By Ana Martinez-Ortiz
Governor-Elect Tony Evers
In case it wasn’t clear by all the advertisements, including billboards, commercials and visits by former President Barack Obama and former Vice President Joe Biden, this past Tuesday was Election Day. All across the nation, people exercised their constitutional rights and voted.
Although it was a harrowing election for some, for others it was inspiring. Wisconsin is known for being a swing state, which historically turned red during the 2016 presidential election. However, these midterm results swung the state back to blue.
Tony Evers and Mandela Barnes were elected for governor and lieutenant governor respectively, effectively ending Scott Walker’s attempt at a third term in office. According to the New York Times, Evers received 49.6 percent of the votes and Walker received 48.4 percent. Although, it was a tight race until the very end, no recount was held.
Walker had previously signed the Wisconsin Recount law into action which prohibits candidates from requesting a recount if the difference in percentage is one or more.
In Milwaukee county, 262,101 people voted for Evers. During election night, Evers stayed active on Twitter and encouraged people to vote if they hadn’t already. After his victory was announced, he tweeted out a thanks to Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch for their service to the state.
On Nov. 7 he tweeted, “Today marks a new day for our state. A change is coming, Wisconsin!”
Lt. Governor-Elect Mandela Barnes
Barnes likewise tweeted throughout the night and commented on the craziness of it all. In a “thank you” tweet, he remarked on how this race came down to the wire. “Now it’s time to make a difference,” he added.
“Tonight’s win is a victory for all of Wisconsin,” said Martha Laning the chair of the Democratic party of Wisconsin.
She added, “Wisconsinites have voted for a vision of our state where everyone has affordable, quality health care, where our schools are fully funded and where every hardworking Wisconsinite has the opportunity to get ahead.”
Evers and Barnes weren’t the only ones who saw a victory that night. Senator Tammy Baldwin was reelected as senator. She received 55.4 percent of the vote, while her opponent Leah Vukimer only received 44.6 percent of the vote. More people voted for Baldwin than they did Evers, according to the New York Times results. With exactly 280,402 votes, Baldwin took her seat.
Baldwin tweeted, “I will always stand up for you, and I couldn’t be more grateful to be your Senator for six more years. From the bottom of my heart: thank you, Wisconsin.”
Like Evers, she thanked Walker for his service. She also gave personal thanks to the many parents, farmers and students she spoke with while campaigning.
In terms of house seats, Democrats won three and Republicans won five. Democrats won seats in districts two, three and four. Congresswoman Gwen Moore maintained her seat in district four and received 76 percent of the votes. However, Repbulican Candidate Bryan Steil won U.S. House District 1 and will take Speaker Paul Ryan’s seat.
Democratic nominee, Josh Kaul is the Attorney General Elect winning with a narrow 49.4 percent of the vote. Doug La Follette will be the new secretary of state and Sarah Godlewski will be the new state treasurer.
In the state senate, the Democrats won six seats and the Republicans won 11. In the state assembly, Democrats won 35 seats and Republicans won 63.
Wisconsin is expected to see a lot of change ahead and hopefully that includes fewer potholes.