2022 Wisconsin gubernatorial election


The 2022 Wisconsin gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 2022, to elect the governor of Wisconsin. Incumbent Democratic Governor Tony Evers won a second term by a margin of 3.4%, defeating Republican nominee Tim Michels.
As Lieutenant Governor Mandela Barnes ran for the U.S. Senate in the concurrent election, a new Democratic running mate, state assemblywoman Sara Rodriguez, was nominated in the partisan primary. Barnes was the second lieutenant governor not to run with the incumbent governor since the state constitution was amended in 1967. The partisan primary was held on August 9, 2022, with businessman Tim Michels defeating former lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch in the Republican primary. State senator Roger Roth received the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor.
This election result was the first since 2006 in which a Democrat in Wisconsin won with an outright majority of the vote, the first since 1990 in which the winner was from the same party as the incumbent president, and the first since 1962 in which Wisconsin voted for a Democratic governor at the same time the party held the presidency. This was also the first gubernatorial election in the state since 1998 in which the winning candidate was of a different party than the winner of the concurrent U.S. Senate election.
Evers's victory was labeled a slight upset, as he was initially elected back in 2018 by a meager 1.1%, despite 2018 being considered a much more favorable year for Democrats than 2022. In addition, many polls showed Michels in the lead in the weeks leading up to the election. According to Ron Brownstein of CNN in 2023, Evers won independent voters by 6–7 percentage points, which contributed to Michels's defeat.
Evers did substantially better than Mandela Barnes did against incumbent senator Ron Johnson in suburban areas of the state in this election as well as compared to his initial election in 2018, chiefly in the "WOW" counties of Waukesha, Ozaukee, and Washington that form a ring around the north and west of Milwaukee, performing in line with Biden's 2020 margins. On the flip side, Michels did better in most rural areas than former governor Scott Walker had in 2018, winning the counties of Crawford, Grant, and Richland, three counties that Evers had previously won four years earlier. Michels also flipped the county of Kenosha. One exception to the trend toward Republicans in rural areas was Door County, which flipped to Evers after having voted for Walker in 2018. Notably, Evers carried the 3rd congressional district, which Republican Derrick Van Orden concurrently won after losing in 2020 to then-Representative Ron Kind; Evers also came within 0.2% of carrying the 1st congressional district.

Democratic primary

Governor

Nominee

Disqualified

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Nominee

Republican primary

Governor

Nominee

Polling

Graphical summary

Lieutenant governor

Candidates

Nominee

Independents

Candidates

Withdrawn

General election

Polling

Aggregate polls

Graphical summary

Tony Evers vs. Rebecca Kleefisch

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Tony
Evers 		Rebecca
Kleefisch 		OtherUndecided
Marquette UniversityJune 14–20, 2022803 ± 4.3%47%43%1%8%
Redfield & Wilton StrategiesAugust 20–24, 2021730 ± 3.6%39%38%3%14%
Redfield & Wilton StrategiesAugust 20–24, 2021718 ± 3.7%41%41%3%12%
Change Research March 25–27, 20211,723 ± 2.6%48%43%––

Tony Evers vs. Tim Ramthun

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Tony
Evers 		Tim
Ramthun 		OtherUndecided
Marquette UniversityJune 14–20, 2022803 ± 4.3%51%34%2%12%

Tony Evers vs. Kevin Nicholson

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Tony
Evers 		Kevin
Nicholson 		OtherUndecided
Marquette UniversityJune 14–20, 2022803 ± 4.3%48%40%1%9%

Tony Evers vs. Jonathan Wichmann

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Tony
Evers 		Jonathan
Wichmann 		OtherUndecided
Redfield & Wilton StrategiesAugust 20–24, 2021730 ± 3.6%41%34%5%14%
Redfield & Wilton StrategiesAugust 20–24, 2021718 ± 3.7%43%36%4%12%

Tony Evers vs. generic Republican

Poll sourceDate
administered		Sample
size		Margin
of error		Tony
Evers 		Generic
Republican		Undecided
Cygnal July 6–8, 2021640 ± 3.9%47%48%6%
Public Policy Polling February 8–9, 2021937 ± 3.2%45%44%11%

Results

By county

Counties that flipped from Republican to Democratic
Counties that flipped from Democratic to Republican

By congressional district

Despite losing, Michels won five of eight congressional districts. Evers won three of eight congressional districts, including one that elected a Republican.
DistrictEversMichelsRepresentative
49.3%49.5%Bryan Steil
74%26%Mark Pocan
50%49%Ron Kind
50%49%Derrick Van Orden
77%21%Gwen Moore
39%61%Scott L. Fitzgerald
42%57%Glenn Grothman
40%58%Tom Tiffany
43%56%Mike Gallagher