The 2012 Wisconsin State Assembly elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. All 99 seats in the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The Assembly is controlled by the Republican ...

were up for election. Before the election, 58 Assembly seats were held by Republicans, 38 seats were held by Democrats, 1 was held by an independent, and 2 were vacant. The primary election was held on August 14, 2012. This was the first Assembly election after the legislative redistricting following the 2010 United States census. The maps passed into law ware widely considered one of the most severe Republican gerrymanders in U.S. history. Republicans flipped the independent-held seat and reclaimed two vacant seats, to enter the 101st Wisconsin Legislature with 60 of 99 State Assembly seats. Elected members took office on January 7, 2013.

Background

Republicans won control of the Assembly, alongside the governorship and the State Senate, in the 2010 elections. Using their newly-gained governmental trifecta, Republicans began enacting a number of high-profile, highly controversial bills. Chief among them was Wisconsin Act 10, also known as the "Budget Repair Bill," which sought to eliminate public-sector unions and reduce the pay of public employees in a purported attempt to balance the state's budget. This sparked a heavy backlash from public employees, especially teachers, and students, who staged

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

of the legislation across the state. In addition, 14 Democratic members of the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after those ...

staged a walkout to

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

to deprive the chamber of a

quorum A quorum is the minimum number of members of a group necessary to constitute the group at a meeting. In a deliberative assembly (a body that uses parliamentary procedure, such as a legislature), a quorum is necessary to conduct the business of ...

to prevent the passage of the bill. Republicans managed to pass the bill anyway the next month, but the fallout from the bill's passage led to the attempted recall of

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Scott Walker and the successful recall of multiple members of the Senate in

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

. In May 2011, Democrat Steve Doyle flipped an Assembly seat by winning a special election in the 94th district.

Redistricting

In the 2010 elections, Republicans won significant majorities in both houses of the Legislature and the governorship. Republicans used their majorities to pass a radical redistricting plan after the 2010 census which substantially shifted the partisan bias of the state legislative maps. It was the product of a Republican project known as REDMAP, which used new statistical and mapping software to craft the maps. The maps themselves were crafted and agreed upon in highly secretive meetings among Republican legislators, the details of which were only made public during court hearings regarding the constitutionality of the maps in 2015. Several lawsuits were brought against the 2011 redistricting plan. A set of early challenges against the plan led to only minor alterations to two districts in the Milwaukee area, which the court ruled violated Section 2 of the

Voting Rights Act The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights movem ...

by improperly diluting the population of Latinos across two districts. Later suits against the map would eventually become the Supreme Court case '' Whitford v. Gill.''

Results

Republicans maintained their large majority in the Assembly, winning 60 seats to the Democrats' 39. Republicans were aided in part by highly favorable redistricting, winning 74% of contested seats while only winning 52% of the vote in those races. Factoring in uncontested races, Republicans won 60% of seats in the Assembly despite losing the statewide popular vote by almost 175,000 votes.

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%: # # # # (gain) # # # # # # # # (gain) # # (gain) #

Predictions

Outgoing incumbents

Retiring

* Tamara Grigsby (D–

Milwaukee Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

), representing District 18 since 2004, did not run for re-election due to a difficult battle with cancer. * Michelle Litjens (R– Appleton), representing District 56 since

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, did not run for re-election. * Dan Meyer (R– Eagle River), representing District 34 since 2000, did not run for re-election. * Donna J. Seidel (D– Wausau), representing District 85 since 2004, did not run for re-election. * Richard Spanbauer (R– Oshkosh), representing District 53 since

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, did not run for re-election. *

Tony Staskunas Anthony J. Staskunas (born January 3, 1961) is an American Democratic politician and lawyer. Biography Born in West Allis, Wisconsin, Staskunas graduated from Nathan Hale High School in West Allis. He received his bachelor's degree from Univ ...

(D–

West Allis West Allis is a city in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. A suburb of Milwaukee, it is part of the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The population was 60,325 at the 2020 census, making it the eleventh-most populous city in Wisconsin. His ...

), representing District 15 since 1996, did not run for re-election. * Robert L. Turner (D– Racine), representing District 61 since 1990, did not run for re-election due to

redistricting Redistricting in the United States is the process of drawing electoral district boundaries. For the United States House of Representatives, and state legislatures, redistricting occurs after each ten-year census. The U.S. Constitution in Art ...

which reshaped his district. * Karl Van Roy (R–

Howard Howard is a masculine given name derived from the English surname Howard. ''The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names'' notes that "the use of this surname as a christian name is quite recent and there seems to be no particular reason for ...

), representing District 90 since 2002, did not run for re-election. * Bob Ziegelbauer (I– Manitowoc), representing District 25 since 1992, did not run for re-election.

Seeking other office

* Elizabeth M. Coggs (D–

), representing District 10 since

, ran for state Senate in the 6th Senate district, but lost the primary. * David Cullen (D–

), representing District 13 since 1990, was elected to the

Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors is the legislative branch of the government of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Supervisors are elected to the board in nonpartisan elections. There are 18 supervisors. The county board has seve ...

in the 2014 Spring election. * Jeff Fitzgerald (R– Horicon), representing District 39 since 2000, and the incumbent speaker, ran for

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

, but lost the primary.Jeff Fitzgerald to run for US Senate
thirdage.com, October 11, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2014.Vaccino, Steve

''The New York Times'', August 15, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2014. * Louis Molepske (D– Stevens Point), representing District 71 since 2003, ran for Portage County district attorney, and won the election. *

Mark Pocan Mark William Pocan ( ; born August 14, 1964) is an American politician and businessman serving as the U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district since 2013. The district is based in the state capital, Madison. A member of t ...

(D– Madison), representing District 78 since 1998, ran for U.S. House of Representatives in

Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in southern Wisconsin, covering Dane County, Iowa County, Lafayette County, Sauk County and Green County, as well as portions of ...

, and won the election. *

Tom Tiffany Thomas P. Tiffany (born December 30, 1957) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Wisconsin's 7th congressional district since winning a special election in 2020. A member of the Republican Party, he prev ...

(R– Hazelhurst), representing District 35 since 2010, ran for state Senate in the 12th Senate district, and won the election.

Vacated

* Jerry Petrowski (R–

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

) resigned from District 86 after his election as state senator. * Barbara Toles (D–

) resigned from District 17 on July 2, 2012.

Election results

Notes

References

External links

Wisconsin Elections Commission
* * * * (State affiliate of the U.S.

League of Women Voters The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a nonpartisan American nonprofit political organization. Founded in 1920, its ongoing major activities include Voter registration, registering voters, providing voter information, boosting voter turnout and adv ...

) {{Wisconsin

State Assembly