The 2012 Wisconsin State Assembly elections were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. All 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election. Before the election, 58 Assembly seats were held by Republicans, 38 seats were held by Democrats, 1 was held by an independent, and 2 were vacant. The primary election was held on August 14, 2012.

This was the first Assembly election after the legislative redistricting following the 2010 United States census. The maps passed into law ware widely considered one of the most severe Republican gerrymanders in U.S. history.

Republicans flipped the independent-held seat and reclaimed two vacant seats, to enter the 101st Wisconsin Legislature with 60 of 99 State Assembly seats.

Elected members took office on January 7, 2013.

Background Republicans won control of the Assembly, alongside the governorship and the State Senate, in the 2010 elections. Using their newly-gained governmental trifecta, Republicans began enacting a number of high-profile, highly controversial bills. Chief among them was Wisconsin Act 10, also known as the "Budget Repair Bill," which sought to eliminate public-sector unions and reduce the pay of public employees in a purported attempt to balance the state's budget. This sparked a heavy backlash from public employees, especially teachers, and students, who staged protests of the legislation across the state. In addition, 14 Democratic members of the Wisconsin Senate staged a walkout to Illinois to deprive the chamber of a quorum to prevent the passage of the bill. Republicans managed to pass the bill anyway the next month, but the fallout from the bill's passage led to the attempted recall of governor Scott Walker and the successful recall of multiple members of the Senate in 2011 and 2012.

In May 2011, Democrat Steve Doyle flipped an Assembly seat by winning a special election in the 94th district.

Redistricting In the 2010 elections, Republicans won significant majorities in both houses of the Legislature and the governorship. Republicans used their majorities to pass a radical redistricting plan after the 2010 census which substantially shifted the partisan bias of the state legislative maps. It was the product of a Republican project known as REDMAP, which used new statistical and mapping software to craft the maps. The maps themselves were crafted and agreed upon in highly secretive meetings among Republican legislators, the details of which were only made public during court hearings regarding the constitutionality of the maps in 2015.

Several lawsuits were brought against the 2011 redistricting plan. A set of early challenges against the plan led to only minor alterations to two districts in the Milwaukee area, which the court ruled violated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act by improperly diluting the population of Latinos across two districts. Later suits against the map would eventually become the Supreme Court case Whitford v. Gill.

Results Republicans maintained their large majority in the Assembly, winning 60 seats to the Democrats' 39. Republicans were aided in part by highly favorable redistricting, winning 74% of contested seats while only winning 52% of the vote in those races. Factoring in uncontested races, Republicans won 60% of seats in the Assembly despite losing the statewide popular vote by almost 175,000 votes.

Seats Party (majority caucus shading) Total Democratic Ind. Republican Last election (2010) 38 1 60 99 Total before this election 38 1 58 97 Up for election 39 1 59 99 of which: Incumbent retiring 8 1 6 15 Vacated 1 0 1 2 Unopposed 16 0 4 20 This election 39 0 60 99 Change from last election 1 1 Total after this election 39 0 60 99 Change in total 1 1 2

PartyCandidatesVotesSeats%+/−+/−Republican Party 77 1,249,559 46.15% 8.86% 60 1Democratic Party 95 1,419,858 52.44% 10.57% 39 Independent1428,1191.41% 0.28%0 1Write-inN/A9,9350.37%00Total2,707,471100.00%—99—Source: Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

Close races Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

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Predictions SourceRankingAs of Governing | October 24, 2012

Outgoing incumbents Retiring Tamara Grigsby (D–Milwaukee), representing District 18 since 2004, did not run for re-election due to a difficult battle with cancer."Two State Legislators Plan To Retire". La Crosse Tribune, April 18, 2012, p. B-2. Michelle Litjens (R–Appleton), representing District 56 since 2010, did not run for re-election."Rep. Michelle Litjens, a Vinland Republican, won't seek re-election," The Northwestern.com, February 14, 2012 . Dan Meyer (R–Eagle River), representing District 34 since 2000, did not run for re-election. Donna J. Seidel (D–Wausau), representing District 85 since 2004, did not run for re-election. Richard Spanbauer (R–Oshkosh), representing District 53 since 2008, did not run for re-election. Tony Staskunas (D–West Allis), representing District 15 since 1996, did not run for re-election.'Two State Legislators Plan To Retire,' La Crosse Tribune, April 18, 2012, B-2 Robert L. Turner (D–Racine), representing District 61 since 1990, did not run for re-election due to redistricting which reshaped his district. Karl Van Roy (R–Howard), representing District 90 since 2002, did not run for re-election. Bob Ziegelbauer (I–Manitowoc), representing District 25 since 1992, did not run for re-election.

Seeking other office Elizabeth M. Coggs (D–Milwaukee), representing District 10 since 2010, ran for state Senate in the 6th Senate district, but lost the primary. David Cullen (D–Milwaukee), representing District 13 since 1990, was elected to the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in the 2014 Spring election. Jeff Fitzgerald (R–Horicon), representing District 39 since 2000, and the incumbent speaker, ran for U.S. Senate, but lost the primary.Jeff Fitzgerald to run for US Senate, thirdage.com, October 11, 2011. Retrieved December 25, 2014.Vaccino, Steven."Tommy Thompson Wins G.O.P. Senate Primary Race in Wisconsin", The New York Times, August 15, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2014. Louis Molepske (D–Stevens Point), representing District 71 since 2003, ran for Portage County district attorney, and won the election. Mark Pocan (D–Madison), representing District 78 since 1998, ran for U.S. House of Representatives in Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district, and won the election. Tom Tiffany (R–Hazelhurst), representing District 35 since 2010, ran for state Senate in the 12th Senate district, and won the election.

Vacated Jerry Petrowski (R–Marathon) resigned from District 86 after his election as state senator.Matt Lehman. "Petrowski to run for State Senate ". WSAU, March 21, 2012. Accessed June 25, 2013.Wisconsin Government Accountability Board. G.A.B. Canvass Reporting System: Canvass Results for 2012 June 5 Recall Election - 6/5/2012 . Barbara Toles (D–Milwaukee) resigned from District 17 on July 2, 2012.

Election results