2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election

For related races, see 2026 United States gubernatorial elections.

2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election
November 3, 2026
 
Party Democratic Republican
Incumbent Governor

Tony Evers
Democratic



Elections in Wisconsin
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The 2026 Wisconsin gubernatorial election is scheduled to take place on November 3, 2026, to elect the governor of Wisconsin. Incumbent Democratic Governor Tony Evers is eligible to run for election to a third term but has not announced if he will do so. This will be one of five Democratic-held governorships up for election in 2026 in a state won by President Donald Trump in the 2024 presidential election and the state with the closest presidential margin of victory, just under one percentage point.[1]

Background

Wisconsin is considered to be a purple state at the federal and state levels with a uniquely competitive track record (presidential races decided by less than a point in 2016, 2020, 2024, Senate races decided by roughly a point in 2022 and 2024, a governor’s race decided by a point in 2018).[1] The past two Wisconsin elections featured split outcomes, with Democrats winning for governor and Republicans for Senate in 2022, and Democrats winning for Senate and Republicans for president in 2024. Wisconsin has voted with the winner of the last five presidential elections, and in 2024 had the second highest voter turnout levels in the country behind Minnesota and one of the biggest turnout increases in the country.[1] Both parties have seen success in the state in recent years. Republicans narrowly control both chambers of the Wisconsin Legislature and hold a supermajority in Wisconsin's U.S. House delegation. However, Democrats control most statewide executive offices and have won the last two gubernatorial races.[2]

The incumbent Governor of Wisconsin, Democrat Tony Evers, was first elected in 2018 when he narrowly defeated incumbent Republican Scott Walker.[3] He was re-elected by a slightly larger margin in 2022, defeating conservative businessman Tim Michels.[4]

Democratic primary

Governor

Candidates

Declared
  • Zachary Roper, college student[5]
Publicly expressed interest
Potential
Declined

Lieutenant Governor

Candidates

Potential

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Publicly expressed interest

Potential

Declined

Endorsements

Tom Tiffany (undeclared)
Organizations

Minor parties and independents

Green Party

Declared

  • Jill Ferguson, retiree[19]

Independents

Filed paperwork

General election

Predictions

Source Ranking As of
The Cook Political Report[21] Tossup January 23, 2025
Inside Elections[22] Battleground February 6, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball[23] Lean D May 1, 2025
Race to the WH[24] Lean D July 3, 2025

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Gilbert, Craig (November 25, 2024). "Gilbert: How small voting shifts made Wisconsin the closest state in the nation". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 26, 2024.
  2. ^ Unger, Nancy C. (October 28, 2024). "How Wisconsin Became the Ultimate Purple State". TIME Magazine. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  3. ^ Gowen, Annie (November 7, 2018). "How the Democrats finally defeated Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  4. ^ Bosman, Julie (November 9, 2022). "Tony Evers and Ron Johnson Keep Their Seats in Wisconsin". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Bahl, Andrew (May 20, 2025). "Chris Taylor for Wisconsin Supreme Court among 2026 election bids". The Cap Times. Retrieved May 25, 2025.
  6. ^ Kenneally, Will (January 6, 2025). "Evers to decide on reelection after 2025 budget". WISC-TV. Retrieved January 7, 2025.
  7. ^ a b Karnopp, Hope (April 10, 2025). "What will Wisconsin vote for in the 2026 elections? Supreme Court, governor's races will soon take shape". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 13, 2025.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Beck, Molly; Bice, Daniel (May 27, 2025). "Which Democrats will run for governor if Tony Evers doesn't and answers to other questions". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on May 27, 2025. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  9. ^ Beck, Molly (July 9, 2025). "Bill Berrien, a businessman and retired Navy SEAL, enters GOP primary for 2026 Wisconsin governor's race". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved July 9, 2025.
  10. ^ Beck, Molly (May 1, 2025). "Wisconsin Republican Josh Schoemann makes early entry into 2026 governor's race". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Beck, Molly; Andrea, Lawrence (January 14, 2025). "Republican challengers start to line up as Gov. Tony Evers considers 2026 run for 3rd term". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved March 6, 2025.
  12. ^ "Potential candidates for 2026 governor race lining up as Gov. Evers considers running for another term". WisPolitics. January 14, 2025. TUES News Summary. Retrieved May 28, 2025.
  13. ^ "'UpFront': Tiffany to decide by August whether to run for governor". WisPolitics. May 26, 2025. Retrieved May 26, 2025.
  14. ^ "You think it's early for 2026 campaign maneuvers? Guess again". Wispolitics.com. April 15, 2025. Retrieved April 19, 2025 – via Wisconsin Newspaper Association.
  15. ^ a b Beck, Molly; Opoien, Jessie; Bice, Daniel; Andrea, Lawrence (June 27, 2025). "Businessmen Tim Michels, Eric Hovde considering return to politics with runs for Wisconsin governor". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved June 27, 2025.
  16. ^ Walters, Steven (August 1, 2024). "Who might run for Wisconsin governor in 2026?". Isthmus. Retrieved August 29, 2024.
  17. ^ Schulte, Laura (April 8, 2025). "Scott Walker talks tariffs, Medicaid, Act 10 and his political future at UW-Madison event". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved April 8, 2025. [Scott Walker] even hinted he could run for governor again...Though he said he has no plans to run next year, he didn't close the door to another run in the future.
  18. ^ @WICRs (June 25, 2025). "Tiffany 2026" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 8, 2025 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ "Green Party: Announcing candidate for WI Governor '26". Wisconsin Green Party (Press release). July 26, 2024. Retrieved July 26, 2024 – via WisPolitics.
  20. ^ "Washington County Exec Schoemann registers '26 guv bid". WisPolitics. May 2, 2025. Retrieved May 2, 2025. Schoemann is one of two people to register for the race this week. Independent Alexander Kent, of La Crosse, filed on Tuesday.
  21. ^ "2026 CPR Governor Race ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
  22. ^ "Gubernatorial Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved February 7, 2025.
  23. ^ "2026 Governor". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved May 1, 2025.
  24. ^ "Governor Forecast - 2026-2026". Race to the WH. Retrieved June 30, 2025.
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