MADISON, Wisconsin: There is only one state executive position up for election in 2013 in the state of Wisconsin – State Superintendent of Public Instruction.^[1] Incumbent Tony Evers was first elected to the post in April 2009 and is seeking a second term in tomorrow’s general election.^[2] Evers, a career educator, faces Don Pridemore, a Wisconsin State Assemblyman since 2005. Although the Superintendent of Public Instruction is a non-partisan position, Evers is a Democrat and Pridemore is a Republican.

Unlike previous elections where multiple individuals filed to run, Pridemore was the only challenger to submit the necessary signatures required to appear on the ballot before the^{[3] [4]}filing deadline passed on January 2, 2013^[4], thus negating the need for the scheduled February 19, 2013 primary election.^[5]

In the weeks leading up to the April 2 election, Evers and Pridemore debated the merits of education proposals put forth by Gov. Scott Walker (R) in his budget plan, in addition to salient issues such as the department’s current policies on school mascots, school safety measures, and vouchers.^[6][7]

Here of some highlights from the debate:

Pridemore supports Walker’s plan to expand the use of vouchers in the state while not increasing public school spending. Meanwhile Evers opposes both measures and wants to increase spending by $225 per student.^[8]

Pridemore said budgets are tight and schools should not expect more money. “A lot of these common core standards really started with international standards. Now, why should we be beholden to some worldwide organization that’s just trying to dumb down America,” he stated.^[9]

Regarding school safety, Pridemore proposed allowing schools to have armed volunteers to provide security, which Evers said risks turning schools into the “wild west.”

The contenders have come together in opposition to Walker’s proposal to create a separate school board to oversee charter schools, offsetting the otherwise stark contrast between the candidates’ views as expressed throughout this year’s campaign.^[10]

In Wisconsin, all polls are open from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM, Central Standard Time.^[11]

February 14, 2013

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

By Greg Janetka

MADISON, Wisconsin: Addressing a meeting of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce yesterday, Gov. Scott Walker (R) announced his decision to reject Medicaid expansion through the federal health care law. Instead, Walker offered an alternative plan that he said would reduce the number of uninsured people by nearly the same amount as Medicaid expansion.

Walker stated, “My goal in looking at this is two things: One, I want to have fewer people in the state who are uninsured, but along with that I’d like to have fewer people in the state who are dependent on the government.”^[1]

Under Walker’s alternative plan, an enrollment cap on Medicaid programs for childless adults would be lifted, income eligibility for state residents able to use Medicaid programs would be tightened, and thousands of people currently in such programs would be moved to federal government run healthcare exchanges, allowing them to purchase private insurance.^[1]

As expected, Republicans praised the decision while Democrats soundly rejected it.

Assembly Majority Leader Robin Vos stated, “I support the governor’s decision. We’re giving more people access to private health insurance without putting state tax dollars at risk. Our focus will continue to be reducing people’s reliance on government programs. We want fewer people on Medicaid and want to give people the opportunity to choose what’s best for their families.”^[2]

Meanwhile, Senate Democratic leader Chris Larson said, “Governor Walker made the wrong decision for Wisconsin families. Had Governor Walker chosen another path, 175,000 more working Wisconsinites could have access to health care, reports show 10,500 new jobs could be created and Wisconsin could save $495 million over the next 10 years.”^[3]

Walker is the 14th Republican governor to reject the Medicaid expansion. Six GOP governors have so far agreed to the expansion.^[4]

January 31, 2013

Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette

By Greg Janetka

MADISON, Wisconsin: In a move that Democrats are calling political payback, the Republican-led state Senate passed a bill to remove the power of the Secretary of State to delay new laws. The legislation stems back to the passage of the state’s collective bargaining law, known as Act 10, in 2011 that led to numerous recall elections and a sharp partisan divide.^[1]

Secretary of State Doug La Follette (D) delayed publishing Act 10, which gave opponents time to go to court and delay it by months. Under state law, the secretary of state has up to 10 days to publish a law, a power that would be removed if Republicans have their way. LaFollette, who has currently served in the office since 1983, said he nearly always waits to publish new laws but that it has never been an issue before. “It’s hard not to see this as some sort of retribution issue. The only reason they’re doing this is because they couldn’t get what they wanted immediately,” he stated.^[2]

The bill, which was passed in the Senate on a party line, now goes to the Assembly.

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional team

MADISON, Wisconsin: Kansas had four U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. Four total incumbents sought re-election on November 6, 2012.

None of the incumbents faced any serious opposition in the general election, with the closest race separated by over 18 percentage points. Going into the election, these four seats were considered safe for their Republican incumbents.

Here are the candidates who won election from Kansas.

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	Tim Huelskamp	Tim Huelskamp	Tim Huelskamp	No
2nd	Tobias Schlingensiepen  Lynn Jenkins Dennis Hawver	Lynn Jenkins	Lynn Jenkins	No
3rd	Kevin Yoder Joel Balam	Kevin Yoder	Kevin Yoder	No
4th	Robert Leon Tillman  Mike Pompeo Thomas Jefferson	Mike Pompeo	Mike Pompeo	No

Margin of victory for winners

There were a total of 4 seats up for election in 2012 in Kansas. The following table shows the margin of victory for each district winner, which is calculated by examining the percentage difference between the top-two vote getters. If the race was uncontested, the margin of victory is listed as 100%.

District	Winner	Margin of Victory	Total Vote	Top Opponent
Kansas, District 1	Tim Huelskamp	100%	211,337	Unopposed
Kansas, District 2	Lynn Jenkins	18.3%	293,718	Tobias Schlingensiepen
Kansas, District 3	Kevin Yoder	36.9%	293,762	Joel Balam
Kansas, District 4	Mike Pompeo	30.6%	258,922	Robert Leo Tillman

National picture

Both chambers of the United States Congress remain split after the November 6, 2012 election. Democrats increased their majority in the U.S. Senate while cutting into the Republicans majority in theU.S. House. Of the 435 candidates who won election to the U.S. House, 85 of them were challengers, which represents 19.5 percent of U.S. House members. Of those 85, 50 are Democratic and 35 are Republican. A total of 27 incumbents were defeated — 10 Democratic and 17 Republican.

By Greg Janetka

MADISON, Wisconsin: Tony Evers announced earlier this month that he will seek a second term as Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction. “I am absolutely jazzed about the future of our schools and working with our schools to make them stronger on achievement,” he stated.^[1] Evers has served in this role, which is non-partisan, since April 7, 2009.^[2]

Although no other candidates have officially declared for the race, state Rep. Don Pridemore (R) has shown interest and said he would announce on December 3 if he was running or not. If he chooses to run, Pridemore says he would advocate for “common-sense conservative reform” but has not provided specifics. In the past Pridemore has promoted school vouchers. He recently made headlines for saying that federal officials who implemented “Obamacare” should be arrested.^[3]

Following a crowded five-candidate primary, Evers defeated Rose Fernandez by a margin of 57.1 to 42.7 percent to take the seat in 2009.^[4][5]

While all 50 states have a superintendent of schools, it is only elected in 14. Four states held elections for superintendent in 2012 - Indiana, Montana, North Carolina, andWashington.

By Ballotpedia’s Congressional team

MADISON, Wisconsin: North Carolina had 13 U.S. House seats on the ballot in 2012. Ten of the 13 incumbents sought re-election on November 6, 2012. One incumbent Larry Kissell (D) was defeated.

After the 2010 legislative elections, Republicans gained control of the North Carolina Legislature. This granted them the ability to draw favorable congressional maps, which helped flip three districts in their favor. The three districts that changed were:

• District 8: Challenger Richard Hudson defeated incumbent Larry Kissell. Hudson was exepected to win because of the partisan registration advantage for the GOP.
• District 11: Incumbent Heath Shuler (D) opted not to seek re-election. Mark Meadows (R) defeated Hayden Rogers (D) in the election.
• District 13: Incumbent Brad Miller (D) opted not to seek re-election. George E.B. Holding (R) defeated Charles Malone (D) in the election.

In the closest race in the country, incumbent Mike McIntyre (D) defended his seat against state senator David Rouzer (R). The district was drawn more Republican and was considered a tossup heading into the election. Ultimately a recount was required and Rouzer conceded defeat toward the end of November.

Here are the candidates who won election from North Carolina.

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	G.K. Butterfield  Pete DiLauro  Darryl Holloman	G.K. Butterfield	G.K. Butterfield	No
2nd	Steve Wilkins  Renee Ellmers  Brian Irving	Renee Ellmers	Renee Ellmers	No
3rd	Erik Anderson  Walter B. Jones	Walter B. Jones	Walter B. Jones	No
4th	David E. Price  Tim D’Annunzio	David Price	David E. Price	No
5th	Elisabeth Motsinger  Virginia Foxx	Virginia Foxx	Virginia Foxx	No
6th	Tony Foriest  Howard Coble	Howard Coble	Howard Coble	No
7th	Mike McIntyre  David Rouzer	Mike McIntyre	Mike McIntyre	No
8th	Larry Kissell  Richard Hudson	Larry Kissell	Richard Hudson	Yes
9th	Jennifer Roberts  Robert Pittenger  Curtis Campbell	Sue Wilkins Myrick	Robert Pittenger	No
10th	Patricia Keever  Patrick McHenry	Patrick T. McHenry	Patrick McHenry	No
11th	Hayden Rogers  Mark Meadows	Heath Shuler	Mark Meadows	Yes
12th	Melvin L. Watt  Jack Brosch	Melvin L. Watt	Melvin L. Watt	No
13th	Charles Malone  George E.B. Holding	Brad Miller	George E.B. Holding	Yes

[edit]National picture

Both chambers of the United States Congress remain split after the November 6, 2012 election. Democrats increased their majority in the U.S. Senate while cutting into the Republicans majority in theU.S. House. Of the 435 candidates who won election to the U.S. House, 85 of them were challengers, which represents 19.5 percent of U.S. House members. Of those 85, 50 are Democratic and 35 are Republican. A total of 27 incumbents were defeated — 10 Democratic and 17 Republican.

October 8, 2012

State Rep. Dean Kaufert

By Greg Janetka

MADISON, Wisconsin: With the tenure of four temporary workers expiring next summer, Wisconsin State Treasurer Kurt Schuller (R) put in a request to make the employees permanent. Little did he know the can of worms he would be opening.^[1]

This morning state Rep. Dean Kaufert, a fellow Republican who is up for re-election this year, asked leaders of the Legislature’s finance committee to reject the request, saying it goes against Schueller’s own campaign promise to eliminate his office as well as Gov. Scott Walker‘s push to decrease the size of government. Accusing Schuller of a “bait and switch,” Kaufert said the current treasurer “ran on the idea that he’d get rid of the office. Now he wants to double its size.”^[2]

Schuller’s office immediately shot back, explaining in a press release that the positions in question have been filled since 2004, long before he took office in 2011. Additionally, the release points out that the Unclaimed Property Division in the Treasurer’s office has 7.95 positions and after the four positions become permanent, there will still be 7.95 positions. Schuller explained, “We handle private information for citizens and would prefer those people handling such sensitive data are permanent and invested in this agency, rather than bringing in wave after wave of temporary help. These people currently work here. Their status is changing. That’s it.”^[3]

As far as eliminating the Office of the State Treasurer, Shuller drafted Assembly Joint Resolution 26, which would have done just that. However, it died in the state Senate.^[2]

September 27, 2012

By Greg Janetka

MADISON, Wisconsin: Citizens interested in how their tax dollars might be spent can now see detailed agency proposals for Wisconsin’s 2013-2015 biennial budget on theDepartment of Administration’s website here. Gov. Scott Walker‘s administration posted the requests on September 18, the day after the submission deadline.^[1]

In August, Walker instructed state agencies not to request overall spending increases as it would be another tight budget. According to the governor, the next budget will focus on “creating jobs, transforming education, developing our workforce, investing in infra-structure, and continuing to reform government.”^[2]

Walker has until next February to review the proposals before sending his own proposal to the Legislature for their approval.^[1]

Edited by Greg Janetka
This week’s tracker features news about a failed recall attempt in Louisiana.

Note: This is an abridged version of the Tracker. For the full report, click here.

Weekly highlight

State legislative recalls in Wisconsin made national headlines in 2011 as voters in Arizona, Michigan and Wisconsin successfully used the process to remove a total of three senators and one representative from office. The trend continued in 2012 as Wisconsin once again saw recalls make the ballot, resulting in the removal of one senator.

Alongside those successes, however, most recall efforts fizzled out long before going to a vote. The latest recall to fail took place last week in Louisiana. In March of this year, recall organizers started circulating petitions to recall Republican Speaker of the House Charles “Chuck” Kleckley from office.

The efforts, led by a group of teachers, began largely as a result of public education reforms backed by Kleckley and Gov. Bobby Jindal (R). Organizers had to collect signatures equal to one-third of the registered voters of Kleckley’s district, which came out to roughly 9,000, by September 19.^[1] The recall effort failed to collect enough signatures by the deadline and the signatures that were collected were never turned in as organizers were worried about reprisals against those who had signed. The effort against Jindal also failed.^[2]

Three other recall campaigns are continuing on in the state as organizers have also targeted three other Republican legislators – Kevin Pearson, George Cromer and Ray Garofalo. It appears unlikely that any of them will succeed.

While the most recent round of Wisconsin recalls have been over for several months, the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, the agency that oversees elections, released a new report this month detailing the cost of those elections. Their findings? Local governments spent approximately $13.5 million on the recalls, most of which ultimately falls to local taxpayers. In a statement GAB director Kevin Kennedy said, “Instead of conducting two primaries and two elections this year, Wisconsin election officials will be conducting six elections, which added approximately $13.5 million in unbudgeted costs. These unplanned elections also put significant stress on Wisconsin’s clerks, who have many other duties beyond elections.”^[3]

Currently, 18 states permit the recall of state officials. Between 1913 and 2008, there were just 20 state legislative recall elections in five states. Of the 20 state legislative recall elections, 13 out of 20 resulted in the state legislator being recalled. Since 2011, there have been 15 state legislative recalls in three states, five of which resulted in the legislator being recalled.

Sessions

This week 4 out of 50 state legislatures – Michigan, New Jersey, Ohio and Pennsylvania – are meeting in regular session, while Massachusetts is meeting in informal session, which it will continue to do throughout the rest of the year. As of May 16, all states had convened their 2012 sessions.

Forty states have adjourned for the year, while four states – Montana, Nevada, North Dakota, and Texas – were not scheduled to hold regular sessions in 2012.

Regular sessions

See also: Dates of 2012 state legislative sessions

Click here to see a chart of each state’s 2012 session information.

Although most states have concluded 2012 business, some states have already begun 2013 action. Drafting for 2013 has begun in Montana and North Dakota, while prefiling of legislation is going on in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and Virginia.^[4]

Special sessions

In 2011, special sessions were a widespread occurrence in state legislatures. This was largely due to states’ having to complete the redistricting process for legislative and congressional districts. Overall in 2011, there were 45 special sessions in 28 states.

Since the beginning of 2012, there have been 20 special sessions in 16 states. There are no special sessions currently scheduled.

In recess

As of today, September 24, 4 state’s sessions are currently in recess:

• California – In recess from September 1, 2012 to November 29, 2012.^[5]
• Illinois – In recess from August 17, 2012 to November 27, 2012.^[6]
• New York – In recess from June 22, 2012 to January 7, 2013.^[5]
• Wisconsin – In recess from March 17 to December 31, 2012.^[5]

2012 Legislative Elections

See also: State legislative elections, 2012 and State legislative elections results, 2012

A total of 86 of the 99 chambers will hold state legislative elections on November 6, 2012.

1,301 (65.97%) of the country’s 1,972 state senate seats are up for election in November 2012, and 4,714 (87.12%) of the country’s 5,411 state house seats are up for election. Altogether, 6,015 (81.47%) of the country’s 7,383 state legislative seats will be up for election during the presidential election year.

• 43 of the 50 state senates are holding elections.
• 43 of the 49 state houses are holding elections.

The 6,015 seats up for election is 110 fewer than the 6,125 that were contested in 2010.

 Filing deadlines

See also: Signature requirements and deadlines for 2012 state government elections and 2012 Elections preview: Comparing state legislative filing deadlines

As of July 12, all signature filing deadlines had passed.

Primaries

See also: 2012 election dates

The 2012 state legislative primary session began on March 6 in Ohio and wrapped up for the year in New York on September 13.

A total of 197 state legislative incumbents were defeated in a primary – 123 Republicans and 74 Democrats.

Primaries took place in 44 states in 2012. For a review of what happened, click on the state below:

September 12, 2012

State Superintendent Tony Evers

By Greg Janetka

MADISON, Wisconsin: Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers put forth a proposal today to have all students take the ACT as well as three other tests. In order to remove the cost barrier for students, he plans to ask Gov. Scott Walker (R) for $7 million in the next two-year budget to cover the expense.^[1]

Currently, 4 of every 10 Wisconsin students do not take the ACT, which is a requirement for most colleges in the Midwest. The three other tests would replace the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Examination, which is used to comply with federal testing requirements. “It makes sense to use the ACT to fulfill state and federal testing requirements at the high school level with an exam package that provides so much more than the WKCE: college and career readiness assessments and a college admissions test score,” Evers stated.^[2]

Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie thanked Evers for the proposal and said it would be taken into consideration. The governor’s next budget proposal will be released early next year.^[3]

The Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction is a non-partisan elected position. Evers has served in this role since April 7, 2009.^[4]