2000 Wisconsin elections
2000 Wisconsin elections
The 2000 Fall General Election was held on November 7, 2000. It included one U.S. Senate seat, all nine Wisconsin U.S. House seats, the 16 even-numbered seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and 11 electors to the Electoral College.
The 2000 Fall Partisan Primary was held on September 12, 2000.
In the Fall general election, the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Al Gore, narrowly won Wisconsin’s 11 electoral votes, defeating George W. Bush by 5,708 votes. All nine incumbent Wisconsin members of Congress were reelected. Democrats gained one seat in the Wisconsin Senate; Republicans gained one seat in the Wisconsin Assembly.
The 2000 Spring Election was held on April 4, 2000. It featured a contested election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Presidential preference primary for both major political parties, as well as various nonpartisan local and judicial offices.
The 2000 Spring Primary was held on February 15, 2000. Wisconsin Republicans celebrated the victory of their preferred candidate in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election. The Presidential preference primary was not seriously contested, as most candidates had already dropped out before Wisconsin’s vote. Incumbent Democratic President Bill Clinton was term-limited and did not run for reelection. In Wisconsin, voters chose Gore over Bush: Gore received Wisconsin’s 11 electoral votes, though he did not win the national electoral vote.
Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Herb Kohl was reelected to a third six-year term, defeating Republican John Gillespie.
The 16 even-numbered seats in the Wisconsin State Senate were up for election in 2000. Each party controlled 8 seats up for election. Democrats held a 17–16 majority in the full Senate before the election. Republicans picked up one Democrat-held seat, but Democrats picked up two previously Republican-held seats, for a net gain of one seat for the Democrats, increasing their majority to 18–15.
All 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election in 2000. Republicans gained one seat, increasing their majority to 56–43.
In the Supreme Court election (held during the spring elections), incumbent Justice Diane S. Sykes defeated Milwaukee municipal court judge Louis B. Butler. Justice Sykes had been appointed to the court in 1999 by Governor Tommy Thompson.
Three seats of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals were up for election in 2000. None of the elections was contested.
Forty-nine of the state's 241 circuit court seats were up for election in 2000. One new seat in Waupaca County was created by the 1999 budget act. Eight of the seats were contested. Only one incumbent judge was defeated seeking reelection, Michael G. Grzeca, an appointee of Governor Thompson in Brown County.
In local government, the Mayor of Superior, Margaret Ciccone, was recalled and replaced by her opponent from 1999, Richard Van Rossem. The Mayor of Milwaukee, John Norquist, was reelected to a fourth term, defeating businessman George Watts. Ed Thompson, brother of Governor Tommy Thompson, was elected Mayor of Tomah, defeating incumbent Bud Johnson.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:15 (CET).