Politics & Government

Incumbents Re-elected in State Supreme Court, Superintendent of Schools Races

Justice Pat Roggensack defeats Ed Fallone in race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, while Tony Evers beats Don Pridemore for state superintendent of schools.

State Supreme Court Justice Pat Roggensack defeated challenger Ed Fallone Tuesday in her bid for a second 10-year term on the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Superintendent of Schools Tony Evers withstood a challenge from Republican state Rep. Don Pridemore in the only other contested statewide race on the ballot.

Roggensack was declared the winner by the Associated Press shortly before 10 p.m. Tuesday. As of midnight, with 88 percent of the statewide vote counted, she had 57 percent of the vote to Fallone's 42 percent, according to election results from WISN 12 News.

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The race for Wisconsin's top education post wasn't as close. With 88 percent of the statewide vote counted as of midnight, Evers had 61 percent of the vote, with Pridemore garnering 38 percent, according to WISN. AP called the superintendent race at about 9:30 p.m.

Fallone, a Marquette University law professor, was backed by several key Democrats, unions and progressive organizations. Roggensack was supported by the conservative interest group Wisconsin Club for Growth, Republican Party chapters, and many state sheriffs and judges.

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As was the case two years ago, in the hotly contested race between Justice David Prosser and JoAnne Kloppenburg, Tuesday's Supreme Court election was seen as won that could tip the scales in issues like Wisconsin's voter ID law, collective bargaining rules and more.

In his concession statement, Fallone said:

 I would like to congratulate Justice Patience Roggensack on her victory earlier tonight.  As I traveled Wisconsin, throughout this campaign, I am humbled and honored by the people of Wisconsin’s support. Although I couldn’t manufacture a win tonight, however the fight will continue to bring equal justice for all Wisconsinites, and to end the dysfunction that has plagued our Supreme Court for the last two years.

During the campaign, there was a lot of focus on the internal working of the high court and the disputes between the justices. But Roggensack on Tuesday night told WISN 12 News that she plans to move beyond that, and thinks the court as a whole will as well.

"You know, I've never had a problem working with my colleagues. So, for me, it really isn't any kind of a change. I enjoy working with each and every one of them," she told the TV station. "We bring very different perspectives to the court, but you know, being a Supreme Court justice is not a team sport, so we all are expected to analyze the issues carefully and individually, and then we come together and have thorough discussions on them."

Superintendent candidates differed sharply

The race for state superintendent of schools — like the Supreme Court race — is nonpartisan, but it clearly had political overtones.

During the campaign, Pridemore, a Republican from Washington County, disagreed with Evers on just about every key issue.

Evers, for example, believed that Wisconsin schools need more state funding, while Pridemore said that "putting more money into a system is not a solution," the Journal Sentinel reported.

The two also differed on school vouchers, which Pridemore favored and Evers opposed, the newspaper reported.

On Tuesday night, Evers told The Associated Press that he believes he won because of his message for more funding for public schools and against the voucher expansion plan, Channel 12 reported.


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