The Wisconsin primary that Republicans had hoped would provide them more control over state spending backfired on Tuesday as record numbers of voters turned out across the state, including in a major Democratic stronghold. This outcome is expected to have a negative impact on former President Trump’s chances in this swing state for the upcoming election.
Instead of weakening Democratic power, the constitutional amendments ended up galvanizing Democrats and their left-wing allies who spent much more money on these initiatives than their Republican counterparts did. The two constitutional amendments aimed to limit Governor Evers’ (D-WI) spending authority over federal funds such as pandemic relief funds by requiring legislative oversight, but they failed by a large margin.
More than 26% of registered voters participated in the primary election that was expected to be quiet and low-key during late summer. The results could indicate strong motivation among Democrats for the upcoming election.
Ironically, conservative organizations were vastly outspent by their Democratic counterparts on the checks-and-balances amendments by about $2.9 million. Despite this, the constitutional amendments failed by 15 percentage points statewide, which is much more than the one percent that has determined four of the last six presidential elections in Wisconsin.
Libertarian voter Roy Martin of Gresham, Wisconsin, told The Post he voted “no” on the constitutional amendments because he couldn’t trust the legislature in a “gerrymandered” system while the governor “has a pulse on the people” because he is elected by the popular vote.
Total turnout was slightly up in the six Republican stronghold counties that helped make Wisconsin a swing state, with 297,000 this year compared to 293,000 in 2022, according to Wisconsin-based Marquette Law School pollster Charles Franklin. However, Franklin cautioned that these numbers are an approximate comparison and should not be taken as a definitive predictor of the November election.
In Democratic stronghold Dane County, home to the capital Madison and the University of Wisconsin, turnout reached 45% of registered voters, which is a 40-year high for a primary. This increase was attributed to local elections and an intense anti-amendment ground game. The constitutional amendments curbing Governor Ever’s unrestricted spending powers were defeated by an average of 65 percentage points in the liberal county.
In heavily Democratic Milwaukee County, where the state’s largest city is located, turnout was much lower at 32% despite local elections on the ballot. Outside a fire station polling place in red-leaning Ocnomowoc, Wisconsin, Holly Rahnheim, a behavioral health hospital administrator, told The Post that she is “for our democratic process, which includes checks and balances,” when asked how she voted on the amendments.
Both Democrats and Republicans emphasized the importance of checks and balances in their campaigns against the amendments, but this could have potentially confused voters as they decided whether or not to support them.
In other primary results, Trump-endorsed businessman Tony Wied won the three-way Republican primary for Wisconsin’s open Eighth Congressional District, where Republicans are favored to win by close to 20 percentage points. In the Democratic establishment favorite in Wisconsin’s Third Congressional District, State Legislator Katrina Shankland was vastly outspent and defeated by political strategist Rebecca Cooke.
Cooke’s shady financial deals, late financial reporting, and progressive agenda will come into play as Trump-endorsed incumbent Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) attempts to ward off her challenge in the most vulnerable congressional district in Wisconsin this November. In newly redistricted state legislative maps that favor Democrats, Trump-endorsed state legislative candidates who supported overturning the 2020 presidential election results lost their Republican primaries in red-leaning districts by close to 30 percentage points.
