The 2020 Wisconsin Senate elections were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020, at the Fall general election in

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

. 16 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. Before the election, Republicans held 18 seats, Democrats held 13, and two were vacant. Of the seats up for election, seven were held by Republicans, seven were held by Democrats, one was vacated by a Democratic resignation, and one was vacated by a Republican resignation. The

primary election Primary elections or primaries are elections held to determine which candidates will run in an upcoming general election. In a partisan primary, a political party selects a candidate. Depending on the state and/or party, there may be an "open pr ...

was held on August 11, 2020. Republicans maintained control of the Senate but fell one seat short of a

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

, defeating one Democratic incumbent and winning an open seat previously held by a Democrat. After the elections, Republicans were set to enter the

105th Wisconsin Legislature The One Hundred Fifth Wisconsin Legislature convened from to in regular session. The Legislature also held two extraordinary sessions and six special sessions during the term. Senators representing even-numbered districts were newly electe ...

with 21 of 33 seats, but one member resigned due to election to another office, leaving them with 20 seats at the start of the legislative term.

Results summary

Close races

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

Outgoing incumbents

Retiring

Dave Craig David Craig (born March 16, 1979) is an American Republican Party (United States), Republican Party politician and former state legislator. He served four years in the Wisconsin State Senate and six years in the Wisconsin State Assembly.

(R– Vernon), representing District 28 since

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, announced that he would not seek reelection to a second term in order to get "a break from public life." * Dave Hansen (D– Green Bay), representing District 30 since

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

, announced in January 2020 that he would be retiring to spend more time with his family. *

Mark F. Miller Mark F. Miller (born February 1, 1943) is a retired American politician. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, he served 16 years in the Wisconsin Senate (2005–2021) and was majority leader in 2012. He also served 6 years in the W ...

(D– Monona), representing District 16 since

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, announced in January 2020 that he would not be running for reelection. *

Luther Olsen Luther S. Olsen (born February 26, 1951) is an Americans, American politician and former member of the Wisconsin Legislature. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he served 16 years in the Wisconsin State Senate (2005–2021) and ...

(R–

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Within the boundaries of the historic West Riding of Yorkshire, the ...

), representing District 14 since

, announced in February 2020 that he would not seek reelection, stating, "there comes a time in life when it’s time to move on." *

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 ...

(D–

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States * Madison (footballer), Brazilian footballer Places in the United States Populated places * Madi ...

), representing District 26 since

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, announced in March 2020 that he would be stepping down from the Legislature. Upon his retirement, Risser was the longest-serving lawmaker in American history, having served in the Wisconsin State Assembly and Senate for 64 years.

Vacated office

* Jennifer Shilling (D–

La Crosse La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 20 ...

), who had represented District 32 since

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 served as Minority Leader since 2015, resigned her seat on May 15, 2020 in order to explore "unspecified career opportunities." *

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), who had represented District 12 since

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, left office on May 18, 2020, after winning the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

for

Wisconsin's 7th congressional district Wisconsin's 7th congressional district is a congressional district of the United States House of Representatives in northwestern and central Wisconsin; it is the largest congressional district in the state geographically, covering 20 counties (i ...

Race summary

Predictions

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

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Wisconsin Senate elections