This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/07/us/elections-wisconsin-governor-evers-walker.html
The article has changed 9 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 7 | Version 8 |
|---|---|
| Tony Evers Wins Wisconsin Governor’s Race; Scott Walker Concedes | Tony Evers Wins Wisconsin Governor’s Race; Scott Walker Concedes |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Scott Walker, who moved Wisconsin to the right over the last eight years, cutting taxes and sharply diminishing the power of labor unions, conceded the governor’s race on Wednesday to the Democrat, Tony Evers, the state schools superintendent. | PEWAUKEE, Wis. — Scott Walker, who moved Wisconsin to the right over the last eight years, cutting taxes and sharply diminishing the power of labor unions, conceded the governor’s race on Wednesday to the Democrat, Tony Evers, the state schools superintendent. |
| The advantage for Mr. Evers was razor thin, a little over 1 percentage point. With more than 2.6 million votes cast and 100 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Evers led by about 30,000 votes. | The advantage for Mr. Evers was razor thin, a little over 1 percentage point. With more than 2.6 million votes cast and 100 percent of precincts reporting, Mr. Evers led by about 30,000 votes. |
| For hours overnight, Mr. Walker said the campaign was waiting for more information before deciding how to proceed. But on Wednesday afternoon, the campaign said that Mr. Walker had called Mr. Evers and that any additional counting of votes would not be enough to change the outcome. The Wisconsin Elections Commission said that the race was outside the margin to qualify for a recount. | For hours overnight, Mr. Walker said the campaign was waiting for more information before deciding how to proceed. But on Wednesday afternoon, the campaign said that Mr. Walker had called Mr. Evers and that any additional counting of votes would not be enough to change the outcome. The Wisconsin Elections Commission said that the race was outside the margin to qualify for a recount. |
| “We’ve come a long way together and it is my sincere hope that the progress we’ve made during our time in office will continue and that we can keep Wisconsin working for generations to come,” Mr. Walker said in a statement. | “We’ve come a long way together and it is my sincere hope that the progress we’ve made during our time in office will continue and that we can keep Wisconsin working for generations to come,” Mr. Walker said in a statement. |
| The win by Mr. Evers buoyed the hopes of Democrats in a long-divided state for a resounding return after 2016, when Wisconsin surprised many by helping secure the presidency for Donald J. Trump. This year’s Wisconsin race has been viewed as a crucial test of partisan control in the Midwest, where governors’ offices and state legislatures, including Wisconsin’s, have been dominated by Republicans. | The win by Mr. Evers buoyed the hopes of Democrats in a long-divided state for a resounding return after 2016, when Wisconsin surprised many by helping secure the presidency for Donald J. Trump. This year’s Wisconsin race has been viewed as a crucial test of partisan control in the Midwest, where governors’ offices and state legislatures, including Wisconsin’s, have been dominated by Republicans. |
| [See the results for the Wisconsin governor’s race and for other states’ elections for governor.] | [See the results for the Wisconsin governor’s race and for other states’ elections for governor.] |
| Mr. Evers, 67, won amid signs of rising Democratic energy in several special elections in the state earlier in the year and despite a fierce fight for a third term by Mr. Walker, a Republican whose formidable political and organizational skills had showed him tied with Mr. Evers in polling before the election. The outcome was a blow to Wisconsin Republicans, who have for the last eight years largely dominated the State Capitol and remade policies from taxes to requirements to vote, but now face a changed landscape. | Mr. Evers, 67, won amid signs of rising Democratic energy in several special elections in the state earlier in the year and despite a fierce fight for a third term by Mr. Walker, a Republican whose formidable political and organizational skills had showed him tied with Mr. Evers in polling before the election. The outcome was a blow to Wisconsin Republicans, who have for the last eight years largely dominated the State Capitol and remade policies from taxes to requirements to vote, but now face a changed landscape. |
| Democrats also held on to a Senate seat, securing the two top posts that they had aimed for. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, was re-elected, easily holding off a challenge from Leah Vukmir, a state legislator. | Democrats also held on to a Senate seat, securing the two top posts that they had aimed for. Senator Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat, was re-elected, easily holding off a challenge from Leah Vukmir, a state legislator. |
| Wisconsin was once seen as mostly blue but has often flipped back and forth, and over eight years of Republican dominance in Madison, the state has veered toward conservative policies. | Wisconsin was once seen as mostly blue but has often flipped back and forth, and over eight years of Republican dominance in Madison, the state has veered toward conservative policies. |
| Mr. Walker, 51, a former county executive with reliable allies in the Legislature from his years as a member, upended the state within weeks of arriving in office in 2011 with what became his defining move: He called for cuts to collective bargaining rights for most public workers. The effort drew thousands of labor unions to protest in the streets around the State Capitol, and it made Mr. Walker — at the time little known outside the state — a national name. The fight over labor unions also led to calls for his removal, but Mr. Walker survived a recall election. The issue, and the attention, later helped propel a presidential run that quickly fizzled. | Mr. Walker, 51, a former county executive with reliable allies in the Legislature from his years as a member, upended the state within weeks of arriving in office in 2011 with what became his defining move: He called for cuts to collective bargaining rights for most public workers. The effort drew thousands of labor unions to protest in the streets around the State Capitol, and it made Mr. Walker — at the time little known outside the state — a national name. The fight over labor unions also led to calls for his removal, but Mr. Walker survived a recall election. The issue, and the attention, later helped propel a presidential run that quickly fizzled. |
| Under Mr. Walker, Republican leaders went on to cut taxes, approve a voter ID rule, expand school vouchers, make Wisconsin a right-to-work state and allow concealed weapons. The state agreed to provide $3 billion in tax credits so that Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics company, could build a campus in southeast Wisconsin. | Under Mr. Walker, Republican leaders went on to cut taxes, approve a voter ID rule, expand school vouchers, make Wisconsin a right-to-work state and allow concealed weapons. The state agreed to provide $3 billion in tax credits so that Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronics company, could build a campus in southeast Wisconsin. |
| In a state that has, over time, swung between progressivism and conservatism, the race between Mr. Walker and Mr. Evers became a struggle to define — or redefine — the state’s political identity. | In a state that has, over time, swung between progressivism and conservatism, the race between Mr. Walker and Mr. Evers became a struggle to define — or redefine — the state’s political identity. |
| Before 2016, no Republican had won Wisconsin in a presidential race since 1984. So Mr. Trump’s win here two years ago, by 22,700 votes, set off a reckoning among Democrats, many of whom still thought of the state as the home of Robert M. La Follette, the famed progressive leader, and Gaylord A. Nelson, the founder of Earth Day. | Before 2016, no Republican had won Wisconsin in a presidential race since 1984. So Mr. Trump’s win here two years ago, by 22,700 votes, set off a reckoning among Democrats, many of whom still thought of the state as the home of Robert M. La Follette, the famed progressive leader, and Gaylord A. Nelson, the founder of Earth Day. |
| Through 2018, there were concrete signs of surprising levels of Democratic energy around the state. Voters chose a liberal candidate to fill a State Supreme Court seat, and elected Democrats in special elections to two state legislative seats that had long been held by Republicans. | Through 2018, there were concrete signs of surprising levels of Democratic energy around the state. Voters chose a liberal candidate to fill a State Supreme Court seat, and elected Democrats in special elections to two state legislative seats that had long been held by Republicans. |
| For months, as polls showed an extremely tight governor’s race, Mr. Walker himself was perhaps the loudest voice of worry about a “blue wave,” and he campaigned frenetically, making multiple swings across the state in the final days. | For months, as polls showed an extremely tight governor’s race, Mr. Walker himself was perhaps the loudest voice of worry about a “blue wave,” and he campaigned frenetically, making multiple swings across the state in the final days. |
| Along the campaign trail, Mr. Walker was firmly focused on the state’s economic gains. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate, around 3 percent, is below the national average and wage growth has been picking up. | Along the campaign trail, Mr. Walker was firmly focused on the state’s economic gains. Wisconsin’s unemployment rate, around 3 percent, is below the national average and wage growth has been picking up. |
| He implored crowds to let him “finish the job” and grow the state’s work force over the next four years. “We can’t afford to turn around now,” Mr. Walker he said. | He implored crowds to let him “finish the job” and grow the state’s work force over the next four years. “We can’t afford to turn around now,” Mr. Walker he said. |
| But Mr. Evers, a teacher and principal before he became the state’s superintendent of public instruction, defined his pitch as a desperately needed antidote for Wisconsin after eight years under the Walker administration. He said that so many years of conservative policies had starved the state’s school system of needed funds, left roads to decay and destroyed environmental protections, and that Mr. Walker was threatening the health care coverage of Wisconsin residents. | |
| Mr. Evers, who is relatively well known in the state, had won a crowded Democratic primary in August. Some Democrats had worried that he was too bland, too normal — not dynamic enough to contend with Mr. Walker. But others said he was just what voters needed: a steady, reliable opponent who might not turn much attention to himself but would keep people firmly focused on Mr. Walker — and Mr. Walker’s legacy in Wisconsin. | Mr. Evers, who is relatively well known in the state, had won a crowded Democratic primary in August. Some Democrats had worried that he was too bland, too normal — not dynamic enough to contend with Mr. Walker. But others said he was just what voters needed: a steady, reliable opponent who might not turn much attention to himself but would keep people firmly focused on Mr. Walker — and Mr. Walker’s legacy in Wisconsin. |
| In a final debate between the two, Mr. Evers described Mr. Walker’s years in charge of the state in blunt terms: “We have bad roads. We have a struggling school system that’s been politicized. And frankly, we have a health care system that’s under attack.” | In a final debate between the two, Mr. Evers described Mr. Walker’s years in charge of the state in blunt terms: “We have bad roads. We have a struggling school system that’s been politicized. And frankly, we have a health care system that’s under attack.” |