The 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the

governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

. Incumbent Democratic Governor

Tony Evers Anthony Steven Evers ( ; born November 5, 1951) is an American politician and educator serving since 2019 as the 46th governor of Wisconsin. A member of the Democratic Party, he served from 2009 to 2019 as Wisconsin's 26th superintendent of p ...

is eligible to run for election to a third term but has not announced if he will do so. This will be one of five Democratic-held governorships up for election in 2026 in a state won by President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

in the

2024 presidential election This is a list of elections that were held in 2024. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calendar of elections around the world. *2024 United Nations Security Council election *2024 national electoral calendar *2024 local electoral ...

and the state with the closest presidential margin of victory, just under one percentage point.

Background

Wisconsin is considered to be a

purple Purple is a color similar in appearance to violet light. In the RYB color model historically used in the arts, purple is a secondary color created by combining red and blue pigments. In the CMYK color model used in modern printing, purple is ...

state at the federal and state levels with a uniquely competitive track record (presidential races decided by less than a point in

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 ...

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

, Senate races decided by roughly a point in

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

and

, a governor’s race decided by a point in

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

). The past two Wisconsin elections featured split outcomes, with Democrats winning for governor and Republicans for Senate in

, and Democrats winning for Senate and Republicans for president in

. Wisconsin has voted with the winner of the last five presidential elections, and in 2024 had the second highest voter turnout levels in the country behind Minnesota and one of the biggest turnout increases in the country. Both parties have seen success in the state in recent years. Republicans narrowly control both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature and hold a supermajority in Wisconsin's

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

delegation. However, Democrats control most statewide executive offices and have won the last two gubernatorial races. The incumbent

Governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

, Democrat

, was first elected in

when he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Scott Walker. He was re-elected by a slightly larger margin in 2022, defeating conservative businessman Tim Michels.

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

*Zachary Roper, college student and nominee for

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 ...

District 84 in 2024

Publicly expressed interest

, incumbent

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 ...

(2019–present) ''(decision expected in mid-2025)''

Potential

* David Crowley,

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County () is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, containing about 1 ...

Executive (2020–present) *

Sarah Godlewski Sarah Ann Godlewski (born November 9, 1981) is an American businesswoman and politician serving since March 2023 as the 31st secretary of state of Wisconsin. She was appointed secretary of state by Governor Tony Evers after the previous secretar ...

, Wisconsin Secretary of State (2023–present), former Wisconsin State Treasurer (2019–2023), and candidate for U.S. Senate in

Cavalier Johnson Cavalier "Chevy" Johnson (born November 5, 1986) is an American politician who has served as the 45th mayor of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served on the Milwaukee Common Council from 2016 t ...

Mayor of Milwaukee This is a list of mayors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Following the election of Socialist Emil Seidel as mayor of Milwaukee in 1910, Wisconsin legislators passed a bill in 1912 to declare most local offices across the state as officially non-parti ...

(2021–present) *

Josh Kaul Joshua Lautenschlager Kaul (born February 2, 1981) is an American lawyer, politician and member of the Democratic Party who has served as the 45th Attorney General of Wisconsin since January 2019. Early life and education Kaul is the son of ...

Attorney General of Wisconsin The attorney general of Wisconsin is a constitutional officer in the executive branch of the government of Wisconsin, government of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Forty-five individuals have held the office of attorney general since statehood. The ...

(2019–present) *

Chris Larson Christopher J. Larson (born November 12, 1980) is an American Democratic politician and a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing southeast Milwaukee County since 2011. He was Senate minority leader from 2013 through 2014, and currently ...

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from the 7th district (2011–present) and candidate for U.S. Senate in

* Tom Nelson, Outagamie County Executive (2011–present), nominee for lieutenant governor in

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 ...

, nominee for in

, and candidate for U.S. Senate in

* Sara Rodriguez,

Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

(2023–present) * Kelda Roys,

from the 26th district (2021–present) and candidate for governor in

* Ben Wikler, chair of the

Wisconsin Democratic Party The Democratic Party of Wisconsin is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is currently headed by chair Ben Wikler. Important issues for the state party include support for workers and unions, strong public edu ...

(2019–present) and candidate for

Democratic National Committee The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is the principal executive leadership board of the United States's Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party. According to the party charter, it has "general responsibility for the affairs of the ...

chair in

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Declined

* Tip McGuire,

state representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

from the 64th district (2019–present) ''(endorsed Evers)''

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

*Josh Schoemann, Washington County Executive (2020–present)

Publicly expressed interest

*Bill Berrien, manufacturing executive * Patrick Testin, state senator from the 24th district (2017–present) and candidate for lieutenant governor in

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 ...

, U.S. representative for (2020–present) ''(decision expected by August 2025)''

Potential

Mary Felzkowski Mary Jean Felzkowski (''née'' Behling; born September 25, 1963) is an American businesswoman and Republican politician from northern Wisconsin. She is a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing Wisconsin's 12th Senate district since 2021. ...

, president 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 ...

(2025–present) from the 12th district (2021–present) *Eric Hovde, bank executive, nominee for U.S. Senate in

and candidate in

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 ...

*Will Martin, former director of strategic workforce initiatives for the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development and candidate for lieutenant governor in

Declined

*Bill McCoshen,

WTMJ-TV WTMJ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by the E.W. Scripps Company alongside Kenosha-licensed Ion Television station WPXE-TV (channel 55). WTMJ-TV's studios are ...

host and owner of the Janesville Jets *

Bryan Steil Bryan George Steil ( ; born March 3, 1981) is an American attorney, businessman, and Republican politician from Janesville, Wisconsin. He is a member of the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 1st congressiona ...

, U.S. representative for (2019–present) * Scott Walker, former governor (2011–2019)

Minor parties and independents

Green Party

Declared

*Jill Ferguson, retiree

Independents

Filed paperwork

*Alexander Kent

General election

Predictions

References

{{2026 United States elections Wisconsin gubernatorial elections

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

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 ...

Background

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

Declined

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

Declined

Minor parties and independents

Green Party

Declared

Independents

Filed paperwork

General election

Predictions

See also

References