2018 Wisconsin Attorney General election

2018 Wisconsin Attorney General election

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Nominee Josh Kaul Brad Schimel Party Democratic Republican Popular vote 1,305,902 1,288,712 Percentage 49.41% 48.76%

County results Congressional district results Kaul:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80% Schimel:     40–50%     50–60%     60–70%     70–80%

Attorney General before election Brad Schimel Republican Elected Attorney General Josh Kaul Democratic

The 2018 Wisconsin Attorney General election took place on November 6, 2018, to elect the attorney general of Wisconsin.

Republican incumbent Brad Schimel, first elected in 2014, ran for re-election to a second term. ^[1] Voting rights attorney and former federal prosecutor Josh Kaul, the Democratic nominee, narrowly defeated Schimel in the general election. ^[2] Terry Larson, the Constitution Party nominee, also garnered around 2% of the vote, greater than the vote difference between Schimel and Kaul.

Republican primary

Incumbent Attorney General Brad Schimel ran unopposed in the Republican primary. ^[3]

Republican primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Republican	Brad Schimel (incumbent)	394,799	99.77%
	Republican	Write-in	896	0.23%
Total votes			395,695	100.0%

Democratic primary

Attorney Josh Kaul won the Democratic nomination unopposed. ^[4]

Democratic primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Kaul	432,954	99.65%
	Democratic	Write-in	1,509	0.35%
Total votes			434,463	100.0%

Constitution primary

Terry Larson won the Constitution Party nomination unopposed. ^[5]

Constitution primary results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Constitution	Terry Larson	354	100.0%
Total votes			354	100.0%

General election

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size	Margin of error	Brad Schimel (R)	Josh Kaul (D)	Undecided
Marquette University [6]	October 24–28, 2018	1,154 LV	± 3.2%	47%	45%	8%
		1,400 RV	± 3.0%	45%	43%	12%
Marquette University [7]	October 3–7, 2018	799 LV	± 3.9%	47%	43%	10%
		1,000 RV	± 3.6%	45%	41%	14%
Marquette University [8]	September 12–16, 2018	614 LV	± 4.4%	48%	41%	11%
		800 RV	± 4.0%	47%	40%	13%

Results

Kaul won the election by a 0.65% margin. ^{[9] [10]}

Wisconsin Attorney General election, 2018

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Josh Kaul	1,305,902	49.41%
	Republican	Brad Schimel (incumbent)	1,288,712	48.76%
	Constitution	Terry Larson	47,038	1.78%
	Write-in		1,199	0.05%
Total votes			2,642,851	100.00%
	Democratic gain from Republican

By congressional district

Despite losing the state, Schimel won five of eight congressional districts. ^[11]

District	Schimel	Kaul	Representative
1st	55%	43%	Paul Ryan
2nd	30%	69%	Mark Pocan
3rd	48%	50%	Ron Kind
4th	24%	74%	Gwen Moore
5th	62%	37%	Jim Sensenbrenner
6th	57%	41%	Glenn Grothman
7th	57%	41%	Sean Duffy
8th	56%	42%	Mike Gallagher

See also

• 2018 United States attorney general elections
• 2018 Wisconsin elections

References

1. DeFour, Matthew (May 14, 2016). "Glenn Grothman cites transgender bathroom legal battle as sign of 'moral decline'". Racine Journal Times . Retrieved November 4, 2016.
2. Beck, Molly (November 7, 2018). "Josh Kaul declares victory over Brad Schimel in attorney general's race". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
3. "WI Attorney General – R Primary". Our Campaigns. September 4, 2018. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
4. "WI Attorney General – D Primary". Our Campaigns. September 4, 2018. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
5. "Terry Larson". Ballotpedia. Archived from the original on November 7, 2018. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
6. Marquette University
7. Marquette University
8. Marquette University
9. "WI Attorney General". Our Campaigns. December 3, 2018. Archived from the original on October 24, 2020. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
10. "2018 Attorney General General Election Results". Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Elections. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021. Retrieved June 18, 2021.
11. "DRA 2020". Daves Redistricting. Retrieved August 18, 2024.