence of the treasurer's office became an issue in the 2010 campaign, when former Treasurer Kurt Schuller (R) campaigned to eliminate the position. Supporters of a constitution amendment to eliminate the state treasurer cite the official's $68,000 per year salary and limited responsibilities. The Wisconsin State Assembly approved the amendment in February 2014, but the Wisconsin State Senate did not consider the measure during the same legislative session.[10][11] A constitutional amendment must be passed by both legislative chambers in successive sessions before reaching the ballot.
The following quotes represent the positions of the candidates for state treasurer in 2014 on this issue:
Matt Adamczyk
Supported elimination of office
| “ |
As you may know, Governor Walker and the legislature have removed almost all duties that once were the responsibility of the state treasurer and transferred those duties to other agencies. I fully support this effort by Governor Walker and the Republican legislature to save tax dollars with these efficiencies. Frankly, the office is already irrelevant. The functions are already at other agencies. For example, the unclaimed property program was wisely moved to the WI DOR. With legislation already passed, some claimants will get their unclaimed property without every having to make a claim. [12] |
” |
| —League of Women Voters of Dane County website, (2014) | ||
David Sartori
Opposed elimination of office
| “ |
Our German and Scandinavian ancestors purposely designed our executive branch as an internal "check & balance" to executive power. That is precisely why we have elected officials serving, as opposed to appointed officials. Advocates for abolishing this office have lusted to control the riches that this office produced in past years. Yet, no nonpartisan professional cost/benefit analysis has been performed supporting savings.. What about the public riches generated annually by the public land trusts described in Article X of our Constitution? Every state in American has a treasurer. [12] |
” |
| —League of Women Voters of Dane County website, (2014) | ||
Andrew Zuelke
Opposed elimination of office
| “ |
The treasurer's office is not "outdated"; it has been gutted. Should we take away the duties of other elected offices and eliminate them, too? Appointed department heads that perform badly can't be voted out of office so making bureaucracies stronger doesn't empower voters. We can't just "get rid of" the State Treasurer; our constitution must be amended. So taking away the duties of an office that will be with us years from now is stupid. I want the duties restored so the State Treasurer earns his pay. Why isn't the Treasurer being included in the Tax Reform Round Table discussions? [12] |
” |
| —League of Women Voters of Dane County website, (2014) | ||
Ron Hardy
Opposed elimination of office
| “ |
This position has been stripped of almost all power and authority over the years. The last thing Wisconsin needs is more power and authority moved under the control of the Governor's office. The traditional powers of the State Treasurer, oversight of banking, investment of state funds, and the collection of tax revenue, should be restored to the office of the Treasury, like most other states, where it can be directly accountable to the people through the ballot box. [12] |
” |
| —League of Women Voters of Dane County website, (2014) | ||
Jerry Shidell
Supported elimination of office
| “ |
Little needs to be taken over by others. The Treasurer as a member of the Board of Commissioners of Public Lands simply rubber stamps, with rare exception, loans to governing bodies that the agency says should be allowed. If the Treasurer were eliminated, the position on the Public Lands board could be filled by a non-paid appointment from the Governor's office, with legislative approval, or the legislature could appoint a member. Other agencies give loans or grants with ultimate oversight from the legislature. Why can't this loan giving agency do the same? Eliminate the job. [12] |
” |
| —League of Women Voters of Dane County website, (2014) | ||
Polls
Hypothetical match-ups
| Wisconsin Treasurer | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Randall Melchert (R) | David Leeper (D) | Ron Hardy (G) | Other/Unsure | Sample size | ||||||||||||||
| Gravis Marketing July 31-August 3, 2014 | 39% | 31% | 12% | 18% | 1,346 | ||||||||||||||
| Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org. | |||||||||||||||||||
Campaign finance
Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $97,023 during the election. This information was last updated on January 12, 2015.[14]
| Campaign Contribution Totals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Office | Result | Contributions | |
| David Sartori |
Wisconsin Treasurer | $33,631 | ||
| Matt Adamczyk |
Wisconsin Treasurer | $26,355 | ||
| Randall Melchert |
Wisconsin Treasurer | $25,200 | ||
| David Leeper |
Wisconsin Treasurer | $7,654 | ||
| Andrew Zuelke |
Wisconsin Treasurer | $4,183 | ||
| Ron Hardy |
Wisconsin Treasurer | $0 | ||
| Jerry Shidell |
Wisconsin Treasurer | $0 | ||
| Grand Total Raised | $97,023 | |||
Past elections
Margin of victory analysis
The average margin of victory in the previous three races for treasurer was 4.5 percent. The smallest margin of victory was 0.5 percent in 2006, while the largest margin of victory was 6.9 percent in 2010. Percentages of votes for third-party candidates decreased from 6.9 percent in 2002 to a scattering of votes in 2010. The following chart compares the margin of victory for winners of treasurer races with the margin of victory for candidates who won the most votes for the top race on the ballot:[15]
| Margin of victory analysis | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Treasurer candidate margin of victory (%) | Party of winning candidate | Top race on ballot | Party of winning candidate | Margin of victory (%) | |
| 2010 | 6.9 | Governor of Wisconsin | 5.7 | |||
| 2006 | 0.5 | Governor of Wisconsin | 7.4 | |||
| 2002 | 6.2 | Governor of Wisconsin | 3.7 | |||
2010
| Wisconsin State Treasurer, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Kurt W. Schuller |
53.4% | 1,101,320 | |
| Democratic | Dawn Marie Sass Incumbent | 46.5% | 958,468 | |
| - | Scattering | 0.1% | 2,873 | |
| Total Votes | 2,062,661 | |||
| Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board | ||||
2006
| Wisconsin State Treasurer, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Dawn Marie Sass |
47.4% | 971,598 | |
| Republican | Jack C. Voight Incumbent | 46.9% | 962,209 | |
| Libertarian | Tim Peterson | 2.9% | 59,203 | |
| Green | Winston Sephus, Jr. | 2.8% | 57,326 | |
| - | Scattering | 0.1% | 1,529 | |
| Total Votes | 2,051,865 | |||
| Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board | ||||
2002
| Wisconsin State Treasurer, 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Jack C. Voight Incumbent |
49.6% | 824,049 | |
| Democratic | Dawn Marie Sass | 43.4% | 720,445 | |
| Green | Paul Aschenbrenner | 6.9% | 114,955 | |
| - | Scattering | 0.1% | 1,526 | |
| Total Votes | 1,660,975 | |||
| Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board | ||||
Key deadlines
| Deadline | Event |
|---|---|
| June 2, 2014 | Filing deadline |
| August 12, 2014 | Primary election |
| November 4, 2014 | General election |
| December 1, 2014 | Certification of results |
| January 5, 2015 | State executives inaugurated |
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Wisconsin treasurer election 2014. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed October 4, 2024
- ↑ Wisconsin State Legislature, "Wis. State § 5.62 Partisan primary ballots," accessed October 4, 2024
- ↑ Matt Adamczyk for State Treasurer, "About Matt," accessed April 23, 2014
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," February 17, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ Wisconsin Green Party, "Wisconsin Greens endorse 3 candidates for Fall 2014 elections, launch petition drive," April 17, 2014
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Candidates Registered by Office," accessed July 4, 2014
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedjanesville - ↑ Wisconsin Election Watch, "Dan Bohrod," February 5, 2014
- ↑ Wisconsin State Treasury, "The treasurer's office," accessed August 25, 2011
- ↑ WISN, "Wis. Assembly approves proposal to eliminate state treasurer," February 12, 2014
- ↑ Blogging Blue, "State Treasurer candidate Dan Bohrod thanks State Senate for no action on elimination of Treasurer position," accessed October 7, 2014
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 League of Women Voters of Dane County Inc., "Wisconsin State Treasurer," accessed October 7, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "Overview of Wisconsin 2014 elections," accessed January 12, 2015
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "Election Results," accessed October 7, 2014
 |
State of Wisconsin Madison (capital) |
|---|---|
| Elections |
What's on my ballot? | Elections in 2025 | How to vote | How to run for office | Ballot measures |
| Government |
Who represents me? | U.S. President | U.S. Congress | Federal courts | State executives | State legislature | State and local courts | Counties | Cities | School districts | Public policy |