Recap: Wisconsin election updates, results from 2024 races, including Harris-Trump for president and Baldwin-Hovde for Senate
Wisconsin had an action-packed night of election results Tuesday — and predictably stretched well into Wednesday morning.
The presidential race between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump wasn't decided until the early morning hours.
Neither was the Senate showdown between Democratic incumbent Tammy Baldwin and Republican businessman Eric Hovde.
The Journal Sentinel and USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin provided live coverage of the night's events. Here's a recap:
Wisconsin election results
In addition to the presidential election, Wisconsinites are voting for a U.S. Sentate race, a referendum and statewide Senate and Assembly races that are under new maps.
Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin declares victory over GOP challenger Eric Hovde
It appears that Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin's streak lives on.
On a night when Republicans swept races around the country, Baldwin declared victory early Wednesday morning, saying she had bucked the red tide by eking out a narrow victory over GOP challenger Eric Hovde late Tuesday to secure a third term in the U.S. Senate.
“It is clear that the voters have spoken and our campaign has won,” Baldwin said in a statement. “The people of Wisconsin have chosen someone who always puts Wisconsin first, someone who shows up, listens, and works with everyone to get the job done."
With 97.3% of the votes counted, Baldwin led Hovde by 49.2% to 48.7% — a margin of nearly 16,000 votes — in a race that drew attention and big bucks from around the country. Absentee ballots had not yet been counted in Racine and Oshkosh and votes had not all been counted in various places in Oshkosh.
Trump wins Wisconsin
Former President Donald Trump was declared the winner in Wisconsin early Wednesday morning, defeating Vice President Kamala Harris in the state and securing the election victory as he smashed through Democrats’ blue wall.
The Associated Press called the race for Trump shortly after 4:30 a.m. local time. Unofficial results showed Trump with about a one-point edge — approximately 41,000 votes — on Harris with more than 95% of the vote tabulated in Wisconsin. The state’s 10 electoral votes pushed him over the 270 threshold and cemented his unprecedented return to the White House.
Donald Trump wins the election in stunning political comeback
Former President Donald Trump, considered a political outcast after losing the presidency in 2020 and an attack by his supporters on the U.S. Capitol, was elected to another term on Wednesday in a decisive and astounding victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
His win completes one of the most remarkable comebacks in political history, just four years after voters ejected him from the office.
Trump defeated Harris by capturing at least 270 of the electoral votes needed to win the presidency. His tally could increase as more votes are counted.
Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden edged Democrat Rebecca Cooke to win reelection
Freshman Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden on Tuesday edged Eau Claire Democrat Rebecca Cooke to win reelection in a battleground western House seat that Democrats had made a top target.
Van Orden led Cooke by just under three points with about 99% of the vote counted early Wednesday in what was Wisconsin's tightest and most closely watched congressional race. Democrats had zeroed in on the state's swing 3rd Congressional District as one to flip as they sought to take control of the House this week.
CNN called the race for Van Orden Wednesday morning.
-- Lawrence Andrea
Democrats gained key victories in the state Senate
Democrats gained key victories in the state Senate, narrowing the majority for Republicans, who have held the upper hand for more than 10 years.
Among the key victories were the 8th Senate District, where Democratic challenger Jodi Habush Sinykin declared victory over Duey Stroebel, R-Cedarburg. The Associated Press hadn't called the race, the most expensive legislative contest in state history, as of 3:45 a.m. Wednesday.
Other Democratic gains in the Senate were:
? The 14th Senate District, covering the north side of Madison and Richland and Sauk counties: Democratic candidate Sarah Keyeski defeated incumbent Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan.
? The 30th Senate District, covering the Green Bay area: Democratic candidate Jamie Wall defeated Republican candidate Jim Rafter
Democratic state Rep. Robyn Vining of Wauwatosa defeats Republican state Rep. Tom Michalski
Democratic state Rep. Robyn Vining of Wauwatosa has beat Republican state Rep. Tom Michalski of Elm Grove in the race for the redrawn 13th Assembly District.
Vining was elected to represent Wisconsin’s 14th Assembly District in 2018 when she narrowly defeated her Republican opponent in a traditionally GOP district. Vining said she'll prioritize public education funding through her Save Our Schools bill, support small businesses and fight for reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights.
Voters in the district that includes parts of Wauwatosa, the town and city of Brookfield and Elm Grove had the rare choice between two lawmakers running against each other.
-- Bridget Fogarty
Flash drives with City of Milwaukee votes have been handed to Milwaukee County officials
Paulina Gutierrez, Milwaukee Election Commission executive director, handed a bag with 13 flash drives to Milwaukee County election officials about 3:16 a.m.
Milwaukee County officials took custody of the drives and, around 3:24 a.m., began uploading them to the county system. It was estimated to take about 20 minutes.
Gutierrez spoke to reporters at the courthouse briefly.
“I'm still very proud that we administered a safe, fair and secure election," she said.
-- Sophie Carson
Milwaukee Central Count live stream on Election Day
Democrat Jodi Habush Sinykin declares victory in Wisconsin state Senate District 8
Democratic challenger Jodi Habush Sinykin declared victory against Republican incumbent Duey Stroebel for Wisconsin's Senate District 8 seat in one of the most competitive state elections under the new legislative maps that broke spending records.
Three hours after midnight on Wednesday morning, Habush Sinykin appeared to be in the lead with a narrow margin of 1,854 votes with around 95% of the votes cast, according to the Associated Press, though it has not yet called the race.
By 3 a.m., she had received 50.8%, or 58,809 votes, in comparison with Stroebel's 49.2%, or 56,955 votes.
Republican Pat Snyder holds 85th Assembly District
Republican Pat Snyder held his seat in Assembly District 85, defeating Democratic challenger Yee Leng Xiong.
Snyder was elected to the Assembly in 2017, and previously was a morning radio host for WSAU in Wausau.
Xiong is a school board member in Wausau, and a Marathon County Board member. He also serves as the executive director of the Hmong American Center.
Republican incumbent Joan Ballweg loses seat in state Senate
Republican Joan Ballweg lost her seat in the state Senate race to Democrat Sarah Keyeski.
Ballweg has served in the Senate since 2020, and before that served in the Assembly from 2004 to 2018.
In a statement, Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein welcomed Keyeski.
“Senate-elect Keyeski ran a successful campaign against a tough incumbent in one of the state’s most competitive districts," she said. "Sarah Keyeski, a mom of six and mental health professional, balanced both her career and family while spending weekends and evenings traveling the district and getting to know voters. I am confident that Sarah will be a strong voice for folks living in the 14th Senate District.”
--Laura Schulte
West Allis, Wauwatosa results arrive at Milwaukee County Courthouse on a physical flash drive about 2 a.m.
Voting results for the city of West Allis and Wauwatosa arrived at 2 a.m. on a flash drive. A West Allis official handed the flash drive to a Milwaukee County elections official, and the results were uploaded to the county system by about 2:15 a.m.
Results from Wauwatosa arrived about 2:18 a.m.
Results from the city of Milwaukee and the city of Oak Creek are yet to be reported.
-- Sophie Carson
Trump wins Pennsylvania, closes in on victory
Trump catapulted closer to a stunning return to the White House early Wednesday as he won Pennsylvania, one of the "Blue Wall" states, along with Wisconsin and Michigan, that were Harris' best path to winning the race.
Milwaukee suburbs of Franklin and Greendale reported results with six Milwaukee County cities yet to repot
The cities of Franklin and Greendale have reported all their results to Milwaukee County as of 12:59 p.m. There are six municipalities in the county who have not yet reported their results: the City of Milwaukee, Oak Creek, Wauwatosa, West Allis, Cudahy and Hales Corners.
-- Sophie Carson
Leaving the Orpheum, Madison resident still feels 'really confident' Baldwin can win
As Baldwin supporters and media trickled out of the Orpheum Theater just before 12:30 a.m., Madison resident Colleen Hayes told the Journal Sentinel she still feels “really confident” that Baldwin can pull off a win.
The fact that votes from Milwaukee and other parts of the state are still yet to be tallied made Hayes feel she could go to bed feeling positive — though not before heading for one more drink at Genna’s Cocktail Lounge on the Capitol Square, she said.
Hayes said Baldwin has been a key political figure during all of her three decades living in Madison.
“Regardless of what happens, Tammy is going to be on our side,” she said.
Madeline Heim
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez tells Tammy Baldwin supporters to go home, 'get some sleep'
Just after midnight Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez told the small crowd still gathered at the Orpheum to head home and “get some sleep.”
As of 12:10 a.m., Hovde led Baldwin by more than 71,000 votes — though the state is still waiting on votes to come in from Milwaukee.
“I said this from the beginning, that this race is going to be close. We are Wisconsin. This is what we are known for,” Rodriguez said.
She said Baldwin is still “in a strong position to win,” with hundreds of thousands of votes left to be counted.
City of Milwaukee has processed more than 98,000 absentee ballots
The City of Milwaukee has processed more than 98,000 absentee ballots, according to an 11:45 p.m. announcement.
That leaves about 10,000 remaining to process.
Once all of the absentee ballots have been processed, the results will be exported from the machines onto thumb drives that election officials will take to the Milwaukee County Courthouse in a police vehicle. They will be taken to the Milwaukee County Election Commission and uploaded onto the county's election night website.
-- Alison Dirr
Can Kamala Harris win the election?
Kamala Harris is trailing Donald Trump in the electoral college vote in the 2024 presidential election, 246-210, around midnight CT. The path to victory for Harris is to win the blue wall states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. But the vice president is trailing in all three: four points in Wisconsin, six points in Michigan and over three points in Pennsylvania.
Maine, New Hampshire, Minnesota, Arizona, Nevada and Alaska haven’t yet been called.
Chris Kuhagen
Bryan Steil wins 1st Congressional District race in Wisconsin 2024 election
Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil on Tuesday defeated the Democrat to last hold his seat to retain southeastern Wisconsin's House district.
Steil topped Kenosha Democrat Peter Barca to win his fourth term representing Wisconsin's 1st Congressional District. He had about a 13-point lead — about 32,000 votes — on Barca with about 65% of the vote counted. The Associated Press called the race for Steil shortly after 11 p.m. local time.
Lawrence Andrea
Flash drive of results from one Milwaukee polling site brought to county courthouse after issue with modem
One city of Milwaukee polling location, Cooper Park Pavilion, was having trouble transmitting in-person voting data from its machines to Milwaukee County, so officials are bringing a flash drive with the information to the Milwaukee County Courthouse where officials will upload the information.
They are also bringing the long roll of receipt-like tape from the voting machines, said Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson.
There are two wards at Cooper Park Pavilion, wards 79 and 83. It is located at 8701 West Chambers Street. Aside from the two wards at Cooper Park, all other in-person votes from the city of Milwaukee are now in, Christenson said.
The issue related to a modem, Christenson said.
Nine of 19 Milwaukee County municipalities have reported all their results to the county as of 11:15 p.m.
-- Sophie Carson
UW-Whitewater student stood in voting line for three hours
Poll workers warned Lola Mandel and her friends in line to vote to expect a roughly three-hour wait to cast ballots -- and it did.
Mandel, a 19-year-old UW-Whitewater sophomore, joined her friends who stood in line to vote on Election Day at the campus student center. She did not vote on campus, having already voted absentee for Harris.
"I'm not sure if it was a lack of preparation," Mandel said about the long lines. "It may have just been an unexpected amount of students."
A judge extended the campus polling place hours from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. A friend of Mandel's joined the line around 10:10 p.m.
Kelly Myerhofer
Kamala Harris wins New Mexico
Kamala Harris has won New Mexico’s five electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Glenn Grothman will serve another term as the 6th Congressional District's representative.
Grothman, 69, was reelected Tuesday, defeating a challenge from Democrat John Zarbano.
Laura Schulte
Poll worker removed from Garland School
At the Garland School polling station on Milwaukee’s south side, a person who started as a poll worker was asked to step off from his position because he did not fulfill the duties he was assigned, according to the location’s chief poll inspector Denise Bartlett.
Some at the polling station also felt threatened by him, Bartlett added.
The former poll worker was asked by the two chief poll inspectors at Garland School to be a greeter, where he would direct voters to the line that corresponds to their voting wards. However, Bartlett said he was away on his phone a few times and many people ended up in the wrong lines.
He also questioned poll workers’ procedure for helping voters register and started political conversations with other poll observers who did not want to engage, according to Bartlett.
Bartlett adamantly believes that the poll workers at the registration desk were following procedures.
“I know they’re following procedure,” Bartlett said. “I just had to ask because he (the former poll worker) was saying they weren’t.”
Political messaging is not allowed at polling places in Wisconsin. Wisconsin state law 12.03 prohibits “electioneering,” any activity intended to influence voting, at a polling place during polling hours.
The person was removed from the payroll as a poll worker. He stayed as an observer until the polls closed. He shared with the Journal Sentinel that he voted two weeks ago for Donald Trump but believes the U.S. should use paper ballots and one-day voting.
Eva Wen
Wisconsin voters pass 'eligibility to vote' referendum
Wisconsin voters approved a statewide referendum question that changes the state constitution to say that "only" U.S. citizens can vote in Wisconsin's elections.
The amendment has little immediate effect in Wisconsin. Republican proponents of the measure wanted to prevent noncitizens from voting in local elections, like for mayor and school board, in the future. While some cities in other states allow that, nowhere in Wisconsin currently does.
— Hope Karnopp
Tiffany reelected in 7th Congressional District
Tom Tiffany will keep his seat as the U.S. representative of the 7th District.
Tiffany, 66, was reelected Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Kyle Kilbourn.
Tiffany, who lives in Minocqua, has campaigned as a hawk on border security and stricter immigration laws. On his website, he calls for curtailing federal spending, support for gun rights and opposing taxpayer money for abortions.
Tiffany was elected to Congress in May 2020, taking over the seat formerly held by Sean Duffy after he stepped down to spend more time with his family. He was reelected in 2022.
— Laura Schulte
Kamala Harris wins Hawaii
Kamala Harris has won Hawaii’s four electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins Virginia
Kamala Harris has won Virginia’s 13 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
GOP Sen. Ron Johnson message to Republican voters- show up in other elections
Republican Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told the large crowd at the Ingleside Hotel that Republicans needs to show up beyond this election.
“This isn’t going to be just one election... it’s going to take more than one administration to fix all of these problems, to secure the border, to get our economy back and running, to end the endless wars,” Johnson said. “This is going to take a massive effort, election after election.”
Johnson said could become the “dog that caught the car” if Republicans don’t show up in the coming races.
“We lost the supreme court race last time because Dan Kelly only got 800,000 votes. There’s no reason for Republicans to only turnout 800,000 votes in a spring election,” Johnson said. “There’s no reason in a supreme court race we can’t turnout 1.2 - 1.3 million voters.”
Ricardo Torres
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul says he's 'optimistic' about Tammy Baldwin's chances
Appearing at Baldwin’s watch party at the Orpheum Theater in downtown Madison, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said he’s “anxiously awaiting to see what the results are” along with countless others.
Kaul said he’s “very optimistic” about Baldwin’s chances, particularly given that she’s slightly outperforming Harris in Wisconsin. But he pointed to Ohio Republican Bernie Moreno’s win over incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown as “concerning” due to its implications for the balance of the Senate.
“I’m certainly used to close elections myself,” Kaul said, “so we’ll wait till things unfold.”
Madeline Heim
City of Milwaukee counting total of 108,325 absentee ballots
The City of Milwaukee received a total of 108,325 absentee ballots that will be counted tonight, according to Election Commission officials.
Counting continued as of 10:50 p.m.
The city's absentee ballot drop boxes closed at 6 p.m., though ballots could be dropped off by 8 p.m. at the Baird Center, where absentee ballots results were being tallied.
Alison Dirr
City of Milwaukee had processed more than 80,000 absentee ballots by 9:40 p.m.
Milwaukee Election Commission Executive Director Paulina Gutiérrez said the city’s processing of more than 107,000 absentee ballots is moving at a good clip.
About 9:40 p.m., she said 80,601 absentee ballots had been processed.
“From where we first started to where we are now, I’m feeling really good,” she said.
She and the city’s three election commissioners – two Democrats and one Republican – plus a second Republican then publicly formatted the thumb drives onto which the absentee ballot results would be downloaded at the end of the night.
The formatted thumb drives were then locked in a box in the middle of the room where absentee ballots are being counted.
Those results will be downloaded from the 13 absentee ballot tabulators by two teams that each includes one Republican and one Democrat.
--Alison Dirr
Donald Trump wins North Carolina
Donald Trump has won North Carolina’s 16 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
At Tammy Baldwin watch party, Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez says to wait for Milwaukee votes
At the Orpheum Theater in downtown Madison, supporters of U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin were watching nervously as votes from across Wisconsin continued to trickle in.
As of 10:30 p.m., Republican businessman Eric Hovde had a 49.8% lead over Baldwin’s 48.2% with just under 68% of the state’s vote tallied, more than a 40,000-vote lead.
Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez told the crowd shortly after 10 p.m. that “we always know what happens” before Milwaukee’s voting numbers come in. She also pointed out that college campus turnout is high, and that polls at UW-Whitewater are staying open until 10:30 p.m.
“We are optimistic in what we are seeing in the numbers here tonight,” Rodriguez said.
Madeline Heim
Tony Wied, ‘Trump-endorsed’ businessman, heads to Congress
Tony Wied parted the crowd to the stage at the Legacy Hotel in Green Bay to make his acceptance speech as U.S. Representative from the 8th Congressional District flanked by his extended family.His first call when he decided to run for the seat, he said, was to his nephew, Henry. “When you do this, your family’s involved. I told Henry, ‘I’m gonna run for Congress as long as you’re on my team.’”When his speech ended with, “I’m ready to get to work,” he asked for a picture: mom, dad, four sons, and wife included.
Jesse Lin
Watch party at Appleton bowling alley hosted by the Republican Party of Outagamie County
At The 10th Frame, an Appleton bar and bowling alley, Outagamie County Republicans gathered to watch election results come in Tuesday night.
The night had live music, a buffet of food and a raffle. A man dressed as Donald Trump took on the dance floor earlier in the evening, said Pam Van Handel, chair of the Republican Party of Outagamie County.
Each time a Republican projected lead was announced on television for local, state and the presidential race, a cheer went up throughout the room.
“A lot of people are energized, a lot of people are excited,” said Nate Gustafson, the Republican incumbent in the race for Assembly District 55.
Kelli Arseneau
Nine Milwaukee County municipalities have reported all their results by 10:25 p.m.
In Milwaukee County, results are trickling in. Nine out of 19 total municipalities have reported all their results to the county as of 10:15 p.m.
They are Bayside, Brown Deer, Glendale, Greenfield, River Hills, South Milwaukee, St. Francis, West Milwaukee and Whitefish Bay.
There are results from 511 wards out of a total of 524 wards, according to the county's website. Results from the city of Milwaukee are expected to come in between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. as absentee ballots are being tabulated at the central count location.
-- Sophie Carson
WEC admin. Wolfe says bomb threat not credible, law enforcement keeping eye on social media disinformation
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe said there was a bomb threat in Madison that seemed to originate from a Russian email domain, which was deemed not credible by law enforcement.
A video also circulated on social media that "depicted violence between supporters of the two major presidential campaigns," but it had indicators that it was not real. The video did not appear to show a Wisconsin polling place, nor was the behavior something that would be permitted at a polling place, Wolfe said.
"This really serves as an important reminder to just be aware of these disinformation efforts that are ongoing, and to really think critically about the information about elections that you consume and certainly think before sharing information about elections," she said.
Laura Schulte
Long lines at UW-Whitewater leads to poll hours extension
UW-Whitewater students are facing hours-long waits to cast their ballots, leading to a court order extending campus polling hours to 10:30 p.m.
The court order signed by Judge David Reddy said voters at the university center and a downtown polling place experienced "significant delays," blaming "inadequate staffing" and "insufficient" electronic polling materials due to "unprecedented turnout."
Darby O'Connor, who leads the Wisco Project, a progressive group focused on mobilizing college voters, said around 9 p.m. that UW-Whitewater lines were "at least" three hours long. She said she expected some students to remain in line "well past midnight."
Some students pulled up chairs to wait while others played cards, according to video posted on social media. Others on campus handed out pizza to encourage students to stay in line.
At UW-Stout in Menomonie, O'Connor said students faced lines of one to two hours.
At other campuses, however, voting ran much more smoothly. UW-Eau Claire saw few lines this evening despite that being when the biggest waves of students typically arrive.
- Kelly Meyerhofer and Mary Spicuzza
Advocacy groups and labor unions rally outside central count
Local advocacy groups gathered outside the Baird Center where central count is located in Milwaukee to advise the public that there is still more counting to be done.
“We just want to remind people that now that voters have done their job, now it’s time to let our election workers do their job,” said Sam Liebert, Wisconsin state director for All Voting is Local.
Labor union leaders echoed calls for integrity in the election count.
“Standing alongside community groups and all sorts off civic and social groups that want to make sure that we have integrity, not only in our elections, but our election results are protected,” said Louis Davis, executive director of the Service Employees International Union or SEIU.
“We want to count every vote, make sure that every Wisconsinite that voted that their ballot is counted, and that is part of the final count to make sure that we win this state for working people, and the will of the voters are protected.”
Most speakers had issues with Sen. Ron Johnson going to central count after the city said it was reprocessing 31,000 absentee ballots after an observer noticed that some doors covering on-off switches on the ballot counting machines had not been properly closed.
“Senator Johnson is about political theater,” said Christine Neuman-Ortiz, executive director of Voces de La Frontera. “He’s been organizing political theater in the lead up to this campaign, continuing the hate mongering and disinformation. And so, it’s not surprising.”
Drake Bentley
Wisconsin Elections Commission Administrator Meagan Wolfe says election so far has been 'great success'
Wisconsin Elections Commissioner Meagan Wolfe said that despite a few issues earlier today, the election has been "a great success."
One of those issues took place in Milwaukee, where about 30,000 ballots had to be recounted after a "procedural step" was missed. Doors in front of the power cords and other mechanics were not locked before ballots were run through the machine, and in "an abundance of caution," elections officials decided to rerun the ballots so they could not later be challenged.
"The law requires these doors to be locked and sealed, and Milwaukee election officials wanted to ensure that the letter of the law was followed," she said. "Milwaukee made the decision to make sure this was addressed today, on election day, in the public eye, so that no one could use a procedural misstep to call those legitimate votes into question later."
Laura Schulte
Wisconsin GOP chairman Brian Schimming early outlook 'very, very good'
Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brian Schimming told the large crowd at the Ingleside Hotel for the state GOP watch party that there is “a long way to go tonight.”
“We assume it’s going to go our way,” Schimming said. “We’re going to be watching, but the trends nationally that we have seen so far are very, very good.”
~~Ricardo Torres
Rep. Mark Pocan re-elected in 2nd Congressional District race in Wisconsin 2024 election
Mark Pocan will remain the representative for Wisconsin's 2nd Congressional District.
Pocan, 60, was reelected Tuesday night, defeating Republican challenger Erik Olsen.
Olsen, of Madison, also ran against Pocan in 2022, but lost by 44 points. He has worked as a constitutional law attorney for nearly 20 years, and described himself as a pro-Donald Trump Republican focused on border security and gun rights.
Laura Schulte
Wisconsin polling places received threats linked to Russian domains, FBI says
Wisconsin polling locations received non-credible bomb threats on Tuesday that seemingly originated from Russian email domains, Caroline Clancy, public affairs officer for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Milwaukee, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Along with Wisconsin, Georgia and Arizona also received threats linked to Russian email domains on Election Day, according to the FBI. None of the threats have been deemed credible, though voting slowed down in more than two dozen Georgia polling places as police performed precautionary bomb sweeps.
Maia Pandey, Hope Karnopp, Drake Bentley
Lyerly awaits results in Congressional race
Democrat Kristen Lyerly, running for Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, huddled with her fellow candidates for Assembly — Jane Benson, Alicia Sunders, Christy Welch, and Ryan Spaude — at a watch party hosted by the Democratic Party of Brown County after the polls closed. Over 100 people joined the watch party ahead of its 8 p.m. start time at Gather on Broadway in downtown Green Bay to watch results come in.
Lyerly thanked everyone who volunteered for campaigns and at the polls to build a “new landscape” under the newly drawn district maps in Wisconsin.
“This is a long game for us,” Lyerly said. “Some of us are going to win and some of us are going to lose. We’re going to continue to get stronger and build community.”
The first things she is going to do if elected is work on getting access to abortion care and a border security bill, she said.
“Regardless of the outcome, we will accept the results,” Lyerly said.
Benita Matthew
Kamala Harris wins Colorado
Kamala Harris has won Colorado’s 10 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Utah
Donald Trump has won Utah’s six electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Montana
Donald Trump has won Montana's four electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Eric Hovde speaks at election party
Gwen Moore of Milwaukee sails to victory in 4th Congressional District election
Democratic U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore on Tuesday easily won another term to represent her Milwaukee-area district in Congress.
U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald reelected in Wisconsin's 5th District
Republican Congressman Scott Fitzgerald easily won re-election in Wisconsin's Fifth District. He believes if turnout in his district is high, it could be a good night for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and senate candidate Eric Hovde.
“If I do well, that means statewide should do well,” Fitzgerald said. “Hopefully we’ll get Trump and Hovde through. I feel good about where we’re at right now.”
But Fitzgerald is preparing for a long night of vote counting in high population areas especially after the issue at central count in Milwaukee.
“That’s not going to instill any confidence in central count, which has already been a problem and something that’s been a subject of criticism for many years,” Fitzgerald said. “I hope it doesn’t come down to that but it certainly looks like it’s going to at this point.”
~~Ricardo Torres, Laura Schulte
'Every Vote Counts' rally in Green Bay to preempt election denier claims
Poll workers are beginning to bring bags of ballots to a partially-barricaded Green Bay City Hall.
They have to pass a small group wearing yellow T-shirts saying “Every Vote Counts” that includes former Brown County GOP Chair Mark Becker, Democratic Assembly District 90 candidate Amaad Rivera-Wagner, and former candidate for City Council Jon Shelton.
“When you have bad faith actors telling us that they’re not gonna accept the results of this election, that is offensive,” Shelton said. “We’re going to be out here in the streets if we have tobecause we’re here to say, ‘Count every vote.’”
~~Jesse Lin
Village of West Milwaukee results are first to be reported in Milwaukee County
The first Milwaukee County municipality to report its results is the village of West Milwaukee. Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson about 8:36 p.m. added a placard to the West Milwaukee box on a large board in the courthouse cafeteria displaying each municipality.
The second municipality that reported all its results was the village of Whitefish Bay. Both municipalities process absentee ballots at polling locations as opposed to a central count location.
There are 19 municipalities in the county in total. The city of Milwaukee is expecting to report its results between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. because of a recount of absentee ballots that began earlier today.
-- Sophie Carson
Donald Trump wins Louisiana
Donald Trump has won Louisiana’s eight electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Ohio
Donald Trump has won Ohio’s 17 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Watch party at the Milwaukee Liberation Center
The Milwaukee Party for Socialism and Liberation is hosting an election night watch party at the Milwaukee Liberation Center tonight from 7 to 9:30 p.m.
The party garnered enough signatures this year for third party candidate Claudia De la Cruz to appear on 19 states' ballots, including Wisconsin's. PSL member and local De la Cruz campaign coordinator Erica Steib said this was the party's largest campaign yet.
At around 8 p.m., 30 people, mainly consisting of campaign volunteers from Madison and Milwaukee, gathered at the community center located on Milwaukee's south side.
Attendees gathered to commemorate the party's accomplishments, watch election updates on the independent media platform Break Through News, and strategize the party's plans to continue efforts to move the country away from the two-party system which, they say, does not serve the interest of working-class citizens.
Steib said during her campaign efforts, she heard at least once a week from Milwaukee residents that they weren't planning to vote until she spoke to them about voting third party.
~~Quinn Clark
Hovde campaign blocks Journal Sentinel reporter from election night party
A reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was rejected from covering the election night party for Republican Senate candidate Eric Hovde at the Edgewater Hotel in Madison.
Mary Spicuzza, a veteran political reporter, was told by Hovde spokesman Zach Bannon that she had not confirmed her attendance at the event and that it was at full capacity. The Hovde campaign did not send the newspaper an invitation to the event.
""I've always covered election night parties," Spicuzza told Bannon. "I've never gotten kicked out of one in 15 years of covering this stuff."
Bannon has not responded to Journal Sentinel calls, texts and emails in the final weeks of the campaign.
Daniel Bice
City of Milwaukee results expected about 2 a.m. to 4 a.m., county clerk says
Milwaukee County Clerk George Christenson, who is the county’s chief elections official, said he expects results for the city of Milwaukee to come in between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. because of the city’s recount of absentee ballots, which began earlier today.
As polls closed at 8 p.m., Christenson spoke from the Milwaukee County Courthouse cafeteria, where results for each municipality are added to the county’s vote totals.
The city of Milwaukee is among 19 municipalities in Milwaukee County whose results will be reported from the county courthouse. Results will also be available on the county’s website.
“We all understand the gravity of the moment before us here, and the most important aspect of this election tonight is accurately reporting the election results as they come in,” Christenson said.
“I ask everyone for your patience. We will get you the results as quickly as possible once they come in. It’s going to be a long night,” he continued.
– Sophie Carson
Donald Trump wins Texas
Donald Trump has won Texas' 40 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Sen. Ron Johnson, Wisconsin GOP chairman arrive at Milwaukee central count after absentee ballot recounting begins
Sen. Ron Johnson and Republican Party of Wisconsin Chairman Brian Schimming arrived at the City of Milwaukee's absentee ballot counting operation downtown just after 7:30 p.m.
Their arrival followed news that the city was reprocessing 31,000 absentee ballots after an observer noticed that some doors covering on-off switches on the ballot counting machines had not been properly closed.
Schimming said they wanted to trust the process but said he thought it was "fair" to ask questions when an issue involving this many ballots comes up.
Johnson said "it doesn't sound" like the city was prepared to count absentee ballots this Election Day.
--Alison Dirr
Milwaukee rerunning more than 30,000 absentee ballots over error, delaying results
Milwaukee will rerun about 31,000 absentee ballots after a "sealing" error with the tabulation machines was discovered at the downtown central count site on Election Day, potentially delaying a final count by one to three hours, city spokesman Jeff Fleming said on Tuesday.
"It's just out of an abundance of caution. We have no reason to believe that there was any compromise to any of the machines," Fleming said. "But because they were not fully sealed — human error — and not fully sealed, we are going to zero them all out again … and then rerun the balance that had already been processed."
Read more here.
Kamala Harris wins Illinois
Kamala Harris has won Illinois' 19 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins New York
Kamala Harris has won New York's 28 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins New Jersey
Kamala Harris has won New Jersey's 14 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins Delaware
Kamala Harris has won Delaware's three electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins North Dakota
Donald Trump has won North Dakota's three electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins South Dakota
Donald Trump has won South Dakota's three electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Wyoming
Donald Trump has won Wyoming's three electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins Massachusetts
Kamala Harris has won Massachusetts' 11 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins Maryland
Kamala Harris has won Maryland's 10 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins Connecticut
Kamala Harris has won Connecticut's seven electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins Rhode Island
Kamala Harris has won Rhode Island's four electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins South Carolina
Donald Trump has won South Carolina's nine electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Oklahoma
Donald Trump has won Oklahoma's seven electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Mississippi
Donald Trump has won Mississippi's six electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Alabama
Donald Trump has won Alabama's nine electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Tennessee
Donald Trump has won Tennessee's 11 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump has won Florida
Donald Trump has won Florida's 30 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump has won West Virginia
Donald Trump has won West Virginia's four electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Indiana
Donald Trump has won Indiana's 11 electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Kamala Harris wins Vermont
Kamala Harris has won Vermont's three electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
Donald Trump wins Kentucky
Donald Trump has won Kentucky's eight electoral votes, according to the Associated Press.
When do the first polls close on election day?
The first polls closed in parts of Kentucky and Indiana at 6 p.m. ET. Follow for live results here.
Georgia, the rest of Indiana and Kentucky, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia and parts of Florida close at 7 p.m. ET.
When does the new president take over?
Either Kamala Harris or Donald Trump will be the next president of the United States.
The winner of the 2024 presidential election will be inaugurated at the U.S. Capitol building in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Jan. 20, 2025, during the inauguration ceremony.
Election Day in Wisconsin: Essential information about voting, key races and results
How many electoral college votes are there in Wisconsin?
Wisconsin has 10 electoral college votes.
It's one of the battleground states in the 2024 election that will help decide the winner of the president. Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election by 20,000 votes.
270 electoral college votes are needed to win the presidential election
The presidential candidates need 270 electoral votes to win the presidency.
President Joe Biden defeated Donald Trump, 306-232, in the 2020 election. Trump defeated Hillary Clinton in 2016, 304-227.
When do polls close in Wisconsin?
Polls closed at 8 p.m.
All ballots are counted on Election Day. Absentee ballots are also processed on Election Day.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin election live updates, results from 2024 races: Recap