Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tony Evers (L) and lieutenant governor candidate Mandela Barnes claim victory at their watch party early Wednesday at the Orpheum Theater in Madison, Wis. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP Wisconsin Democrat Tony Evers ousts Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker



Democrat Tony Evers defeated Republican Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin on Tuesday, denying Walker a third term after years of failed attempts to beat the prominent governor.

Evers, the state schools superintendent, had 49.6 percent of the vote to Walker’s 48.5 percent when the Associated Press called the race with 99 percent of precincts reporting.


Walker had made a habit of hanging on in tight races in the past. After winning his first governor’s race with 52 percent of the vote in 2010, Walker faced a recall election in 2012 after signing legislation that curtailed the power of public sector unions and won with 53 percent of the vote. He then got 52 percent again as Democrats sought to unseat him in the 2014 midterms.

In this election, though, Walker spent much of the year warning supporters that a potential “blue wave” was on the horizon and that complacence would mean defeat, as public polls showed a close race all year. He pointed to his battles with labor unions and state tax cuts as accomplishments that had earned him another term after a failed run for president in 2015.

Evers hammered Walker on state education funding and Medicaid, pledging to expand the low-income public health insurance program if he was elected. He proposed new infrastructure investments and criminal justice reform measures.

After President Donald Trump won Wisconsin in the 2016 election, national Democrats poured into the state to try to flip it back in 2018. Former Vice President Joe Biden, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee were among the supporters who came to campaign for Evers during the general election. Trump also came to the state to support Walker.

