On Tuesday, August 9, 2022, Wisconsinites went to the polls to narrow the field of candidates in three of the top races for the state of Wisconsin. Those include races for Governor, Lt. Governor and Ron Johnson’s US Senate seat. Here are the results:
The Governor’s race:
In the race for Wisconsin’s highest office, Republican Tim Michels will face off against incumbent Democrat Gov. Tony Evers. Michels fought a packed race against other Republican candidates including former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. Both Michels and Kleefisch falsely claimed the 2020 presidential election was rigged, a lie former President Donald Trump has pushed in an effort to overturn his loss to Joe Biden. Federal and state election officials and Trump’s own attorney general have said there is no credible evidence the election was tainted. The former president’s allegations of fraud were also roundly rejected by courts, including by judges Trump appointed.
Michels said decertifying the results of the 2020 contest was not a priority but said “everything will be on the table.” He supports other changes to voting and elections, including dismantling the bipartisan commission that runs Wisconsin elections.
The U.S. Senate race:
The other highly watched race has been the race for Sen. Ron Johnson’s U.S. Senate seat. Johnson, who promised during his last run not to seek re-election, reneged on said promise post-Donald Trump’s loss. In response, the race became packed with Democratic candidates seeking a chance to unseat Johnson in the fall. Some of those who were contending for a spot were Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, Sarah Godlewski, Tom Nelson, Steven Olikara, Darrell Williams, Kou Lee, and Peter Peckarsky. Barnes, who had been the front runner from the start, ended up beating the other candidates by 77.82 percent, and winning the chance to unseat Sen. Johnson.
Lt. Governor’s race:
With Barnes vacating the office of Lt. Governor to focus on the race for U.S. Senate, that meant the office was open to be filled by either a Democrat or Republican. The two Democratic candidates running were State Representative Sara Rodriguez, who beat out business leader Peng Her. Rodriguez will face the Republican winner Roger Roth. Roth, who beat out six other Republican candidates, is a State Senator who represents District 19.
Other races of note:
In the Secretary of State race, Democrat Doug La Follette will face Republican Amy Loudenbeck.
Democrat Aaron Richardson will face off against Republican John Leiber for the office of State Treasurer.
Mark Chambers won the seat for Milwaukee Common Council District 2, which was formerly held by Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson.
In the race for Milwaukee County Sheriff, history was made when Chief Deputy Denita Ball became the first female African American to win the office of Milwaukee Sheriff.
All candidates that won their respective primaries this week will face off in the General Election on Tuesday, November 8, 2022.
