At a glance (unofficial results)
Governor: Democrat David Crowley defeated Republican Tom Tiffany, roughly 53%–47%.
7th Congressional District: Republican Michael Alfonso defeated Democrat Fred Clark, 56.1%–43.9%.
34th Assembly District: Republican Rep. Rob Swearingen defeated Democrat Merlin Van Buren, holding about 69% of the vote when the race was called.
Wisconsin voters chose Democrat David Crowley as their next governor Tuesday, while the Northwoods stayed with Republicans closer to home, sending Michael Alfonso to Congress and returning state Rep. Rob Swearingen, R-Rhinelander, to the Assembly for an eighth term, according to unofficial results.
Crowley, the Milwaukee County executive, defeated U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Minocqua, in the race to succeed two-term Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who did not seek a third term. Crowley will be the first Black governor in Wisconsin history.
Unofficial AP results showed Crowley with 1,355,912 votes, or 53.4%, to Tiffany's 1,180,966, or 46.6%.
Tiffany conceded around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday at his election-night gathering in Wausau, after calling Crowley.
In his victory speech, Crowley pointed to his own upbringing in the poorest ZIP code in the state, telling supporters that "a boy who grew up facing eviction will now reside in the governor's residence."
Crowley ran with Secretary of State Sarah Godlewski as his lieutenant governor candidate.
The race was Wisconsin's first open governor's contest since 2010. Crowley briefly suspended his campaign during the Democratic primary before re-entering with Evers' backing, then narrowly defeated state Rep. Francesca Hong of Madison in the Aug. 11 primary. Tiffany, a three-term congressman, was endorsed by President Donald Trump.
Crowley campaigned largely on affordability and supported repealing Act 10, the 2011 law that ended collective bargaining for most public employees. Tiffany proposed using the state's projected budget surplus to cut income taxes by 10% and lower property taxes.
The win means Democrats will hold the governor's office for more than eight consecutive years for the first time in state history, according to The Associated Press. The win was part of a trifecta as the Democratic Party also won control of the state Senate and Assembly.
Republican Michael Alfonso, 26, defeated Democrat Fred Clark, a conservationist and former state lawmaker, to win the 7th Congressional District seat Tiffany gave up to run for governor.
The Associated Press called the race at 10:02 p.m. Tuesday. Unofficial results at that point showed Alfonso with 56.1% of the vote to Clark's 43.9%, with about 79% of votes counted.
Alfonso will become the youngest member of Congress. He is the son-in-law of U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who represented the district before Tiffany. Trump endorsed Alfonso in the Republican primary.
The sprawling district covers much of northern Wisconsin, including Oneida County. Former Democratic U.S. Rep. Dave Obey held the seat for decades, but it has been in Republican hands since 2011.
Statewide, Wisconsin's U.S. House delegation will be evenly split after Democrats flipped two seats Tuesday, according to WPR.
Swearingen easily won re-election over Democrat Merlin Van Buren in a rematch of their 2012 race.
Swearingen, a Rhinelander businessman first elected in 2012, beat Van Buren that year with about 57% of the vote. He has won re-election by wide margins since.
Van Buren, a longtime member of the Rhinelander school board, made school funding the centerpiece of his campaign, as he did in 2012. Swearingen pointed to his work on issues such as wake boat regulations, including a bill he supported to push the required distance from shore to 300 feet.
The 34th District covers Oneida and Vilas counties, except the Town of Nokomis, which lies in the 35th Assembly District.
All results are unofficial until county boards of canvass complete their work and the Wisconsin Elections Commission certifies statewide results.
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