Democrat Tony Evers Defeats Walker in Tight Race

Tony Evers is the newly elected governor of Wisconsin with a 30,000-vote majority.

The gubernatorial race was so close that many spectators at Gov. Scott Walker’s watch party in The Ingleside Hotel didn’t know who the newly elected governor was when they left.

Of the state’s 72 counties, 19 had a majority vote for Evers. The winning votes came at the end of the night from 47,000 uncounted absentee ballots in the City of Milwaukee.

The lead flipped between Walker and Evers the entire night, sometimes by only hundreds of votes.

After the final votes were counted, Evers had the majority with 1,324,648 votes. Walker received 1,293,799 votes.

This is a win for Democrats who failed to remove Walker from office in the last three elections. In 2012, citizens unsuccessfully attempted to recall Walker from office. Walker’s most recent campaign was an unsuccessful presidential bid in 2016. Wisconsin is a swing state and the nation has been watching this governor’s election closely.

Many Democrats expected a “blue wave” to sweep the nation this election. Democrats have taken control of the House, but the Republicans remain in control of the Senate.

When TMJ4 announced the final votes and Evers won, Walker’s campaign cut the audio on the projected show. The crowd stood in silence for several minutes trying to watch the television program but were not able to hear any information. The crowd stood in silence until Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch took the stage.

Gov. Walker has not conceded to Evers and did not make an appearance at his watch party. Instead, his lieutenant governor spoke.

Kleefisch called for a “long and drawn-out recount” to ensure every vote of Wisconsin residents is accounted for.  

Because of a law that Walker signed, the margin of votes must be within 1 percent for a recount.

Evers is the Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction. His campaign focused on increasing funding for public schools, cutting middle class taxes and extending coverage for pre-existing conditions.

The election was so close throughout the night that some Walker supporters prepared themselves for Evers to win before all the precincts were in.

“I won’t be happy [if Evers wins] but it is what it is, and hopefully he will do the state justice,” Kattie Pudleiner, a Walker supporter, said about the possibility of Evers winning.

State Sen. Leah Vukmir also held her watch party for her U.S. senate race at The Ingleside Hotel in Pewaukee.

When Sen. Tammy Baldwin defeated Republican challenger Vukmir and gave her acceptance speech, Walker or Vukmir’s campaign began playing loud music to drown her speech out. It was impossible to hear anything Baldwin said after the first minute of her speech. Walker’s supporters booed every time Baldwin appeared on the viewing screen.

The senate race was called early. By 9 p.m. Baldwin clenched the seat for her second term as a U.S. senator.

Vukmir conceded to Baldwin and thanked her family and supporters. She quoted the Bible verse 2 Timothy 4:7: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Baldwin defeated Vukmir by 10 percent. Baldwin clenched 55 percent of the votes, and Vukmir 44 percent. Polls predicted a large margin win for Baldwin, which left the state– and nation– focused on the gubernatorial race.

The gubernatorial race wasn’t the only close margin of the night. The attorney general’s race between Republican incumbent Brad Schimel and Democratic challenger Josh Kaul switched back and forth between only hundreds of votes like the governor’s race.

Kaul defeated Schimel by nearly 23,000 votes. Kaul’s winning votes came from the same 47,000 uncounted absentee ballots in the City of Milwaukee.

Schimel held his watch party at The Ingleside Hotel, in the ballroom next to Walker and Vukmir’s watch party.

The tight race didn’t stop Schimel from enjoying his evening. He took to the stage with his band “4 on the Floor” to play covers of popular songs from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Many Schimel supporters danced for hours while his band played.

Between the three watch parties at The Ingleside Hotel, multiple age groups were present. Many parents brought their children to the watch parties. One child wore a sweatshirt that said, “FNN: Fake News Network.”

Other children, a group of five young girls, booed whenever Tammy Baldwin appeared on the screen.

While Congress is divided with Democrats in control of the House and Republicans in control of the Senate, this was a historic election on a national scope.

Two Native American women will hold seats in congress for the first time, Colorado elected the first-ever openly gay governor and two Muslim women are the first ever in Congress.