Gov. Tony Evers won reelection on Tuesday, defying history as he beat GOP construction exec Tim Michels.
In securing another four years as guv, Evers became the first candidate in 32 years to win the guv’s race when his party was in power in the White House.
In his victory speech, Evers told supporters he was proud to be the 46th governor of Wisconsin and “jazzed as hell to tell you that on Jan. 3, 2023, I’ll still be the 46th governor of the great state of Wisconsin.”
In his victory speech, Evers thanked supporters for showing up at the polls on issues such abortion rights. He also poked fun at the knock that he’s boring.
“As it turns out, boring wins, and Mr. Rogers is cool,” said Evers, who turned 71 on Saturday.
With 93 percent of the vote in, Evers and running mate Sara Rodriguez were at 51 percent of the vote, while Michels and his running mate Roger Roth were at 48 percent.
By winning, Evers broke several historical trends. He is the first guv candidate to win a race while his party was in the White House since Republican Tommy Thompson in 1990. He’s also the first Dem to pull it off in 60 years. If U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Oshkosh, wins reelection, he’d also be the first Dem in state history to win the guv’s race when his party’s nominee lost the contest for U.S. Senate.
In a short speech to supporters, Michels said, “It wasn’t our night tonight, and I thank everybody for all of your support. God bless.”
Evers and the groups supporting him vastly outspent Michels and his allies as the guv hammered his GOP rival on issues such as abortion.
According to AdImpact, Evers and the groups supporting him spent $56.9 million on paid media after the Aug. 9 primary, whle Michels and his supporters spent $30.4 million.
Meanwhile, Assembly Dems were on path to successfully beat back a GOP attempt to net the five seats needed for a veto-proof majority in that chamber.
Senate Republicans were on track to net the one seat they needed to reach a two-thirds majority.
