Election wrap: National, State, and local referendum

Former President Donald Trump won the key state of Wisconsin on Wednesday, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in a critical battleground. The win delivers 10 Electoral College votes to Trump. He narrowly won Wisconsin in 2016, becoming the first Republican since Ronald Reagan to capture the state. He lost it in 2020 to Democrat Joe Biden. Both Harris and Trump made Wisconsin a central focus of their campaigns. In 2020, Trump attempted to overturn his loss in the state through lawsuits and recounts, but failed. The Associated Press declared Trump the winner at 5:34 a.m. EST. The race between

Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin and Republican challenger Eric Hovde for one of Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate seats is still too close to call. Sen. Tammy Baldwin declared victory early Wednesday morning, after Milwaukee’s final tally of its absentee ballots pushed her to a nearly 16,000-vote lead over GOP businessman Eric Hovde. Baldwin’s campaign said it expected that margin to grow as communities such as Oshkosh and Racine reported their final results. With 97% of precincts reporting, Baldwin had 49.2% of the vote, compared to Hovde’s 48.7%. That was a margin of just less than 16,000 votes.

#Update# The U.S. Senate between Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Republican Eric Hovde appeared to be close enough early Wednesday to allow for a recount.

Rep. Derrick Van Orden declared victory Tuesday in the race for Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District. Van Orden was projected Tuesday by the Associated Press to have eearned 51.6% of the popular vote with 93% of votes counted over challenger Democratic candidate Rebecca Cooke. He first won in 2022. Van Orden ran on a platform to lower consumer prices and improve public safety and border security. The 3rd Congressional District encompasses most of western and parts of central Wisconsin.

Taking a look at the results of Wisconsin’s house races from Election Day. In the 2nd Congressional District incumbent Democrat Mark Pocan held his seat over Republican Challenger Erik Olsen. In the 5th, Republican Incumbent Scott Fitzgerald held off Democratic opponent Ben Steinhoff. Another Republican incumbent held his seat in the 6th Congressional District as Glenn Grothman topped Democratic challenger John Zarbano. In the open 8th race Republican Tony Wied (weed) defeated Democrat Kristin Lyerly. Democrat Gwen Moore, the incumbent, won her race in the 4th Congressional District against Republican Tim Rogers. In the 1st Congressional race Republican incumbent Bryan Steil topped Democratic opponent Peter Barca.

Incumbent Republican, Tony Kurtz has been called the winner of the race for the 41st Assembly District in Wisconsin. Kurtz was first elected to the Assembly in 2018, is an organic grain farmer and U.S. Army veteran of two foreign wars. He serves on the Joint Finance Committee. Kurtz was drawn out of the 50th District he currently represents. Kurtz defeated Democratic challenger Julia Henley, who ran on a platform of health care and education access, reproductive health freedom, and conservancy.

Incumbent Republican Todd Novak has been called the winner of the race for the 51st Assembly District. Novak was first elected to the Assembly in 2014, is a member of four committees, including the Chaair of the Committee on Local Government. He is a former newpaper editor and served as the Mayor of Dodgeville for over a decade. Novak defeated democratic challenger, Elizabeth Grabe, a real estate agent and farm manger by 1,160 votes. The 51st Assembly District covers all of Iowa and Lafayette counties as well as parts of Grant and Dane Counties.

Incumbent Republican Travis Tranel has been called the winner of the race for the 49th Assembly District. Tranel was first elected to the Assembly in 2010, and serves on three committees, including as the Chair of the Committee on Agriculture. He is a small business owner and dairy farmer from Cuba City. Tranel defeated Democratic challenger Scott Walker (not the former governor), a doctor who runs a medical clinic. The 49th Assembly District covers all of Crawford County and most of Grant County.

Following the final results in Assembly District 40, Karen DeSanto will be the next representative to the State Assembly.

Voters in the Ithaca School District supported their community school in an operational referendum in yesterday’s (Tuesday) election. The District asked voters to approve an operational referendum in the amount of $1.3 million each year for four years. The referendum passed with 655 yes votes to 304 no votes.