With Republican control at the state and federal level, the Tuesday municipal elections resulted in a win for progressive candidates across all ballots.
Students from the University of Wisconsin, members of the Madison community and citizens across the state turned out to cast their votes for a variety of positions at the local, county and state level.
The election decided who would have the seats of the Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the Madison City Council, the Madison School Board and Dane County Circuit Court Judge.
Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction
The race for the State Superintendent of Public Instruction was far from contentious, with incumbent Tony Evers receiving nearly 87 percent of votes cast. Evers will remain in his position for a third term after defeating his opponent, Lowell Holtz.
Evers received more than 84,000 votes in the election, according to the Dane County Clerk.
The race for state superintendent was potentially controversial during the 2017 spring primary elections when Holtz and former challenger, John Humphries, discussed plans to have one of them drop out of the race in exchange for a $150,000 tax-payer funded job, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.
Madison City Council
Incumbent Ald. Zach Wood, District 8, also retained his seat in Tuesday’s election. Wood faced challenger John Terry Jr., an ex-homeless man who looked to increase housing opportunities for Madison’s homeless and student population.
Wood received 74.2 percent of the total votes, according to the Dane County Clerk.
In the districts where the most students live, Council President Mike Verveer, District 4, Ald. Marsha Rummel, District 6, and Ald. Ledell Zellers, District 2, all ran unopposed and were re-elected to their seats.
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Madison School Board Seat 6
Though both candidates ran on the mission of closing the achievement gap between black and white students in the Madison School District, Kate Toews ultimately defeated Ali Muldrow for the Madison School Board Seat 6.
Toews edged out Muldrow by 11 points.
Madison School Board candidates seek to close achievement gap among students
Madison School Board Seat 7
The Madison School Board Seat 7 will have a new face as Nicki Vander Muelen defeated incumbent Ed Hughes.
Vander Muelen’s campaign focused on students with disabilities and underrepresented students. She received a total of 68.3 percent of the votes in the election.
After primary win, Madison School Board incumbent ends bid for seat
Dane County Circuit Court Judge
Jill Karofsky won the Dane County Circuit Court Judge Branch 12 race. She received 57.5 percent of the vote to defeat her challenger, Marilyn Townsend.
