The 2002 Wisconsin Senate election was held on Tuesday November 5, 2002, at the Fall general election in Wisconsin, alongside the election to the State Assembly and other statewide and local offices. The Seventeen odd-numbered seats in Wisconsin Senate were up for election. Prior to the election 18 seats were held by Democrats and 15 were held by Republicans. The primary election was held on September 10, 2002.

This was the first Wisconsin Senate election following the 2002 redistricting process, which saw federal courts draw the maps in the case Baumgart v. Wendelberger (2002). Republicans won four competitive senate races, flipping three seats held by Democratic incumbents. This election saw Democrats lose control of the Wisconsin Senate after having held control of the chamber since the 1998 election.

After this election, Republicans entered the 96th Wisconsin Legislature with 18 of 33 seats.

Summary SeatsParty(majority caucus shading)TotalRepublicanDemocraticLast election (2000)7916Total after last election (2000)151833Total before this election151833Up for election8917of which:Incumbent retiring112Vacated000Unopposed224This election11617Change from last election 3 3Total after this election181533Change in total 3 3 PartyCandidatesVotes%Republican14427,85052.71%Democratic15372,80845.93%Green18,790 1.08%Write-in–2,245 0.27%Total1,521,649100.0%

Close races Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

(gain) (gain) (gain)

Outgoing incumbents

Retiring

Brian Burke (D–Milwaukee), representing district 3 since 1989, retired. Joanne Huelsman (R–Waukesha), representing district 11 since 1991, retired.

Lost renomination

Peggy Rosenzweig (R–Wauwatosa), representing district 5 since 1993, lost renomination to Thomas G. Reynolds (R–Wauwatosa).Georgia Pabst, "Rosenzweig loses longtime seat", Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, September 11, 2002.

Candidates and results Dist.IncumbentThis raceMemberPartyFirst electedStatusGeneral01Republican 1977 Incumbent re-elected03Democratic 1988 Incumbent retired.New member elected.Democratic hold.05Republican 1993 Incumbent lost re-nomination.New member elected.Republican hold.07Democratic 1995 Incumbent re-elected09Democratic 1998Incumbent lost re-election.New member elected.Republican gain.11Republican 1990Incumbent retired.New member elected.Republican hold.13Republican 1994Incumbent re-elected15Democratic 1998Incumbent re-elected17Republican 1991 Incumbent re-elected19Republican 1982Incumbent re-elected21Democratic 1996 Incumbent lost re-election.New member elected.Republican gain.23Republican 1993 Incumbent re-elected25Democratic 1986Incumbent re-elected27Democratic 1998Incumbent re-elected29Democratic 1990Incumbent re-elected31Democratic 1982Incumbent lost re-election.New member elected.Republican gain.33Republican 2001 Incumbent re-elected

Detailed results

District 1 Incumbent Republican Alan Lasee ran for re-election. He defeated Democrat Susan Hilsabeck by a wide margin.

District 3 Incumbent Democrat Brian Burke declined to seek re-election. Democratic state representative Tim Carpenter defeated fellow Democrat Pat Farley in the primary by a 19-point margin. He was elected unopposed in the general election.

District 5 Incumbent Republican Peggy Rosenzweig ran for re-election. She faced businessman and perennial candidate Thomas G. Reynolds in the primary. During the campaign, the two candidates represented different sides to the Republican Party, with Rosenzweig being considered a liberal or moderate Republican, including on issues such as abortion, while Reynolds was considered the more conservative candidate. Due to her moderate positions, grassroots elements of the Republican Party such as Citizens for Responsible Government coalesced behind Reynolds, who ran on a staunch conservative platform emphasizing his pro-life stances, as well as opposition to tax increases and reducing restrictions on firearms. Despite this, Rosenzweig gained the support of the Republican political establishment, including Milwaukee County executive Scott Walker. She was defeated in the primary election by Reynolds by a seven-point margin in an upset. Reynolds went on to defeat Democrat George L. Christenson by a six-point margin.

Following her defeat, it was speculated Rosenzweig's re-election bid had been hurt by the fact Democrats had a competitive gubernatorial primary that year, which had pulled away Democratic voters who had previously crossed over to vote for Rosenzweig in the Republican primary.

District 7 Incumbent Democrat Richard Grobschmidt ran for re-election. He faced Green Party candidate Jim Carpenter, defeating him by a wide margin.

District 9 Incumbent Democrat James Baumgart ran for re-election. He was defeated by Republican state legislator Joe Leibham by a narrow 46-vote margin.

District 11 Incumbent Republican Joanne Huelsman declined to seek re-election due to redistricting. In the Republican primary, State legislator Neal Kedzie defeated Delafield mayor Jim Behrend and first-time candidate Jack Riley. Kedzie defeated Democrat Scott Woods by a wide margin in the general election.

District 13 Incumbent Republican Scott Fitzgerald ran for re-election. He defeated Democrat Walt Christensen by a wide margin.

District 15 Incumbent Democrat Judy Robson ran for re-election. She defeated Democrat Gregory A. Black by a wide margin.

District 17

Incumbent Republican Dale Schultz ran for re-election. He defeated Democrat Emmett J. Reilly by a wide margin.

District 19 Incumbent Republican Michael Ellis ran for re-election unopposed.

District 21 Incumbent Democrat Kimberly Plache ran for re-election. She was defeated by Republican business owner Cathy Stepp by a 773-vote margin. The Plache-Stepp race was described by some as a proxy battle between Republican leadership and the failing leadership of Chuck Chvala, with Plache having been the protege of the former majority leader.

District 23

Incumbent Republican David Zien ran for re-election. He defeated Democrat Earl A. Larson by a wide margin.

District 25

Incumbent Democrat Robert Jauch ran for re-election. He defeated Republican Gregg Condon by a wide margin.

District 27 Incumbent Democrat Jon Erpenbach ran for re-election unopposed.

District 29

Incumbent Democrat Russ Decker ran for re-election. He defeated Republican "Jimmy Boy" Edming by a wide margin.

District 31

Incumbent Democrat Rodney C. Moen ran for re-election. He was defeated by business owner Ron Brown.

District 33 Incumbent Republican Theodore Kanavas ran for re-election unopposed.

See also Redistricting in Wisconsin 2002 Wisconsin elections 2002 Wisconsin State Assembly election 2002 United States elections Elections in Wisconsin Wisconsin Senate

References