Eric Toney has conceded the attorney general’s race to incumbent AG Josh Kaul, according to a Toney campaign spokesperson.
A Kaul spokesperson said the two candidates had a short, “incredibly respectful” call earlier this evening. Kaul later thanked Toney in his victory speech for his call.
“In this era of people questioning the results of elections, that Eric Toney called when it was clear of what the result was going to be and conceded, that’s a really important step to moving forward,” spokesperson Tyler Engler said.
The Associated Press called the race for Kaul at 10:41 p.m, with 85% of votes counted. Kaul led Toney 53.9% to 46.1% as of that time.
In a statement posted online that referenced his 2023 open-heat surgery, Toney congratulated Kaul on his victory.
“I’ll work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who wants to keep Wisconsin safe,” Toney wrote. “I look forward to continuing the job I love in Fond du Lac County.”
Shortly after Toney conceded, cheers could be heard from the direction of the Overture Center in Madison, where Kaul is hosting an election night watch party.
With Dems poised to claim a trifecta for the first time since 2010, Engler said Kaul was “looking forward” to working with legislative Democrats and David Crowley and “optimistic” about new state investment in the Department of Justice.
Kaul and the GOP-held Legislature have clashed over DOJ funding throughout the last eight years, particularly over positions for the state’s crime lab.
Kaul is the first Wisconsin AG elected to a third term since former Gov. Jim Doyle in 1998.
The race has attracted relatively little attention compared to the top of the ticket. The final Marquette University Law School Poll, released Oct. 28, found Kaul had a favorable-unfavorable split of 23-20, with 56% unable to say; Toney’s favorable-unfavorable split was 13-13, with 72% lacking an opinion of the two-time state candidate.
Toney ran a stronger fundraising operation compared to his 2022 bid, where Kaul outspent Toney by a 5-to-1 margin.
Kaul ultimately spent $1.9 million to Toney’s $1.5 million through Oct. 19, according to a check of campaign finance records.
Outside groups including the Democratic Attorneys General Association spent a combined $1.8 million backing Kaul, per campaign finance and AdImpact data.
Toney received comparably little outside support, with the Republican Attorneys General Association paring back over $500,000 in reservations to just $143,702 as of today. Outside spending backing Toney came out to $150,052.
On the campaign trail, Toney attacked Kaul for “putting politics over public safety” and for increasing response times at the state’s crime lab, an issue Kaul used against GOP incumbent Brad Schimel in the 2018 election.
Kaul touted his office’s role in successful multistate challenges to Trump administration actions while saying Toney would be a “rubber stamp” for the president and contrasted recent statewide decreases in violent crime with an increase in violent crime in Fond du Lac County.