The 2018 Wisconsin gubernatorial election took place on November 6, 2018. It occurred concurrently with a Senate election in the state, elections to the state's U.S. House seats, and various other elections. Incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker sought a third term, and was challenged by Democratic candidate and then-Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, as well as Libertarian Phil Anderson and independent Maggie Turnbull. Evers, along with his running mate Mandela Barnes, managed to defeat Walker and Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch in a closely fought and widely watched race, ending the state's Republican trifecta.
The result was considered "too close to call" on election night, with Walker and Evers being separated by a mere few hundred votes for much of the night as counties reported their results. Shortly after midnight on November 7, Milwaukee County reported around 46,000 uncounted absentee ballots. From those ballots, Evers received 38,674 votes, or 84% of the total, and Walker 7,181, giving Evers a narrow lead. The race was called for him shortly after. As of 2026, this is the only Wisconsin gubernatorial election since 2002 where the incumbent was defeated.
Wisconsin was the only state in the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle to elect a Democratic governor while voting more Republican than the national average. With a margin of 1.1%, this election was also the second-closest race of the 2018 gubernatorial election cycle, behind only the election in Florida. Walker was one of two incumbent governors to be defeated for re-election in 2018, the other being Republican Bruce Rauner in neighboring Illinois, who had lost decisively to J. B. Pritzker.
As previously mentioned, the deep purple state of Wisconsin hosted among the most competitive contests for governor in the nation, with Evers edging out Walker by just around 1.1%. He received 49.5% of the statewide vote to Walker's 48.4%, making it the closest gubernatorial election in the state since 1964. It also marked the first time a Democrat won the state's governor's office since Jim Doyle was re-elected in 2006. Despite a relatively small shift from the 2016 presidential election, in which Donald Trump narrowly flipped the state, to this one, Evers carried seven counties that were won by Trump two years prior: Columbia, Crawford, Grant, Kenosha, Richland, Sauk, and Vernon.
In comparison to the last gubernatorial race (2014), both candidates improved their parties' vote totals; Walker received around 35,000 more votes than he did in 2014, while Evers received over 200,000 more votes than that of Mary Burke, the Democratic nominee in the last election who ultimately lost to Walker by around 5.7%. Evers' 2018 victory margin was significantly lower than that of Democrat Tammy Baldwin in the concurrent Senate election, in which she was re-elected by a double-digit margin in an impressive display of ticket-splitting.
Evers' victory came amidst key Democratic victories in all other statewide races held concurrently, including pickups in the state's attorney general (Josh Kaul) and state treasurer (Sarah Godlewski) races, and a solid re-election for Democrat Doug La Follette as secretary of state.
At the age of 67, Evers became the oldest elected governor of Wisconsin.
Republican primary Governor Candidates Robert Meyer, businessman and candidate for mayor of Sun Prairie in 2007 Scott Walker, incumbent governor
Endorsements
Results
Lieutenant governor Candidates Rebecca Kleefisch, incumbent lieutenant governor
Results
Democratic primary Governor Nominee Tony Evers, superintendent of public instruction of Wisconsin (2009–2019)
Eliminated in primary Matt Flynn, former chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, retired partner at Quarles & Brady and candidate for U.S. Senate in 1986 Mike McCabe, former executive director of Wisconsin Democracy Campaign and candidate for the State Assembly in 1998 Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin and nominee for lieutenant governor in 2012 Josh Pade, lawyer Kelda Helen Roys, former state representative and candidate for WI-02 in 2012 Paul Soglin, mayor of Madison and nominee for WI-02 in 1996 Kathleen Vinehout, state senator and candidate for governor in 2012
Withdrew Mike Crute, liberal talk radio broadcaster (endorsed McCabe) Michele Doolan, businesswoman (endorsed Flynn) Andy Gronik, businessman (remained on ballot; endorsed Roys) Bob Harlow, candidate for CA-18 in 2016 (endorsed Flynn) Kurt Kober, businessman (ran for lieutenant governor) Jeff Rumbaugh, disability rights activist (endorsed McCabe) Dana Wachs, state representative (remained on ballot; endorsed Evers)
Declined Chris Abele, Milwaukee County executive Mark Bakken, businessman Peter Barca, state representative and former U.S. representative Tom Barrett, mayor of Milwaukee, former U.S. representative, nominee for governor in 2010 and 2012, and candidate in 2002 John T. Chisholm, Milwaukee County district attorney (endorsed Flynn) Kevin Conroy, president and CEO of Exact Sciences Timothy Cullen, former state senator Katherine Gehl, former president and CEO of Gehl Foods Gordon Hintz, minority leader of the State Assembly Brett Hulsey, former state representative and candidate for governor in 2014 Ron Kind, U.S. representative James Kreuser, Kenosha County executive Joe Parisi, Dane County executive Mark Pocan, U.S. representative Jennifer Shilling, Democratic leader of the State Senate
Endorsements
Polling Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error TonyEvers MattFlynn AndyGronik* MikeMcCabe MahlonMitchell JoshPade KeldaRoys PaulSoglin KathleenVinehout DanaWachs* Other UndecidedEmerson CollegeEmerson College July 26–28, 2018 282 ± 6.3% 30% 5% – 5% 5% – 7% 5% 10% – – 33%Marist College July 15–19, 2018 466 ± 5.3% 25% 3% 2% 7% 3% 1% 3% 6% 7% 2% <1% 41%Marquette UniversityMarquette University July 11–15, 2018 305 ± 6.6% 31% 5% – 3% 6% 0% 3% 4% 6% – 0% 38%Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 278 ± 6.4% 25% 7% 4% 7% 4% 1% 2% 7% 5% 2% 1% 34%FM3 Research (D)FM3 Research (D) March 16–19, 2018 601 ± 4.0% 30% 6% 2% 4% 6% – 3% 17% 12% 3% – 16%Marquette University February 25 – March 1, 2018 318 ± 7.1% 18% 7% 3% 6% 4% – 0% 9% 5% 4% 1% 44%Public Policy Polling (D) January 8–10, 2018 747 ± 3.6% 29% 5% 2% 5% 5% – 2% 10% 11% 4% – 28%
An asterisk (*) denotes that a candidate withdrew before the primary but remained on the ballot.
Results
Lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes, a former state representative from Milwaukee, defeated opponent Kurt Kober by a 2 to 1 margin for the nomination, becoming the first African American to be nominated by a major party for a Wisconsin gubernatorial ticket.
Candidate
Nominee Mandela Barnes, former state representative, and candidate for state senate in 2016
Eliminated in primary Kurt J. Kober, businessman
Results
Libertarian primary Governor Nominee Phil Anderson, chairman of the Wisconsin Libertarian Party and Libertarian nominee for the U.S. Senate in 2016
Endorsements
Results
Lieutenant governor Nominee Patrick Baird, U.S. Navy veteran
Results
Green primary Governor Nominee Michael White
Withdrew Nick De Leon, pastor (endorsed Democrat Matt Flynn)
Results
Lieutenant governor Nominee Tiffany Anderson
Results
Independent candidates Governor Maggie Turnbull, astrobiologist
Lieutenant governor Wil Losch, Turnbull's running mate
General election Despite the fact that Scott Walker had won three prior races for governor in 2010, 2012, and 2014 by fairly comfortable margins, his bid for a third term was complicated by rising unpopularity due to his policies concerning public education and infrastructure. Walker also faced backlash for a deal his administration made with Taiwanese company Foxconn in 2017 to create jobs in the state in exchange for around $4.5 billion in taxpayer subsidies. In 2018, the deal resulted in around $90 million of funding for roads being diverted to a stretch of I-94 that was set to be near a future Foxconn plant from the rest of state. The poor condition of many roads around the state as well as the lack of work being done to redo them prompted a campaign where potholes were being labeled as “Scott”-holes.
Walker's approval ratings were hobbled further by the unpopularity of Republican U.S. President Donald Trump in Wisconsin. Walker himself sounded the alarm on this several times in early 2018 after Democrats won two special elections to the Wisconsin State Senate in typically Republican districts and an election to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. In April 2018, Walker warned that Wisconsin was "at risk of a blue wave" in November. The Walker campaign generally focused on promoting the popular parts of his record, such as a freeze on tuition at public universities and record low unemployment.
The result was expected to be close, with a record $93 million spent on the race by the two major campaigns and special interest groups from in and out of the state. In the end, Walker was ultimately defeated by Democrat Tony Evers, who garnered a slightly more than 1% margin of victory, as Democrats swept every statewide race up for election.
Predictions SourceRankingAs ofThe Cook Political Report October 26, 2018The Washington Post November 5, 2018FiveThirtyEight November 5, 2018Rothenberg Political Report November 1, 2018Sabato's Crystal Ball November 5, 2018RealClearPolitics November 4, 2018Daily Kos November 5, 2018Fox News November 5, 2018Politico November 5, 2018Governing November 5, 2018
Polling
Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error ScottWalker (R) TonyEvers (D) PhilAnderson (L) Other UndecidedResearch Co. November 1–3, 2018 450 ± 4.6% 44% 45% – 3% 9%Emerson College October 29–31, 2018 604 ± 4.1% 46% 51% – 2% 1%Marquette University October 24–28, 2018 1,154 LV ± 3.2% 47% 47% 3% – 0% 1,400 RV ± 3.0% 47% 44% 5% – 2%Ipsos October 12–18, 2018 1,193 ± 3.0% 45% 48% – 2% 5%Marquette University October 3–7, 2018 799 LV ± 3.9% 47% 46% 5% – 1% 1,000 RV ± 3.6% 47% 43% 7% – 2%Marist College September 30 – October 3, 2018 571 LV ± 4.8% 42% 50% 3% 2%Michael White (G) with 2%, other with <1% 3% 43% 53% – 1% 3% 781 RV ± 4.1% 42% 49% 3% 3%Michael White (G) with 3%, other with <1% 4% 43% 52% – 1% 3%Ipsos September 14–24, 2018 1,109 ± 3.0% 43% 50% – 3% 4%Marquette University September 12–16, 2018 614 LV ± 4.4% 44% 49% 6% – 1% 800 RV ± 4.0% 43% 47% 7% – 2%Public Policy Polling (D) September 4–5, 2018 726 ± 4.0% 45% 49% – – 6%Suffolk UniversitySuffolk University August 18–24, 2018 500 ± 4.4% 44% 46% 2% 1%Arnie Enz (WP) with 1%, Maggie Turnbull (I) and Michael White (G) with 0% 7%Marquette University August 15–19, 2018 601 LV ± 4.5% 46% 46% 6% – 2% 800 RV ± 4.0% 46% 44% 7% – 3%Public Policy Polling (D)Public Policy Polling (D) August 15–16, 2018 596 ± 4.0% 44% 49% – – 7%Emerson College July 26–28, 2018 632 ± 4.2% 41% 48% – 5% 7%Marist College July 15–19, 2018 906 ± 3.8% 41% 54% – <1% 5%Marquette University June 13–17, 2018 800 ± 4.0% 48% 44% – – 5%Public Policy Polling (D) May 9–10, 2018 644 ± 3.9% 45% 49% – – 6%
with Kelda Roys Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error ScottWalker (R) KeldaRoys (D) UndecidedMarquette University June 13–17, 2018 800 ± 4.0% 48% 40% 7%
with Matt Flynn Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error ScottWalker (R) MattFlynn (D) UndecidedMarquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 46% 42% 10%
with Mike McCabe Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error ScottWalker (R) MikeMcCabe (D) UndecidedMarquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 44% 42% 9%
with Mahlon Mitchell Poll source Date(s)administered Samplesize Marginof error ScottWalker (R) MahlonMitchell (D) UndecidedMarquette University June 13–17, 2018 400 ± 5.6% 45% 41% 11%
with Josh Pade