| Election Name: | 2021 Wisconsin elections |
| Country: | Wisconsin |
| Type: | legislative |
| Ongoing: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 2020 Wisconsin elections |
| Previous Year: | 2020 |
| Next Election: | 2022 Wisconsin elections |
| Next Year: | 2022 |
| Election Date: | April 6, 2021 |
The 2021 Wisconsin Spring Election was held in the U.S. state of Wisconsin on April 6, 2021. There was one statewide race—for Superintendent of Public Instruction. Additionally, two special elections occurred for the Wisconsin State Senate and Wisconsin State Assembly, as well as other nonpartisan local and judicial elections. The 2021 Spring primary was held on February 16, 2021.[1]
An additional special election for the 37th Assembly district was held on July 13, 2021.[2]
In the election for Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Democrats' preferred candidate, Jill Underly, prevailed. Republicans, however, won both special elections for the Wisconsin Legislature, and Republicans' preferred candidates won both contested elections for the Wisconsin Court of Appeals.[3]
| Election Name: | 2021 Wisconsin Superintendent of Public Instruction election |
| Country: | Wisconsin |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | No |
| Previous Election: | 2017 Wisconsin elections#Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| Previous Year: | 2017 |
| Next Election: | 2025 Wisconsin elections#Superintendent of Public Instruction |
| Next Year: | 2025 |
| Election Date: | April 6, 2021 |
| Image1 Size: | x150px |
| Nominee1: | Jill Underly |
| Color1: | c0c0c0 |
| Popular Vote1: | 526,444 |
| Percentage1: | 57.6% |
| Image2 Size: | x150px |
| Nominee2: | Deborah Kerr |
| Color2: | c0c0c0 |
| Popular Vote2: | 386,570 |
| Percentage2: | 42.3% |
| Map Size: | 250px |
| Superintendent | |
| Before Election: | Carolyn Stanford Taylor |
| Before Party: | Nonpartisan politician |
| After Election: | Jill Underly |
| After Party: | Nonpartisan politician |
Incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction Carolyn Stanford Taylor did not seek election to a full term. She was appointed to the seat by Governor Tony Evers, the previous Superintendent of Public Instruction, to fill the remainder of his term after he was elected Governor of Wisconsin in 2018.
Eight candidates filed petitions by the state deadline to run for election to this seat, of which, seven were approved. The office is nonpartisan, thus all accepted candidates appeared on the primary ballot on February 16, 2021.[4] Amongst the candidates, Deborah Kerr was the only conservative, although she campaigned as a "pragmatic Democrat".[5]
Jill Underly and Deborah Kerr won the most votes in the top-two primary, and advanced to the April 6 general election, which Underly won with 57.6% of the vote.
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| Nonpartisan Primary, February 16, 2021| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| General Election, April 6, 2021[6]
A special election was held concurrent with the spring primary and spring general to fill the 13th State Senate seat vacated by the resignation of Scott L. Fitzgerald.
Seven candidates filed petitions by the state deadline to run for election to this seat, of which six were approved, including three Republicans, one Democrat, and two independents.[7] State Representative John Jagler won the Republican primary and went on to win the April special election with 51% of the vote.
A special election was held concurrent with the spring primary and spring general to fill the 89th State Assembly seat vacated by the resignation of John Nygren.
Five candidates filed petitions by the state deadline to run for election to this seat, all were approved, including four Republicans and one Democrat.[7] Elijah Behnke won the Republican primary and went on to win the special election with 63% of the vote.
A special election was held on July 13, 2021, to fill the 37th State Assembly seat vacated by the resignation of John Jagler.[2]
Ten candidates filed petitions by the state deadline to run for this seat, all were approved, including eight Republicans, one Democrat, and one Independent.[8] William Penterman won the June 15 Republican primary and went on to win the special election with 54% of the vote.[9]
Three seats on the Wisconsin Court of Appeals were up for election in 2021, two of which were contested.[7] Incumbent Judge Jeffrey O. Davis was defeated.
Sixty three of the state's 253 circuit court seats were up for election in 2021. Eleven of those seats were contested.[7] Three of the contested seats, in Calumet, Jackson, and Marathon counties, were newly created from a 2020 act of the Wisconsin Legislature.[10] A fourth newly created seat, in Dunn County, had only one candidate running.
| Circuit | Branch | Incumbent | Elected | Defeated | Defeated in Primary | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Votes | % | Name | Votes | % | Name(s) | |||
| Adams | Daniel Glen Wood | Daniel Glen Wood | 2,509 | 99.52% | |||||
| Bayfield | John P. Anderson | John P. Anderson | 3,664 | 80.12% | Vincent Scott Kurta | 908 | 19.86% | ||
| Brown | 1 | Donald R. Zuidmulder | Donald R. Zuidmulder | 30,018 | 99.21% | ||||
| 4 | Kendall M. Kelley | Kendall M. Kelley | 30,018 | 57.98% | Rachel Maes | 15,467 | 41.90% | ||
| 5 | Marc A. Hammer | Marc A. Hammer | 28,919 | 99.29% | |||||
| Calumet | 1 | --New Seat-- | Carey John Reed | 4,762 | 55.72% | Kimberly A. Tenerelli | 3,781 | 44.24% | |
| Chippewa | 2 | James M. Isaacson | James M. Isaacson | 6,283 | 99.30% | ||||
| Columbia | 1 | Todd J. Hepler | Todd J. Hepler | 7,007 | 98.84% | ||||
| Dane | 2 | Josann M. Reynolds | Josann M. Reynolds | 77,472 | 99.02% | ||||
| 6 | Nia Trammell | Nia Trammell | 78,255 | 99.20% | |||||
| 7 | Mario D. White | Mario D. White | 77,787 | 99.23% | |||||
| 9 | Jacob B. Frost | Jacob B. Frost | 77,148 | 99.25% | |||||
| 10 | Juan B. Colás | Juan B. Colás | 78,472 | 99.26% | |||||
| 12 | Chris Taylor | Chris Taylor | 80,833 | 99.10% | |||||
| 13 | Julie Genovese | Julie Genovese | 76,883 | 99.23% | |||||
| 17 | David Conway | David Conway | 75,096 | 99.29% | |||||
| Douglas | 1 | Kelly J. Thimm | Kelly J. Thimm | 4,678 | 99.17% | ||||
| 2 | George L. Glonek | George L. Glonek | 4,581 | 98.94% | |||||
| Dunn | 2 | Rod W. Smeltzer | Christina Mayer | 3,496 | 53.71% | Nicholas P. Lange | 3,013 | 46.29% | |
| 3 | --New Seat-- | Luke M. Wagner | 5,070 | 100.0% | |||||
| 3 | Richard J. Nuss | Andrew J. Christenson | 9,142 | 51.44% | Laura Lavey | 8,625 | 48.53% | Catherine A. Block Dawn M. Sabel | |
| Grant | 2 | Craig R. Day | Craig R. Day | 5,660 | 99.54% | ||||
| Green | 1 | James R. Beer | Faun Marie Phillipson | 4,142 | 48.93% | Jane Bucher | 4,057 | 47.93% | |
| 2 | Thomas J. Vale | Thomas J. Vale | 6,585 | 98.52% | |||||
| Jackson | 1 | Anna L. Becker | Anna L. Becker | 2,959 | 100.0% | ||||
| 2 | --New Seat-- | Daniel Diehn | 2,189 | 61.49% | Robyn R. Matousek | 1,371 | 38.51% | ||
| Kenosha | 1 | Larisa V. Benitez-Morgan | Gerad Dougvillo | 10,720 | 50.68% | Larisa V. Benitez-Morgan | 10,364 | 49.00% | |
| 5 | David P. Wilk | David P. Wilk | 15,789 | 98.00% | |||||
| 6 | Mary K. Wagner | Angelina Gabriele | 11,745 | 53.33% | Angela D. Cunningham | 10,218 | 46.39% | Elizabeth Pfeuffer | |
| 8 | Chad G. Kerkman | Chad G. Kerkman | 15,476 | 97.94% | |||||
| La Crosse | 5 | Gloria L. Doyle | Gloria L. Doyle | 13,828 | 98.08% | ||||
| Lafayette | Duane M. Jorgenson | Duane M. Jorgenson | 2,852 | 100.0% | |||||
| Langlade | John Rhode | John Rhode | 3,531 | 100.0% | |||||
| Marathon | 1 | Suzanne C. O'Neill | Suzanne C. O'Neill | 17,564 | 98.96% | ||||
| 6 | --New Seat-- | Scott M. Corbett | 13,772 | 58.19% | Daniel T. Cveykus | 9,865 | 41.68% | ||
| Menominee–Shawano | 1 | Katie Sloma | Katie Sloma | 5,133 | 100.0% | ||||
| Milwaukee | 1 | Jack L. Dávila | Jack L. Dávila | 62,459 | 98.96% | ||||
| 3 | Clare L. Fiorenza | Katie Kegel | 60,089 | 64.81% | Susan Roth | 32,299 | 34.83% | ||
| 6 | Ellen R. Brostrom | Ellen R. Brostrom | 62,100 | 98.84% | |||||
| 12 | David L. Borowski | David L. Borowski | 62,165 | 98.67% | |||||
| 15 | J. D. Watts | J. D. Watts | 62,074 | 98.99% | |||||
| 19 | Kori L. Ashley | Kori L. Ashley | 62,074 | 98.99% | |||||
| 22 | Timothy M. Witkowiak | Timothy M. Witkowiak | 61,264 | 98.88% | |||||
| 30 | Jon Richards | Jon Richards | 62,942 | 99.11% | |||||
| 37 | T. Christopher Dee | T. Christopher Dee | 61,445 | 99.03% | |||||
| 42 | Reyna Morales | Reyna Morales | 62,906 | 99.08% | |||||
| 46 | David A. Feiss | David A. Feiss | 61,130 | 99.05% | |||||
| Outagamie | 6 | Vincent R. Biskupic | Vincent R. Biskupic | 20,313 | 100.0% | ||||
| Ozaukee | 1 | Paul V. Malloy | Paul V. Malloy | 13,513 | 98.82% | ||||
| 3 | Sandy A. Williams | Sandy A. Williams | 13,434 | 98.74% | |||||
| Racine | 6 | David W. Paulson | David W. Paulson | 16,757 | 98.56% | ||||
| 8 | Faye M. Flancher | Faye M. Flancher | 16,877 | 98.57% | |||||
| Rock | 5 | Mike Haakenson | Mike Haakenson | 14,416 | 99.17% | ||||
| Sawyer | John M. Yackel | John M. Yackel | 2,304 | 98.00% | |||||
| Sheboygan | 1 | L. Edward Stengel | Samantha Bastil | 14,162 | 99.18% | ||||
| 4 | Rebecca Persick | Rebecca Persick | 14,283 | 99.29% | |||||
| Taylor | Ann N. Knox-Bauer | Ann N. Knox-Bauer | 4,397 | 99.71% | |||||
| Walworth | 3 | Kristine E. Drettwan | Kristine E. Drettwan | 12,238 | 98.59% | ||||
| Washington | 4 | Sandra J. Giernoth | Sandra J. Giernoth | 16,283 | 100.0% | ||||
| Waukesha | 7 | Maria S. Lazar | Maria S. Lazar | 48,711 | 98.99% | ||||
| 8 | Michael P. Maxwell | Michael P. Maxwell | 48,406 | 99.04% | |||||
| 9 | Michael J. Aprahamian | Michael J. Aprahamian | 48,795 | 99.06% | |||||
| 10 | Paul Bugenhagen Jr. | Paul Bugenhagen Jr. | 48,458 | 99.05% | |||||
| Wood | 3 | Todd P. Wolf | Todd P. Wolf | 8,958 | 99.37% | ||||