Insider
Wisconsin is holding key Senate and gubernatorial primaries on Tuesday. Polls in the state closed at 8 p.m. local time and 9 p.m. ET.
The races and the stakes:
US Senate
Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes is set to take on Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, setting up one of November's marquee US Senate races.
Johnson, a former plastics executive and political ally of former President Donald Trump, has compiled a reliably conservative voting record during his Senate career.
Democrats, still smarting from Johnson's dual wins over former Sen. Russ Feingold in 2010 and 2016, have been angling to defeat him the lawmaker for years.
Barnes, a longtime frontrunner in the Democratic primary, basically wrapped up the nomination after his leading competitors ended their campaigns last month. The former candidates, which included state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson, and Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, all endorsed Barnes after their respective exits from the contest.
Barnes was first elected to statewide office on a ticket with now-Democratic Gov. Tony Evers in 2018. He would be Wisconsin's first Black United States senator if he were to defeat Johnson in November.
US House
3rd District
Democratic Rep. Ron Kind, a moderate who has held the seat since 1997, is not running for reelection. The district is anchored by Eau Claire and La Crosse in the state's Driftless region.
National and local Republicans have rallied around retired Navy SEAL Derrick Van Orden — who narrowly lost to Kind in 2020 — to run in the fall.
Democrats have four candidates: La Crosse City Councilman Mark Neumann, state Sen. Brad Pfaff, retired CIA officer Deb McGrath, and businesswoman Rebecca Cooke.
Governor
Incumbent Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is running for reelection to a second term in what is expected to be a competitive contest in one of the nation's most closely-divided states. He will not face a primary opponent on Tuesday.
In 2018, Evers narrowly defeated conservative star Scott Walker, a former 2016 Republican presidential candidate who was running for a third term as governor.
The Republican field includes former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, construction executive Tim Michels, and state Rep. Timothy Ramthun.
Despite Kleefisch's early status as a frontrunner in the race and her ties to Walker, Trump threw his support behind Michels — who previously lost to Feingold in the 2004 Wisconsin Senate election.
Lieutenant Governor
In Wisconsin, parties choose their respective nominees for lieutenant governor separately from the gubernatorial nominees, but the candidates run on a ticket together in the general election.
With Barnes in the Senate race, Democrats have an open-seat contest to pick a running mate for Evers. The candidates include state Rep. Sara Rodriguez and nonprofit founder Peng Her.
The GOP primary features eight candidates: state Sens. Roger Roth and Patrick Testin; Lancaster Mayor David Varnam; conservative activist David King; former state workforce development official Will Martin; Army veteran Cindy Werner; businessman Jonathan Wichmann; and insurance agent and entertainer Kyle Yudes.
Secretary of State
Longtime Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette faces one primary challenger — Dane County Democratic Chair Alexia Sabor.
The GOP slate includes state Rep. Amy Loudenbeck, former Menasha town supervisor Jay Schroeder, and conservative activist Justin Schmidtka.
State Treasurer
With Godlewski having declined to run for reelection in favor of her now-suspended Senate campaign, the race is wide open.
The Democratic primary candidates include West Allis Alderman Angelito Tenorio, Fitchburg Mayor Aaron Richardson, and radiologist Gillian Battino.
GOP candidates on the ballot include former Ron Johnson aide Orlando Owens and attorney John Leiber.
State Legislature
Since 2019, Republican House Speaker Ron Vos has sought to block Evers from enacting his agenda, using his post to stymie the Democratic administration.
In the 2020 presidential election, President Joe Biden won Wisconsin by roughly 20,000 votes, a victory that Trump has repeatedly questioned Trump despite no evidence backing his claims of electoral fraud.
Still, Trump has pressured Republican leaders in the state, including Vos, to "decertify" Biden's 2020 win, after needling them over an audit of the results.
The GOP inaction on relitigating the 2020 results has continued to frustrate Trump, who recently endorsed Adam Steen, a GOP state House candidate looking to unseat Vos.
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