View source for 2008 Wisconsin elections

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is already sufficiently detailed; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}

{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2008 Wisconsin elections
| country = Wisconsin
| type = legislative
| ongoing = yes
| previous_election = 2007 Wisconsin elections
| previous_year = 2007
| next_election = 2009 Wisconsin elections
| next_year = 2009
| election_date = April 1, 2008<br />November 4, 2008
| turnout = 
}}{{ElectionsWI}}The '''2008 Wisconsin fall general election''' was held on November 4, 2008. All of [[Wisconsin's congressional districts|Wisconsin's eight seats]] in the [[United States House of Representatives]] were up for election. Within the state government, sixteen seats in the Wisconsin State Senate, and all 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were up for election. At the presidential level, voters chose ten electors to represent them in the [[United States Electoral College|Electoral College]], which then helped select the president of the United States. The '''2008 fall partisan primary''' was held on September 9, 2008.

In the fall general election, the Democratic presidential candidate, Senator [[Barack Obama]], won [[2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin|Wisconsin's ten electoral votes]], defeating Senator [[John McCain]]. There was no change to the partisan makeup of Wisconsin's congressional delegation. The state senate saw no change in partisan composition, as all incumbents were re-elected, and vacancies in seats held by both parties were filled with no change to the party that held the seat. In the state assembly, Democrats gained five seats while one Independent was re-elected after having previously served as a Republican.

The '''2008 Wisconsin spring election''' was held on April&nbsp;1, 2008. This election saw a contested race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a constitutional amendment referendum, as well as various nonpartisan local and judicial offices. The '''2008 spring primary election''' was held on February&nbsp;19, 2008.  In an unusual move, the presidential preference primary was held at the Spring primary election rather than the Spring general election; it was part of a national movement in which half the states rushed to hold their presidential primaries in February.

== Federal offices ==
===President===
Incumbent president [[George W. Bush]] was term limited and could not run for another term.  With no incumbent on the ballot, both party nominating contests featured a wide array of candidates.  Both nominating contests were still unresolved when Wisconsin voted in their presidential preference primaries. In the general election, Wisconsin voters chose electors for the Democratic nominee, U.S. Senator [[Barack Obama]] (D&ndash;IL).

====Democratic primary====
{{Main|2008 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary}}
For its part in the [[2008 Democratic Party presidential primaries]], Wisconsin's presidential preference primary was on the ballot for Wisconsin's Spring primary election, held on Tuesday, February&nbsp;19, 2008.  At the time of the Wisconsin primary, three candidates were still in the race for the nomination, U.S. senators [[Barack Obama]] (D&ndash;IL) and [[Hillary Clinton]] (D&ndash;NY), and former U.S. senator [[Mike Gravel]] (D&ndash;AK), though Gravel did not have a viable path to the nomination at this point.  The candidate field originally also included U.S. senators [[Joe Biden]] (D&ndash;DE), [[Evan Bayh]] (D&ndash;IN), and [[Chris Dodd]] (D&ndash;CT), former U.S. senator [[John Edwards]] (D&ndash;NC), governors [[Bill Richardson]] (D&ndash;NM) and [[Tom Vilsack]] (D&ndash;IA), and U.S. representative [[Dennis Kucinich]] (D&ndash;OH), all of their names still appeared on the Wisconsin ballot, except Bayh and Vilsack.

Barack Obama won the Wisconsin primary, receiving 58% of the popular vote and earning 42 of 74 pledged delegates from the state.  At the time, it was his eleventh consecutive victory in a primary or caucus, building a delegate lead that he would have to fight to retain through another three months of primary contests.

====Republican primary====
{{Main|2008 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary}}
In the [[2008 Republican Party presidential primaries]], the Wisconsin Republican presidential preference primary was also held at the Spring primary, February&nbsp;19, 2008.  At the time of the Wisconsin primary, three candidates were still in the race for the nomination, U.S. senator [[John McCain]] (R&ndash;AZ), former governor [[Mike Huckabee]] (R&ndash;AR), and U.S. representative [[Ron Paul]] (R&ndash;TX).  The candidate field originally included Wisconsin's incumbent governor [[Tommy Thompson]], but he dropped out before the [[2008 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses|Iowa caucuses]].  The field also previously included U.S. senator [[Sam Brownback]] (R&ndash;KS), actor and former U.S. senator [[Fred Thompson]] (R&ndash;TN), U.S. representatives [[Duncan L. Hunter]] (R&ndash;CA) and [[Tom Tancredo]] (R&ndash;CO), governors [[Mitt Romney]] (R&ndash;MA) and [[Jim Gilmore]] (R&ndash;VA), mayor [[Rudy Giuliani]] (R&ndash;NY), businessman [[John H. Cox]], and perennial candidate [[Alan Keyes]].  In addition to the three remaining candidates, Romney, Giuliani, Thompson, Hunter, and Tacredo were also on the ballot in Wisconsin.

John McCain won the Wisconsin primary, receiving 55% of the popular vote and earning 34 of 40 pledged delegates from the state.  Huckabee would with draw from the race less than a month later.

====General election====
{{Main|2008 United States presidential election in Wisconsin}}
The presidential election was held at the Fall general election, November&nbsp;4, 2008.  Barack Obama won the state with 56% of the vote, it was the largest majority the state had given to a presidential candidate since [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in 1964.

===U.S. House===
{{main|2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin}}
The 2008 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin were held on November 4, 2008, to elect Wisconsin's delegation to the [[United&nbsp;States House of Representatives]] for the [[111th United&nbsp;States Congress]].  At the time of the 2008 election, Wisconsin had eight congressional districts.  All eight of Wisconsin's incumbent U.S. representatives won re-election in 2008.  At the time the delegation was composed of five Democrats and three Republicans.

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|- valign=bottom
! rowspan="2" | District
! colspan="3" | Incumbent
! colspan="2" | This race

|-
! Representative
! Party
! First<br />elected
! Results
! Candidates

|-
! {{ushr|Wisconsin|1|X}}
| {{Sortname|Paul|Ryan}}
| {{Party shading/Text/Republican}}
| [[1998 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin|1998]]
| Incumbent re-elected.
| nowrap | {{Plainlist | 
* {{Party stripe|Republican Party (US)}}{{Aye}} '''{{Sortname|Paul|Ryan}}''' (Rep.) 64.0%
* {{Party stripe|Democratic Party (US)}}Marge Krupp (Dem.) 34.7%
* {{Party stripe|Libertarian Party (US)}}Joseph Kexel (Lib.) 1.3%
}}

|-
! {{ushr|Wisconsin|2|X}}
| {{Sortname|Tammy|Baldwin}}
| {{Party shading/Text/Democratic}}
| [[1998 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin|1998]]
| Incumbent re-elected.
| nowrap | {{Plainlist | 
* {{Party stripe|Democratic Party (US)}}{{Aye}} '''{{Sortname|Tammy|Baldwin}}''' (Dem.) 69.3%
* {{Party stripe|Republican Party (US)}}Peter Theron (Rep.) 30.6%
}}

|-
! {{ushr|Wisconsin|3|X}}
| {{Sortname|Ron|Kind}}
| {{Party shading/Text/Democratic}}
| [[1996 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin|1996]]
| Incumbent re-elected.
| nowrap | {{Plainlist | 
* {{Party stripe|Democratic Party (US)}}{{Aye}} '''{{Sortname|Ron|Kind}}''' (Dem. 63.2%
* {{Party stripe|Republican Party (US)}}Paul Stark (Rep.) 34.4%
* {{Party stripe|Libertarian Party (US)}}Kevin Barrett (Lib.) 2.3%
}}

|-
! {{ushr|Wisconsin|4|X}}
| {{Sortname|Gwen|Moore}}
| {{Party shading/Text/Democratic}}
| [[2004 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin|2004]]
| Incumbent re-elected.
| nowrap | {{Plainlist | 
* {{Party stripe|Democratic Party (US)}}{{Aye}} '''{{Sortname|Gwen|Moore}}''' (Dem.) 87.6%
* {{Party stripe|Independent (US)}}Michael LaForest (Ind.) 11.5%
}}

|-
! {{ushr|Wisconsin|5|X}}
| {{Sortname|Jim|Sensenbrenner}}
| {{Party shading/Text/Republican}}
| [[1978 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin|1978]]
| Incumbent re-elected.
| nowrap | {{Plainlist | 
* {{Party stripe|Republican Party (US)}}{{Aye}} '''{{Sortname|Jim|Sensenbrenner}}''' (Rep.) 79.6%
* {{Party stripe|Independent (US)}}Robert R. Raymond (Ind.) 20.2%
}}

|-
! {{ushr|Wisconsin|6|X}}
| {{Sortname|Tom|Petri}}
| {{Party shading/Text/Republican}}
| [[1979 Wisconsin's 6th congressional district special election|1979]]
| Incumbent re-elected.
| nowrap | {{Plainlist | 
* {{Party stripe|Republican Party (US)}}{{Aye}} '''{{Sortname|Tom|Petri}}''' (Rep.) 63.7%
* {{Party stripe|Democratic Party (US)}}Roger Kittelson (Dem.) 36.2%
}}

|-
! {{ushr|Wisconsin|7|X}}
| {{Sortname|Dave|Obey}}
| {{Party shading/Text/Democratic}}
| [[1969 Wisconsin's 7th congressional district special election|1969]]
| Incumbent re-elected.
| nowrap | {{Plainlist | 
* {{Party stripe|Democratic Party (US)}}{{Aye}} '''{{Sortname|Dave|Obey}}''' (Dem.) 60.8%
* {{Party stripe|Republican Party (US)}}[[Dan Mielke]] (Rep.) 39.1%
}}

|-
! {{ushr|Wisconsin|8|X}}
| {{Sortname|Steve|Kagen}}
| {{Party shading/Text/Democratic}}
| [[2006 United States House of Representatives elections in Wisconsin|2006]]
| Incumbent re-elected.
| nowrap | {{Plainlist | 
* {{Party stripe|Democratic Party (US)}}{{Aye}} '''{{Sortname|Steve|Kagen}}''' (Dem.) 54.0%
* {{Party stripe|Republican Party (US)}}[[John Gard]] (Rep.) 45.9%
}}

|}

==State offices==

=== Legislative ===

==== State Senate ====
{{main|2008 Wisconsin Senate election}}

The 16 even-numbered districts out of the 33 seats in the Wisconsin State Senate were up for re-election in 2008. Prior to the election Democrats held the majority with 17 seats, Republicans held 14 seats, and two seats were vacant. In the election, both parties regained their vacant seats and returned to the 18 seats held by Democrats and 15 seats held by Republicans which was seen after the prior election.

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"
! rowspan=3 colspan=2 | Seats
! colspan=2 | Party <div style="font-size:80%">(majority caucus shading)</div>
! rowspan=3 | Total

|- style="height:5px"
| style="background-color:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}" |
| style="background-color:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}" |
|-
![[Wisconsin Republican Party|Democratic]]
![[Wisconsin Democratic Party|Republican]]

|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%" colspan=2 | Total after last election (2006)
| {{party shading/Democratic}} | 18
| 15
| 33

|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%" colspan=2 | Total before this election
| 18
| 15
| 33

|-
! colspan=2 | Up for election
! 8
! 8
! 16

|-
! nowrap style="background:#ccc" colspan=2 | This election
! 8
! 8
! 16

|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%" colspan=2 | Total after this election
| {{party shading/Democratic}} | 18
| 15
! 33

|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%"  colspan=2 | Change in total
| {{nochange}}
| {{nochange}}
|
|}

====State Assembly====
{{main|2008 Wisconsin State Assembly election}}

All of the 99 seats in the Wisconsin State Assembly were on the ballot for the Fall general election, November 4, 2008. Prior to the election, 52 seats were held by Republicans, 47 seats were held by Democrats, and one seat was held by an Independent. In the election, Republicans failed to defend their majority and Democrats took a majority of seats for the first time in 14 years.

{|class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
|- style="vertical-align:bottom;"
! rowspan=3 colspan=2 | Seats
! colspan=3 | Party <div style="font-size:80%">(majority caucus shading)</div>
! rowspan=3 | Total
! rowspan=3 | Vacant

|- style="height:5px"
| style="background-color:{{party color|Democratic Party (United States)}}" |
| style="background-color:{{party color|Independent}}" |
| style="background-color:{{party color|Republican Party (United States)}}" |
|-
! [[Wisconsin Democratic Party|Democratic]]
! [[Independent politician|Ind.]]
! [[Wisconsin Republican Party|Republican]]

|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%" colspan=2 | Total after last election (2006)
| 47
| 0
| {{party shading/Republican}} | 52
| 99
| 0

|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%" colspan=2 | Total before this election
| 47
| 1
| 51
| 99
| 0

|-
! colspan=2 | Up for election
| 47
| 1
| 51
| 99
|
|-
! style="background:#ccc" colspan=2 | This election
! 52
! 1
! 46
! 99
!

|-
! nowrap style="font-size:80%" colspan=2 | Total after this election
! {{party shading/Democratic}} | 52
! 1
! 46
! 99
! 0

|-
!nowrap style="font-size:80%"  colspan=2 | Change in total
|{{Increase}} 3
|{{Steady}}
|{{Decrease}} 3
|colspan="2" |
|}

=== Judicial ===

==== State Supreme Court ====
{{Main|2008 Wisconsin Supreme Court election}}
Judge [[Michael Gableman]] was elected with 51% of the vote, defeating incumbent Justice [[Louis B. Butler|Louis Butler]] with 49% of the vote.<ref>[http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=734703 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] - Gableman victorious</ref>  The heavy spending of outside interest groups in this race, including [[Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce]],<ref>[http://www.wausaudailyherald.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080409/WDH0101/80409126/1981 Wausau Daily Herald]{{Dead link|date=April 2019|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}} - Report shows special interests dominate Wis. Supreme Court race</ref> inspired some to call for reforms to Wisconsin election law and the selection of judges.<ref>[http://www.channel3000.com/politics/15778573/detail.html CBS 3 WISC] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080803061449/http://www.channel3000.com/politics/15778573/detail.html|date=2008-08-03}} - Some Call For Changes In Supreme Court Races</ref>  Gableman's victory also shifted the Court in a more conservative direction, establishing a conservative majority that would persist for 15 years.<ref>[http://www.madison.com/tct/news/279893 The Capital Times] - Gableman's victory shifts court to right</ref>

{{Election box begin | title= Wisconsin Supreme Court Election, 2008<ref name="2008spring-gen">{{Cite report |url= https://whs.access.preservica.com/uncategorized/IO_e858826e-6025-42dc-997b-dab254481803/  |title=Results of Spring General Election - 04/01/2008 |date=April 21, 2008 |publisher=Wisconsin State Elections Board |page=1 |accessdate= May 16, 2024 |via= [[Wisconsin Historical Society]] }}</ref>}}
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| '''General Election, April 1, 2008'''
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Nonpartisan politician
  |candidate  = [[Michael Gableman]]
  |votes      = 425,101
  |percentage = 51.19%
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Nonpartisan politician
  |candidate  = [[Louis B. Butler]] (incumbent)
  |votes      = 402,798
  |percentage = 48.50%
  |change     = +14.14pp
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = 
  |candidate  = ''Scattering''
  |votes      = 2,551
  |percentage = 0.31%
  |change     = 
}}
{{Election box plurality
  |votes      = 22,303
  |percentage = 2.69%
  |change     =
}}
{{Election box total
  |votes      = 830,450
  |percentage = 100.0%
  |change     =
}}
{{Election box end}}

==== State Court of Appeals ====
Three seats on the [[Wisconsin Court of Appeals]] were up for election on April 1, 2008.
* In District I, incumbent judge [[Patricia S. Curley]] was elected to her third six-year term without opposition.
* In District II, incumbent judge [[Lisa Neubauer]], appointed by Governor [[Jim Doyle]] in 2007, won her first six-year term, defeating attorney William Gleisner.
* In District IV, incumbent judge [[Burnie Bridge]], appointed by Governor Jim Doyle in 2007, won her first six-year term without opposition.

{{Election box begin | title=Wisconsin Court of Appeals District II Election, 2008<ref name="2008spring-gen"/>}}
| colspan="6" style="text-align:center;background-color: #e9e9e9;"| '''General Election, April 1, 2008'''
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|
  |party      = Nonpartisan politician
  |candidate  = [[Lisa Neubauer|Lisa S. Neubauer]] (incumbent)
  |votes      = 138,241
  |percentage = 62.60%
  |change     = }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = Nonpartisan politician
  |candidate  = William C. Gleisner III
  |votes      = 82,302
  |percentage = 37.27%
  |change     = }}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
  |party      = 
  |candidate  = ''Scattering''
  |votes      = 286
  |percentage = 0.13%
  |change     = }}
{{Election box plurality
  |votes      = 55,939
  |percentage = 25.36%
  |change     =
}}
{{Election box total
  |votes      = 220,543
  |percentage = 100.0%
  |change     =
}}
{{Election box end}}

==== State Circuit Courts ====
Thirty nine of the state's 247 [[Wisconsin circuit courts|circuit court]] seats were on the ballot for the Spring general election, April 1, 2008. Of those seats, six were newly created.  Only 9 seats were contested. One incumbent justice faced a challenger and was defeated.

{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |Circuit
! rowspan="2" |Branch
! rowspan="2" |Incumbent
! colspan="3" |Elected<ref name="2008spring-gen"/>
! colspan="3" |Defeated
! Defeated in Primary
|-
!Name
!Votes
!%
!Name
!Votes
!%
!Name(s)
|-
| rowspan="2" | Barron
| 2
| Timothy&nbsp;M. Doyle
| '''Timothy&nbsp;M. Doyle'''
| align="right"|  8,423
| align="right"| 99.67%
| colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| 3
| ''--New Seat--''
| '''James&nbsp;D. Babbitt'''
| align="right"| 6,857
| align="right"| 67.92%
| Jim McLaughlin
| align="right"|  3,231
| align="right"| 32.01%
| 
|-
| rowspan="2" | Chippewa
| 1
| Roderick&nbsp;A. Cameron
| '''Roderick&nbsp;A. Cameron'''
| align="right"|  6,736
| align="right"| 99.56%
| colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| 3
| ''--New Seat--''
| '''Steven&nbsp;R. Cray'''
| align="right"|  4,496
| align="right"| 52.96%
| Julie Anderl
| align="right"|  3,994
| align="right"| 47.04%
| Robert&nbsp;A. Ferg
|-
| rowspan="2" | Dane
| 1
| John&nbsp;W. Markson
| '''John&nbsp;W. Markson'''
| align="right"|  45,929
| align="right"| 99.46%
| rowspan="2" colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| 7
| William&nbsp;E. Hanrahan
| '''William&nbsp;E. Hanrahan'''
| align="right"| 45,847
| align="right"| 99.52%
|-
| rowspan="2" | Dodge
| 1
| Daniel&nbsp;W. Klossner 
| '''Brian&nbsp;A. Pfitzinger'''
| align="right"| 8,380
| align="right"| 53.63%
| William&nbsp;H. Gergen
| align="right"| 7,236
| align="right"| 46.31%
|
|-
| 4
| ''--New Seat--''
| '''Steven Bauer'''
| align="right"|  12,803
| align="right"| 99.63%
| rowspan="2" colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| Eau&nbsp;Claire
| 2
| Michael Schumacher
| '''Michael Schumacher'''
| align="right"|  7,969
| align="right"| 99.20%
|-
| colspan="2" | Florence&ndash;Forest
| Robert&nbsp;A. Kennedy&nbsp;Jr.
| '''Leon&nbsp;D. Stenz'''
| align="right"| 1,629
| align="right"| 51.16%
| Robert&nbsp;A. Kennedy&nbsp;Jr.
| align="right"|  1,555
| align="right"| 48.84%
| Douglas&nbsp;J. Drexler
|-
| Fond&nbsp;du&nbsp;Lac
| 1
| Dale L. English
| '''Dale L. English'''
| align="right"| 10,925
| align="right"| 99.73%
| rowspan="2" colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| colspan="2" | Jackson
|Gerald W. Laabs
| '''Eric F. Stutz'''
| align="right"|  1,943
| align="right"| 99.03%
|-
| Juneau
| 2
| ''--New Seat--''
| '''Paul S. Curran'''
| align="right"|  2,364
| align="right"| 57.16%
| Stacy A. Smith
| align="right"|  1,770
| align="right"| 42.79%
|
|-
| Kenosha
| 3
| [[Bruce E. Schroeder]]
| '''Bruce E. Schroeder'''
| align="right"| 16,926
| align="right"| 99.01%
| rowspan="10" colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| Marathon 
| 3
| Vincent&nbsp;K. Howard
| '''Vincent&nbsp;K. Howard'''
| align="right"| 14,763
| align="right"| 99.43%
|-
| rowspan="2" | Marinette
| 1
| David G. Miron
| '''David G. Miron'''
| align="right"|  4,253
| align="right"| 99.74%
|-
| 2
| Tim A. Duket
| '''Tim A. Duket'''
| align="right"|  4,198
| align="right"| 99.81%
|-
| Menominee&ndash;Shawano
| 1
| James R. Habeck
| '''James R. Habeck'''
| align="right"| 5,045
| align="right"| 99.39%
|-
| rowspan="7" | Milwaukee
| 17
| Francis&nbsp;T. Wasielewski
| '''Francis&nbsp;T. Wasielewski'''
| align="right"| 107,208
| align="right"| 98.75%
|-
| 21
| [[William W. Brash III|Bill Brash]]
| '''Bill Brash'''
| align="right"|  104,299
| align="right"| 98.76%
|-
| 27
| Kevin E. Martens
| '''Kevin E. Martens'''
| align="right"|  105,520
| align="right"| 98.95%
|-
| 31
| Daniel A. Noonan
| '''Daniel A. Noonan'''
| align="right"|  105,413
| align="right"| 98.95%
|-
| 31
| Michael D. Guolee
| '''Michael D. Guolee'''
| align="right"|  105,561
| align="right"| 98.89%
|-
| 40
| ''--Vacant--''
| '''[[Rebecca Dallet]]'''
| align="right"|  90,029
| align="right"| 66.88%
| Jeffrey Norman
| align="right"|  44,034
| align="right"| 32.71%
|
|-
| 41
| John J. DiMotto
| '''John J. DiMotto'''
| align="right"|  106,359
| align="right"| 99.00%
| rowspan="2" colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| Oneida
| 1
| Patrick F. O'Melia
| '''Patrick F. O'Melia'''
| align="right"|   7,926
| align="right"| 98.99%
|-
| rowspan="2" | Outagamie
| 2
| Nancy J. Krueger
| '''Nancy J. Krueger'''
| align="right"| 16,464
| align="right"| 66.97%
| Dan Hoff
| align="right"| 8,106
| align="right"| 32.97%
| Maureen Roberts Budiac
|-
| 3
| Mitchell&nbsp;J. Metropulos
| '''Mitchell&nbsp;J. Metropulos'''
| align="right"| 12,888
| align="right"| 52.20%
| Carrie Schneider
| align="right"| 11,790
| align="right"| 47.75%
| 
|-
| Polk
| 1
| Molly&nbsp;E. GaleWyrick
| '''Molly&nbsp;E. GaleWyrick'''
| align="right"| 4,896
| align="right"| 99.39%
| rowspan="5" colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| colspan="2" | Price
| Douglas&nbsp;T. Fox
| '''Douglas&nbsp;T. Fox'''
| align="right"|  2,408
| align="right"| 99.50%
|-
| Racine
| 7
| Charles&nbsp;H. Constantine
| '''Charles&nbsp;H. Constantine'''
| align="right"|  21,678
| align="right"| 99.57%
|-
| Rock 
| 1
| James P. Daley
| '''James P. Daley'''
| align="right"|  14,227
| align="right"| 99.61%
|-
| rowspan="2" | St. Croix
| 1
| Eric J. Lundell
| '''Eric J. Lundell'''
| align="right"|  8,306
| align="right"| 99.37%
|-
| 4
| ''--New Seat--''
| '''Howard Cameron'''
| align="right"|  4,949
| align="right"| 50.95%
| Mark J. Gherty
| align="right"| 4,751
| align="right"| 48.91%
| {{nowrap|Carol L. Law<br />Charles B. Harris<br />Ken Sortedahl}}
|-
| Washington 
| 2
| James&nbsp;K. Muehlbauer
| '''James&nbsp;K. Muehlbauer'''
| align="right"| 16,265
| align="right"| 99.69%
| rowspan="5" colspan="4" align="center" | ''--Unopposed--''
|-
| rowspan="3" | Waukesha
| 2
| Mark S. Gempeler
| '''Mark S. Gempeler'''
| align="right"|  47,839
| align="right"| 99.69%
|-
| 5
| Lee&nbsp;S. Dreyfus&nbsp;Jr.
| '''Lee&nbsp;S. Dreyfus&nbsp;Jr.'''
| align="right"|  49,635
| align="right"| 99.76%
|-
| 5
| Patrick&nbsp;C. Haughney
| '''Patrick&nbsp;C. Haughney'''
| align="right"|  46,690
| align="right"| 99.78%
|-
| Wood
| 1
| Gregory J. Potter
| '''Gregory J. Potter'''
| align="right"|  12,607
| align="right"| 99.64%
|}

=== Ballot measures ===
{{Infobox referendum|name=Prohibit Partial Veto Authority|title='''Partial Veto. Shall section 10(1)(c) of article V of the constitution be amended to prohibit the governor, in exercising his or her partial veto authority, from creating a new sentence by combining parts of two or more sentences of the enrolled bill?'''|date=April 1, 2008|location={{flag|Wisconsin}}|yes=575,582|no=239,613|total=815,195|invalid=|map=|map_size=|mapcaption='''Yes:''' {{legend0|#47729E|70–80% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}} {{legend0|#7D9CBB|60–70% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}} {{legend0|#B6C8D9|50–60% |border=1px #AAAAAA solid}}|notes=}}

==== Prohibit Partial Veto Authority ====
By a margin of 335,969 votes, the Wisconsin voters chose to amend the state's Constitution to implement restrictions on the governor's ability to partially veto legislation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=State of Wisconsin Blue Book 2009-2010 |url=https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/A4UAV4VLC3YFC487/pages/A2AYCH4YOTMMEK8G?view=one |access-date=March 23, 2024 |website=University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries}}</ref>
The purpose of the amendment was to reduce the veto power of the Governor, sometimes known as the "Frankenstein veto", which has been historically used by governors of irrespective of their party to rework legislation.<ref>[http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=734566 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel] - Voters drive stake into 'Frankenstein veto'</ref><ref>[http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/opinion/279862 Wisconsin State Journal] - Good riddance to monster veto</ref>

The [[Line-item veto in the United States#Wisconsin|line-item veto]], also known as a [[Frankenstein veto]] is a historic fixture of Wisconsin politics and acted as a way for the governor to bypass the state legislature regarding legislation as the veto gave the governor the ability to strike out words, numbers, and even entire sentences from different bills, though this ability was reduced over time. The veto was used by governors of both parties, such as [[Patrick Lucey]] (D), [[Tony Earl]] (D), and [[Tommy Thompson]] (R) and [[Jim Doyle]] (D) during their terms. During all their terms, the veto was also restricted via judicial action, such as in ''State ex. rel. Wisconsin Telephone Co. v. Henry'', which recognized the ability of the governor to use such a veto, and ''Risser v. Klauser'', which prohibited the governor from using a write-in veto to alter monetary amounts which were not appropriated by the legislature. The veto has also been restricted in prior constitutional amendments, such as in 1990, when voters approved an amendment to end the "pick-a-letter" veto, which was the selective vetoing of letters or numerical characters to form a new word.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radatz |first=Clark G. |date=January 2004 |title=The Partial Veto in Wisconsin |url=http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/pubs/ib/04ib1.pdfvv |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130117082555/http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/pubs/ib/04ib1.pdfvv |archive-date=January 17, 2013 |access-date=March 23, 2024 |website=Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau}}</ref>

== Local elections ==

=== Milwaukee County ===

==== Milwaukee Mayor ====
{{Main|2008 Milwaukee mayoral election}}
A regularly scheduled mayoral election was held in [[Milwaukee]], concurrent with the Spring general election, April&nbsp;1, 2008. Incumbent mayor [[Tom Barrett (Wisconsin politician)|Tom Barrett]] defeated challenger Andrew J. Shaw and was re-elected to a second four-year term.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Schultze |first1=Steve |last2=Sandler |first2=Larry |date=January 3, 2012 |title=Abele, Barrett see little opposition in spring races |url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/abele-appears-headed-for-uncontested-reelection-bid-763lljh-136604783.html |access-date=April 29, 2012 |work=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]]}}</ref>

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080423190712/http://elections.state.wi.us/docview.asp?docid=11290&locid=47] [[Wisconsin Government Accountability Board]] Registered Candidates
*[http://www.votesmart.org/official_state.php?state_id=WI Project Vote Smart - Wisconsin]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080910020120/http://www.legis.state.wi.us/ltsb/redistricting/Maps/sen_07.pdf Wisconsin Senate districts map]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080910020108/http://www.legis.state.wi.us/ltsb/redistricting/Maps/asm07.pdf Wisconsin Assembly districts map]
*[http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?Dato=99999999&Kategori=APC0110&Lopenr=399991335&Ref=AR Search Wisconsin candidate Statements of Economic Interest ]

==References==
<references />

{{2008 U.S. elections}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wisconsin State Elections, 2008}}
[[Category:2008 Wisconsin elections| ]]
[[Category:2008 elections in the United States by state]]
[[Category:Wisconsin State Legislature elections|2008]]