With just days before the fall 2014 elections, candidates are making their final pushes to rally support and votes.
The procrastinator’s guide to registering to vote in Wisconsin
Below is a full list of candidates and referendums that will appear on the ballot in Dane County.
Governor and Lieutenant Governor
Incumbent Gov. Scott Walker and Democratic challenger Mary Burke, a former Trek Bicycle executive and state commerce secretary, are the two frontrunners in this race, and were in a virtual tie in numerous polls for a large part of the campaign.
However, the most recent Marquette University Law Poll shows Walker ahead of Burke by seven percent among likely voters.
The candidates on the ballot for governor and lieutenant governor are:
Scott Walker/Rebecca Kleefisch (Republican)
Mary Burke/John Lehman (Democratic)
Dennis Fehr (Peoples Party)
Robert Burke/Joseph M. Brost (Libertarian)
Attorney General
The attorney general enforces all the state’s laws, and is commonly called the “top cop” of the state.
Both Susan Happ and Brad Schimel have experience as their counties’ district attorney, Happ in Jefferson County and Schimel in neighboring Waukesha County.
Low information, high competition add up to brutal attorney general race
The attorney general candidates are:
Susan V. Happ (Democratic)
Brad Schimel (Republican)
Thomas A. Nelson, Sr. (Libertarian)
Secretary of State
The secretary of state is responsible for putting the state seal on the governor’s official acts, as well as sitting on the Board of Commissioner of Public Lands. Doug La Follette currently holds the position.
The candidates for secretary of state are:
Doug La Follette (Democratic)
Julian Bradley (Republican)
Jerry Broitzman (Constitution)
Andy Craig (Libertarian)
State Treasurer
The state treasurer’s sole responsibility is serving on the Board of Commissioner of Public Lands. The current incumbent, Kurt Schuller, is not seeking another term.
Matt Adamczyk, a Republican, is running on the platform to eliminate the office, while Dave Sartori, a Democrat, wants to strengthen it.
The candidates for state treasurer are:
Matt Adamczyk (Republican)
David L. Sartori (Democratic)
Andrew Zuelke (Constitution)
Ron Hardy (Wisconsin Green Party)
Jerry Shidell (Libertarian)
U.S. Representative District 2
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, is facing Republican challenger Peter Theron, a computer programmer who received a Ph. D. in mathematics from University of Wisconsin.
The winner will represent Madison residents in Congress for the next two years.
Theron favors a complete repeal of the Affordable Care Act, commonly known as Obamacare, increased domestic oil drilling and rebuilding the military.
Pocan believes in increasing energy efficiency, strengthening the Affordable Care Act and strengthening Social Security and Medicaid, as well as tackling student loan debt.
The candidates for U.S. Representative of District 2 are:
Mark Pocan (Democratic)
Peter Theron (Republican)
Dane County Sheriff
Incumbent Dane County Sheriff David Mahoney is running unopposed to keep his seat.
Mahoney, who defeated his primary challenger N. Peter Endres in April with 89.4 percent of the vote, has worked to reduce overcrowded jails and add diversity to the police force.
The candidate for Dane County Sheriff is:
David Mahoney (Democratic)
Dane County Clerk of Circuit Court
Incumbent Clerk of Circuit Court Carlo Esqueda is running unopposed.
The clerk of courts is responsible for managing the clerk’s office at the county level through keeping records and maintaining the office’s finances.
The clerk of courts candidate on the ballot is:
Carlo Esqueda (Democratic)
State Referendum
According to the Government Accountability Board, this constitutional amendment would protect the state’s transportation. Currently, the state Legislature is able to transfer money out of the transportation fund for use in other non-related areas, such as schools or health care.
The transportation fund consists largely of revenues from the gas tax, vehicle registration fees and other fees.
If the proposal passes, funds allocated to the transportation fund will only be able to be used for transportation-related expenses.
A “yes” vote indicates support for the protection of the transportation fund.
Dane County Advisory Referendum #1
The first referendum in Dane County asks voters whether they support increasing the minimum wage to $10.10 per hour.
The referendum will not automatically increase the minimum wage if passed, but rather will result in a resolution stating the county’s support for an increased minimum wage.
According to Raise Wisconsin, the group responsible for getting the issue on the ballot, almost 600,000 Wisconsinites currently make the minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
A “yes” vote indicates support for increasing the minimum wage to $10.10.
Dane County Advisory Referendum #2
This referendum involves asking the governor and Legislature to accept federal funds for a Medicaid expansion, which Walker declined, although he implemented an alternative plan.
A “yes” vote indicates support for asking the Legislature and governor to accept federal funds for the expansion of BadgerCare.
Correction: This post has been updated to reflect that the secretary of state is no longer responsible for publishing state laws. A state law passed in 2013 removed that responsibility from the secretary of state’s office.
