The 1996 Wisconsin Senate election were held on Tuesday, November 5, 1996. Sixteen of the 33 seats in 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 ...

were up for election—the even-numbered districts. At the time, Democrats held 17 seats while the Republicans held 16, having lost their majority only months prior due to the recalling of Senator

George Petak George Anthony Petak Jr. (November 6, 1949 – December 24, 2024) was an American Republican politician and political consultant from Racine, Wisconsin. He served five and a half years in the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 21st Sen ...

from office.

Summary

Close races

* * * *

Outgoing incumbents

Retiring

* Joseph F. Andrea (D–

Kenosha Kenosha () is a city in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in Wisconsin, with a population of 99,986 at the 2020 census. Situated on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan, Ke ...

), representing district 22 since

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

, decided to retire.

Recall election

Background

In October 1995, Senator, George Petak, faced controversy when he changed his vote on a funding bill for the

Miller Park American Family Field is a retractable roof stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 94 in Wisconsin, Interstate 94 and Brewers Boulevard, it is the ballpark of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Brewe ...

stadium. Miller Park was being planned to replace the forty-year-old

Milwaukee County Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Opened in 1953 Milwaukee Braves season, 1953, it was primarily a baseball park for Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves and later the Milwaukee Brewers. It was also ...

and was being pushed by Republican

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 ...

Tommy Thompson Tommy George Thompson (born November 19, 1941) is an American politician who served as the 19th United States secretary of Health and Human Services from 2001 to 2005 in the Presidency of George W. Bush, cabinet of President of the United State ...

and

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

owner and future-

Commissioner of Baseball The commissioner of baseball is the chief executive officer of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the associated Minor League Baseball (MiLB) – a constellation of leagues and clubs known as " organized baseball". Under the direction of the commiss ...

Bud Selig Allan Huber "Bud" Selig (; born July 30, 1934) is an American baseball executive who currently serves as the commissioner emeritus of baseball. Previously, he served as the ninth commissioner of baseball from 1998 to 2015. He initially served a ...

. Petak had promised his constituents that he would vote against the bill, but changed his mind based on the belief that the Brewers would leave Wisconsin if a new stadium wasn't built. Petak's change in vote supported a 0.1% increase in sales tax for five counties in the vicinity of the proposed stadium, which included Petak's home county of Racine. His actions caused outrage and frustration in his home district, and local Democrats were energized to collect signatures for a recall petition. After collecting 15,050 signatures, or 130% of the required 11,577 signatures, the recall was certified on March 26, 1996, and a recall election was ordered for June.

Petition

Results

Nine months after his vote on the stadium tax, Petak became the first Wisconsin state legislator to be removed from office in a recall election, when he was defeated by Democratic State Representative Kimberly Plache. As a result of the recall, control of the state Senate flipped to Democratic control for the rest of the session.

Results summary

{, class="wikitable sortable" ! colspan="1" rowspan="2" , Dist. ! colspan="4" , Incumbent ! colspan="2" , This race , - valign="bottom" !Member !Party !First elected !Status !Candidates !Results , - ! 02 , , , Rep. , align="center" , 1987 , Incumbent Running , *

Robert Cowles Robert Lewis Cowles III (born July 31, 1950) is a retired American Republican Party (United States), Republican politician from Green Bay, Wisconsin. He served 38 years as a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 2nd Senat ...

(Rep.) 62.92% *Patricia Buss (Dem.) 37.08% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 04 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1988 , Incumbent Running , *

Gwen Moore Gwendolynne Sophia Moore (born April 18, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. In 2016, Moore was elected to serve as caucus whip of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th United States Congre ...

(Dem.) 100% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 06 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1980 , Incumbent Running , * Gary George (Dem.) 100% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 08 , , , Rep. , align="center" , 1992 , Incumbent Running , , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 10 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1992 , Incumbent Running , * Alice Clausing (Dem.) 54.12% *Jay Griggs (Rep.) 45.88% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 12 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1990 , Incumbent Running , *

Roger Breske Roger M. Breske (November 8, 1938April 3, 2012) was an American businessman and Democratic politician from Shawano County, Wisconsin. He was a member of the Wisconsin Senate from 1990 through 2008, representing much of northern Wisconsin. He t ...

(Dem.) 57.39% *Nancy Levanetz (Rep.) 42.57% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 14 , , , Rep. , align="center" , 1995 , Incumbent Running , * Robert Welch (Rep.) 100% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 16 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1984 , Incumbent Running , , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 18 , , , Rep. , align="center" , 1987 , Incumbent Running , * Carol Buettner (Rep.) 73.77% *Fred Frederickson (Dem.) 26.23% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 20 , , , Rep. , align="center" , 1993 , Incumbent Running , , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 22 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1984 , , Incumbent Retiring , *

Robert Wirch Robert W. Wirch (born November 16, 1943) is an American Democratic politician from Kenosha County, Wisconsin. He is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 22nd Senate district since 1997. He previously served two terms in t ...

(Dem.) 56.81% *Bruno Rizzo (Rep.) 43.19% , , New member elected. Democratic hold , - ! 24 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1995 , Incumbent Running , , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 26 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1962 , Incumbent Running , *

Fred Risser Fred A. Risser (born May 5, 1927) is a retired American politician and attorney who served in the Wisconsin Legislature from 1957 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party from Madison, Wisconsin, Risser holds ...

(Rep.) 100% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 28 , , , Dem. , align="center" , 1976 , Incumbent Running , * Lynn Adelman (Dem.) 52.04% *Lisa Soik (Rep.) 47.96% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 30 , , , Rep. , align="center" , 1992 , Incumbent Running , * Gary Drzewiecki (Rep.) 51.79% *

Barbara Lawton Barbara Lawton (born July 5, 1951) is an American businesswoman and politician from Green Bay, Wisconsin who is the President and CEO of Americans for Campaign Reform. A member of the Democratic Party, Lawton was the 43rd Lieutenant Governor ...

(Dem.) 48.21% , Incumbent re-elected , - ! 32 , , , Rep. , align="center" , 1984 , Incumbent Running , * Brian Rude (Rep.) 75.10% *David Wulf (Dem.) 24.90% {{endplainlist , Incumbent re-elected

Notes

References

1996 Wisconsin Senate election, Wisconsin 1996 Wisconsin elections Wisconsin Senate elections November 1996 in the United States