The 2024 United States Senate election in Wisconsin was held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Wisconsin. Incumbent Democratic Senator Tammy Baldwin won re-election to a third term, narrowly defeating Republican nominee Eric Hovde.
Third-party candidates Phil Anderson and Thomas Leager were seen as potential spoiler candidates for Hovde in a state that had voted for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump. This was the first time that Wisconsin voted for candidates of different political parties for U.S. senator and president since Democrat Gaylord Nelson was reelected as Republican Richard Nixon carried the state in 1968. The closest of Baldwin's three Senate victories, the race held similarities to Republican Ron Johnson's narrow win in 2022, down to the percentage and raw vote margin by which the incumbents won. It was the closest senate race in the state since 1914 and the closest election ever for this seat.
Baldwin won only about 4,000 votes more than Kamala Harris, while Hovde received about 55,000 fewer votes than Trump. This likely means that some Trump voters didn't vote for Hovde or voted for a third-party candidate. While almost all of the state's counties swung Republican, Baldwin improved in Waukesha and Ozaukee.
The primary election took place on August 13, 2024. The election was considered essential for Democrats' chances to retain the Senate majority in 2024.
Background
No Republican has won this senate seat since Joseph McCarthy in 1952, the longest Democratic streak of any US Senate seat in the nation. Incumbent Tammy Baldwin was first elected in 2012, defeating former governor Tommy Thompson by 6 percentage points. She was re-elected in 2018 by 11 percentage points.
The race was considered to be slightly favorable to Baldwin, despite Wisconsin's nearly even partisan lean, with most polls showing Baldwin to be the favorite to win.
Wisconsin is considered to be a purple state at the federal level, especially since there are both a Republican and a Democratic senator representing the state. Wisconsin was also a top battleground state in the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections. The state backed the Republican candidate in 2016, and then the Democratic candidate in 2020, both by less than 1% and only a plurality.
Both parties have seen success in the state in recent years. Republicans control both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature and hold a supermajority in Wisconsin's U.S. House delegation. Republicans also control the state's other senate seat. However, Democrats had seen success in statewide races, including in 2022, where incumbent governor Tony Evers overperformed expectations and won reelection to a second term, despite polls showing his Republican challenger as the slight favorite.
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Tammy Baldwin, incumbent U.S. senator
Endorsements
Fundraising
Results
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
- Eric Hovde, bank executive and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2012
Eliminated in primary
- Charles Barman, retired construction superintendent and perennial candidate
- Rejani Raveendran, chair of University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point College Republicans
Withdrew
- Stacey Klein, Trempealeau County supervisor (ran for state senate)
- Patrick Schaefer-Wicke, retired U.S. Army Reserve sergeant major
Declined
- Mike Gallagher, U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 8th congressional district (2017–2024)
- Scott Mayer, staffing executive and former Indy Racing League driver
- Bryan Steil, U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 1st congressional district (2019–present) (ran for re-election, endorsed Hovde)
- Tom Tiffany, U.S. representative from Wisconsin's 7th congressional district (2020–present) (ran for re-election, endorsed Hovde)
- Scott Walker, former governor of Wisconsin (2011–2019) (endorsed Hovde)
Endorsements
Fundraising
Polling
Results
Independent candidates
Candidates
Declared
- Phil Anderson (Disrupt The Corruption), realtor, former chair of the Wisconsin Libertarian Party, and perennial candidate
- Thomas Leager (America First), lobbyist
General election
Predictions
Post-primary endorsements
Debates
Polling
Aggregate polls
Fundraising
Results
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican
- Columbia (largest city: Portage)
- Kenosha (largest city: Kenosha)
- Lafayette (largest city: Darlington)
- Racine (largest city: Racine)
- Outagamie (largest city: Appleton)
- Brown (largest city: Green Bay)
- Crawford (largest city: Prairie du Chien)
- Dunn (largest city: Menomonie)
- Grant (largest city: Platteville)
- Pierce (largest city: River Falls)
- Richland (largest city: Richland Center)
- Trempealeau (largest city: Arcadia)
- Vernon (largest city: Viroqua)
- Winnebago (largest city: Oshkosh)
By congressional district
Despite losing the state, Hovde won six of eight congressional districts.
See also
- 2024 United States presidential election
- 2024 United States presidential election in Wisconsin
Notes
Partisan clients
References
External links
Official campaign websites
- Phil Anderson (DTC) for Senate
- Tammy Baldwin (D) for Senate
- Eric Hovde (R) for Senate
