The 2014 Wisconsin gubernatorial election took place on November 4, 2014, to determine the

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

and

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

. It occurred concurrently with

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

in other states and

to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

and various

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

and

local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct v ...

. Incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor Scott Walker won re-election to a second term in office, defeating Democratic businesswoman and Madison school board member

Mary Burke Mary Patricia Burke (born April 30, 1959) is an American businesswoman. She was the Democratic candidate for Governor of Wisconsin in the 2014 election. She served as a member of the Madison, Wisconsin school board from April 30, 2012 until Jul ...

and two minor party candidates in the general election. Walker, who was elected in 2010, survived an attempted recall in 2012, the first governor in United States history to do so, defeating Democratic nominee Tom Barrett. Wisconsin voters have elected a governor from a different political party than the sitting president in 27 of the last 31 elections since 1932; only once has a Democratic candidate been elected governor in Wisconsin in the last 18 contests when a Democrat was in the White House. Eleven of the last twelve Wisconsin governors, dating back to Republican

Vernon Wallace Thomson Vernon Wallace Thomson (November 5, 1905 – April 2, 1988) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 34th Governor of Wisconsin from 1957 to 1959. Early life and education Vernon Thomson was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin. ...

in the late 1950s, had, unlike Burke, previously won an election to state government, the exception being Republican

Lee S. Dreyfus Lee Sherman Dreyfus (pronounced ; June 20, 1926 – January 2, 2008) was an American educator and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 40th Governor of Wisconsin from January 4, 1979 to January 3, 1983. Dreyfus is a 33 ...

in 1978. As of , this is the last time a Republican was elected Governor of Wisconsin. The polling leading up to the election was very close, with no candidate clearly in the lead. The consensus among most analysts was that the race was either a tossup or leaning Republican.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

* Scott Walker, incumbent

Results

Democratic primary

Candidates

Declared

, businesswoman, member of the Madison school district board and former Wisconsin Secretary of Commerce *

Brett Hulsey Brett Dudley Hulsey (born April 28, 1959) is a consultant, Democratic Party politician and legislator in Wisconsin. Background Hulsey earned a B.A. in political economy from Middlebury College in 1982, and an M.S. in natural science from the U ...

, state representative

Disqualified

* Marcia Mercedes Perkins * Hari Trivedi, independent candidate for governor in the 2012 recall election

Declined

Chris Abele Christopher Seton Abele (born January 28, 1967) is an American businessman and Democratic Party politician. He served as the 6th Milwaukee County Executive from 2011 to 2020. Abele is the son of American businessman John Abele, the co-founder o ...

Milwaukee County Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and th ...

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...

* Tom Barrett, Mayor of Milwaukee and nominee for governor in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

* Deb Carey, founder and president of

New Glarus Brewing Company The New Glarus Brewing Company is an American brewery founded in 1993. Located in New Glarus, Wisconsin, it is an independently owned craft brewery, whose products can only be found in Wisconsin. New Glarus Brewing Company is the 15th largest c ...

Russ Feingold Russell Dana Feingold ( ; born March 2, 1953) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States Senator from Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. A member of the Democratic Party, he was its nominee in the 2016 election for the same U ...

, former

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and power ...

* Mark L. Harris, Winnebago County

Ron Kind Ronald James Kind (born March 16, 1963) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for , since 1997. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is in the western part of the state and is anchored by La Cros ...

, U.S. Representative *

Jon Erpenbach Jon B. Erpenbach (born January 28, 1961) is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 27th District since 1999. Early life, education and career Erpenbach was born in Middleton, Wisconsin ...

, state senator *

Kathleen Falk Kathleen Falk (born June 26, 1951) is an American attorney, politician, and policymaker from Wisconsin who served as Dane County Executive from 1997 until 2011. In 2013, she was appointed Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and H ...

, former

Dane County Dane County is a county in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 561,504, making it the second-most populous county in Wisconsin. The county seat is Madison, which is also the state capital. Dane County is the ...

and candidate for governor in 2012 *

Kathleen Vinehout Kathleen Vinehout (born June 16, 1958) is a former Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 31st district since 2007. She was an unsuccessful primary candidate for Governor of Wisconsin in the 2012 recall election against S ...

, state senator and candidate for governor in 2012 *

Peter W. Barca Peter William Barca (born August 7, 1955) is an American Democratic politician and the current Secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Revenue in the administration of Governor Tony Evers. Barca is a lifelong resident of the Kenosha area. ...

, Minority Leader of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, e ...

and former U.S. Representative *

Dave Cieslewicz David J. Cieslewicz (; ; born February 17, 1959), commonly referred to as Mayor Dave during his term, is an American politician who was the mayor of Madison, Wisconsin from 2003 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. Personal life and ...

, former mayor of

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

* Lori Compas, executive director of the Wisconsin Business Alliance and nominee for the

Wisconsin Senate The Wisconsin Senate is the upper house of the Wisconsin State Legislature. Together with the larger Wisconsin State Assembly they constitute the legislative branch of the state of Wisconsin. The powers of the Wisconsin Senate are modeled after t ...

* Kevin Conroy, biotechnology executive * John Dickert, Mayor of

Racine Jean-Baptiste Racine ( , ) (; 22 December 163921 April 1699) was a French dramatist, one of the three great playwrights of 17th-century France, along with Molière and Corneille as well as an important literary figure in the Western traditi ...

* Dave Hansen, state senator * Dianne Hesselbein, state representative * Sara Johann, political activist *

Steve Kagen Steven Leslie Kagen (born December 12, 1949) is an American politician and physician who was the U.S. representative for from 2007 to 2011. He is a member of the Democratic Party. He was defeated in his bid for re-election in 2010 by Reid Ribbl ...

, former U.S. Representative *

Jessica King Jessica Jeane King (born July 21, 1975) is an American lawyer and politician from Wisconsin. She is a former Democratic member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing the 18th district when elected in 2011. She defeated incumbent Republican Sena ...

, former state senator *

Herb Kohl Herbert H. Kohl (born February 7, 1935) is an American businessman and politician. Alongside his brother and father, the Kohl family created the Kohl's department stores chain, of which Kohl went on to be president and CEO. Kohl also served as a ...

, former U.S. Senator *

Chris Larson Christopher J. Larson (born November 12, 1980) is an American Democratic politician and a member of the Wisconsin Senate, representing southeast Milwaukee County since 2011. He was Senate Minority Leader from 2013 through 2014, and currently s ...

, Minority Leader of the

Julie Lassa Julie M. Lassa (born October 21, 1970) is a former Democratic Party member of the Wisconsin State Senate, who represented the 24th District from April 2003 to January 2017. She was a member of the Wisconsin Assembly for the 71st District from 19 ...

, state senator *

Cory Mason Cory D. Mason IV (born January 25, 1973) is a Democratic Party politician and the mayor of Racine, Wisconsin. From 2007 to 2018, Mason served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the city of Racine and eastern Racine County. ...

, state representative *

Mahlon Mitchell Mahlon Mitchell (born February 24, 1977) is an American firefighter and current President of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin. Assuming the office on January 12, 2011, he became the youngest and first African American president of the ...

, president of the Professional

Fire Fighters A firefighter is a first responder and rescuer extensively trained in firefighting, primarily to extinguish hazardous fires that threaten life, property, and the environment as well as to rescue people and in some cases or jurisdictions also ...

and nominee for

Gwen Moore Gwendolynne Sophia Moore (born April 18, 1951) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 2005. In 2016, Moore was elected to serve as caucus whip of the Congressional Black Caucus for the 115th United States Congre ...

, U.S. Representative * Tom Nelson,

Outagamie County Outagamie County is a county in the northeast region of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 190,705. Its county seat is Appleton. Outagamie County is included in the Appleton, WI Metropolitan Statistical ...

and nominee for

Dave Obey David Ross Obey ( ; born October 3, 1938) is an American lobbyist and former politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives for from 1969 to 2011. The district includes much of the northwestern portion of the st ...

, former U.S. Representative * Joe Parisi,

Jennifer Shilling Jennifer Shilling (''née'' Ehlenfeldt; born July 4, 1969) is an American Democratic politician, lobbyist, and former state legislator. She was a member of the Wisconsin State Senate for nine years and was senate minority leader from 2015 to 20 ...

, state senator * Chris Taylor, state representative

Endorsements

Polling

Results

Third parties and independents

Candidates

Declared

* Robert Burke ( Libertarian Party), founder of the Libertarian Party of Pierce- St. Croix :* Running mate: Joseph Brost * Dennis Fehr (The People's Party), businessman and founder of The People's Party *

(

write-in A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be pos ...

), state representative

Disqualified

* Francis Klein (

Pirate Party Pirate Party is a label adopted by political parties around the world. Pirate parties support civil rights, direct democracy (including e-democracy) or alternatively participation in government, reform of copyright and patent law, free shari ...

)

General election

Predictions

Polling

Results

References

External links

Wisconsin gubernatorial election, 2014
at

Ballotpedia Ballotpedia is a nonprofit and nonpartisan online political encyclopedia that covers federal, state, and local politics, elections, and public policy in the United States. The website was founded in 2007. Ballotpedia is sponsored by the Lucy Bur ...

;Official campaign websites (Archived)
Scott Walker for Governor

Mary Burke for Governor

Robert Burke
{{2014 United States elections

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of politica ...

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...