Here are the winners of every Wisconsin presidential primary since 1968
- Updated
Wisconsin has one of the longest traditions of holding presidential preference primaries in the United States. Here is every primary winner the state has produced in the modern political era.
Sources: Wisconsin Blue Book, Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, Wisconsin State Journal archives, New York Times archives, Associated Press
Former Vice President Richard Nixon swept to an easy victory in Wisconsin's 1968 Republican presidential primary in Wisconsin, winning 80 percent of the vote. He would go on to win Wisconsin and the presidency in the general election, defeating Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey and Alabama independent candidate George Wallace.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Anti-Vietnam War candidate Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota won Wisconsin's April 2 Democratic primary, following his second-place finish in New Hampshire the previous month. McCarthy's win in Wisconsin demonstrated the strength of the anti-war movement in the Democratic electorate, which, coupled with Robert Kennedy's decision to also enter the race, led to incumbent President Lyndon Johnson's decision not to seek another term. Johnson's vice president, Hubert Humphrey, ultimately won the Democratic nomination at the Democratic National Convention, and then lost the general election to Richard Nixon.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Incumbent President Richard Nixon faced no real opposition in Wisconsin's 1972 Wisconsin primary election, winning with 97 percent of the vote. He went on to win the state again in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
South Dakota Sen. George McGovern came out on top in Wisconsin's 1972 primary despite netting only 30% of the vote. There were more than 10 candidates on the Democratic ballot by the April 4 primary election. McGovern went on to lose badly to incumbent President Richard Nixon in the Nov. 7 general election, winning only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Incumbent president Gerald Ford, who ascended to the presidency after Richard Nixon resigned during the Watergate scandal, won Wisconsin's 1976 primary despite a tough challenge from former California governor Ronald Reagan. Ford then lost the general election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter won the 1976 Democratic primary election in Wisconsin in a surprise victory over Mo Udall. Carter went on to secure the Democratic nomination and defeat incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in a very close general election.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Former California governor and actor Ronald Reagan won the Wisconsin Republican primary in 1980. He would go on to win the Republican nomination and defeat incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter in a landslide in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Incumbent President Jimmy Carter fended off a challenge from Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy to win the Wisconsin primary and the Democratic nomination in 1980. But he would later lose badly to Ronald Reagan in the general election.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Popular incumbent Ronald Reagan faced almost no opposition in his march to the nomination for a second term as president in 1984, winning the Wisconsin primary with 95 percent of the vote. He resoundingly defeated Democratic candidate Walter Mondale in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Colorado Sen. Gary Hart won Wisconsin's 1984 presidential primary, narrowly defeating former Vice President Walter Mondale 44-41. However, that year the state Democratic Party also held a caucus four days after the primary which reversed the result of the nonbinding primary's vote, handing the state to Mondale instead.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the first African American to be a serious national contender for president, won 10 percent of the Democratic primary vote that year as well.
President Ronald Reagan's two-time running mate George H. W. Bush handily won Wisconsin's Republican primary in 1988, benefitting from Reagan's endorsement and fending off challenges from Kansas Sen. Bob Dole and televangelist Pat Robertson.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis won Wisconsin's 1988 Democratic presidential primary and won the state in the general election, but ultimately lost to Vice President George H. W. Bush.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Incumbent President George H. W. Bush easily won the Republican primary in Wisconsin in 1992, but lost the state (and the presidency) in the general election to Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton when Texas billionaire businessman Ross Perot launched a national third-party candidacy.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton came out on top in Wisconsin's 1992 Democratic primary election, narrowly defeating former California Gov Jerry Brown 37%-35%. Clinton went on to win the Democratic nomination and to win Wisconsin in the general election. He defeated incumbent President George H. W. Bush in November, thanks in part to the third-party candidacy of Texas billionaire businessman Ross Perot.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Kansas Sen. Bob Dole won Wisconsin's 1996 primary election by a wide margin, but wound up losing the state (and the race) to incumbent Bill Clinton in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Popular incumbent Bill Clinton faced virtually no opposition in his bid for a another term as president, winning Wisconsin's Democratic primary with 98% of the vote. He went on to win Wisconsin in the general election as well and defeated Sen. Bob Dole to win a second term.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
By the time Wisconsin's 2000 Republican primary began, it was pretty clear that Texas Gov. George W. Bush was going to be the party's nominee, having soundly beaten back an early challenge by Arizona Sen. John McCain. Bush, the son of former president George H. W. Bush, won Wisconsin's primary with 69% of votes cast, lost the state to Vice President Al Gore in the general election, and went on to win the presidency in one of the most controversial presidential elections in the nation's history.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Al Gore, the former Tennessee senator and Vice President to Bill Clinton, won every state in his bid for the Democratic nomination in 2000. He would win Wisconsin in the general election as well, but it wouldn't be enough to defeat George W. Bush, who became president after the Supreme Court awarded Florida's electoral votes to him in its controversial Bush v. Gore decision.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Incumbent President George W. Bush easily won Wisconsin's Republican primary in 2004 with 99% of the vote. He would lose Wisconsin in the general election, this time to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, but again didn't need the state to win the election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry won the Wisconsin primary, which in 2004 was moved up on the calendar to February, giving the race added significance in the Democratic nominating process. Former Vermont governor and previous Democratic front-runner Howard Dean announced that his campaign "had come to an end" the day after he came in a disappointing third place in Wisconsin. Kerry went on to secure the Democratic nomination and won Wisconsin in the general election, but ultimately lost to incumbent President George W. Bush.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Arizona Sen. John McCain had a resounding win in Wisconsin's February 2008 Republican primary, further cementing his front-runner status in what had been a wide-open race for the nomination. McCain would lose the state in the general election to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who went on to win the presidency.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Wisconsin's Democrats selected Illinois Sen. Barack Obama over former first lady and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton during a hotly contested 2008 nominating process. Obama won a surprising 58% of the Wisconsin votes, adding to his momentum on the way to securing the Democratic nomination. The 646,851 votes he received was the most by any one candidate in Wisconsin primary history. Obama would later win Wisconsin in the general election and ascend to the presidency.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
In April 2012, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney eked out a win in Wisconsin's Republican primary over insurgent former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Santorum's loss forced him to suspend his campaign a week later, leading to a sense of inevitability for Romney's campaign. Romney later lost the state to incumbent President Barack Obama in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Incumbent President Barack Obama did not face Democratic opposition in his bid for a second term. He won Wisconsin handily in the 2012 primary and general elections.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz decisively won Wisconsin's 2016 Republican primary, dealing a setback to national front-runner Donald Trump in a state where the brash billionaire had received a cold reception.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won the 2016 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary in convincing fashion, adding to his winning streak and fueling his long-shot bid to wrest the nomination from front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
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Former Vice President Richard Nixon swept to an easy victory in Wisconsin's 1968 Republican presidential primary in Wisconsin, winning 80 percent of the vote. He would go on to win Wisconsin and the presidency in the general election, defeating Democratic candidate Hubert Humphrey and Alabama independent candidate George Wallace.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Anti-Vietnam War candidate Sen. Eugene McCarthy of Minnesota won Wisconsin's April 2 Democratic primary, following his second-place finish in New Hampshire the previous month. McCarthy's win in Wisconsin demonstrated the strength of the anti-war movement in the Democratic electorate, which, coupled with Robert Kennedy's decision to also enter the race, led to incumbent President Lyndon Johnson's decision not to seek another term. Johnson's vice president, Hubert Humphrey, ultimately won the Democratic nomination at the Democratic National Convention, and then lost the general election to Richard Nixon.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Incumbent President Richard Nixon faced no real opposition in Wisconsin's 1972 Wisconsin primary election, winning with 97 percent of the vote. He went on to win the state again in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
South Dakota Sen. George McGovern came out on top in Wisconsin's 1972 primary despite netting only 30% of the vote. There were more than 10 candidates on the Democratic ballot by the April 4 primary election. McGovern went on to lose badly to incumbent President Richard Nixon in the Nov. 7 general election, winning only Massachusetts and the District of Columbia.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Incumbent president Gerald Ford, who ascended to the presidency after Richard Nixon resigned during the Watergate scandal, won Wisconsin's 1976 primary despite a tough challenge from former California governor Ronald Reagan. Ford then lost the general election to Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Former Georgia Gov. Jimmy Carter won the 1976 Democratic primary election in Wisconsin in a surprise victory over Mo Udall. Carter went on to secure the Democratic nomination and defeat incumbent Republican President Gerald Ford in a very close general election.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Former California governor and actor Ronald Reagan won the Wisconsin Republican primary in 1980. He would go on to win the Republican nomination and defeat incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter in a landslide in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Incumbent President Jimmy Carter fended off a challenge from Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy to win the Wisconsin primary and the Democratic nomination in 1980. But he would later lose badly to Ronald Reagan in the general election.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Popular incumbent Ronald Reagan faced almost no opposition in his march to the nomination for a second term as president in 1984, winning the Wisconsin primary with 95 percent of the vote. He resoundingly defeated Democratic candidate Walter Mondale in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Colorado Sen. Gary Hart won Wisconsin's 1984 presidential primary, narrowly defeating former Vice President Walter Mondale 44-41. However, that year the state Democratic Party also held a caucus four days after the primary which reversed the result of the nonbinding primary's vote, handing the state to Mondale instead.
The Rev. Jesse Jackson, the first African American to be a serious national contender for president, won 10 percent of the Democratic primary vote that year as well.
President Ronald Reagan's two-time running mate George H. W. Bush handily won Wisconsin's Republican primary in 1988, benefitting from Reagan's endorsement and fending off challenges from Kansas Sen. Bob Dole and televangelist Pat Robertson.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis won Wisconsin's 1988 Democratic presidential primary and won the state in the general election, but ultimately lost to Vice President George H. W. Bush.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Incumbent President George H. W. Bush easily won the Republican primary in Wisconsin in 1992, but lost the state (and the presidency) in the general election to Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton when Texas billionaire businessman Ross Perot launched a national third-party candidacy.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton came out on top in Wisconsin's 1992 Democratic primary election, narrowly defeating former California Gov Jerry Brown 37%-35%. Clinton went on to win the Democratic nomination and to win Wisconsin in the general election. He defeated incumbent President George H. W. Bush in November, thanks in part to the third-party candidacy of Texas billionaire businessman Ross Perot.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Kansas Sen. Bob Dole won Wisconsin's 1996 primary election by a wide margin, but wound up losing the state (and the race) to incumbent Bill Clinton in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Popular incumbent Bill Clinton faced virtually no opposition in his bid for a another term as president, winning Wisconsin's Democratic primary with 98% of the vote. He went on to win Wisconsin in the general election as well and defeated Sen. Bob Dole to win a second term.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
By the time Wisconsin's 2000 Republican primary began, it was pretty clear that Texas Gov. George W. Bush was going to be the party's nominee, having soundly beaten back an early challenge by Arizona Sen. John McCain. Bush, the son of former president George H. W. Bush, won Wisconsin's primary with 69% of votes cast, lost the state to Vice President Al Gore in the general election, and went on to win the presidency in one of the most controversial presidential elections in the nation's history.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Al Gore, the former Tennessee senator and Vice President to Bill Clinton, won every state in his bid for the Democratic nomination in 2000. He would win Wisconsin in the general election as well, but it wouldn't be enough to defeat George W. Bush, who became president after the Supreme Court awarded Florida's electoral votes to him in its controversial Bush v. Gore decision.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Incumbent President George W. Bush easily won Wisconsin's Republican primary in 2004 with 99% of the vote. He would lose Wisconsin in the general election, this time to Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, but again didn't need the state to win the election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry won the Wisconsin primary, which in 2004 was moved up on the calendar to February, giving the race added significance in the Democratic nominating process. Former Vermont governor and previous Democratic front-runner Howard Dean announced that his campaign "had come to an end" the day after he came in a disappointing third place in Wisconsin. Kerry went on to secure the Democratic nomination and won Wisconsin in the general election, but ultimately lost to incumbent President George W. Bush.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Arizona Sen. John McCain had a resounding win in Wisconsin's February 2008 Republican primary, further cementing his front-runner status in what had been a wide-open race for the nomination. McCain would lose the state in the general election to Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, who went on to win the presidency.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Wisconsin's Democrats selected Illinois Sen. Barack Obama over former first lady and New York Sen. Hillary Clinton during a hotly contested 2008 nominating process. Obama won a surprising 58% of the Wisconsin votes, adding to his momentum on the way to securing the Democratic nomination. The 646,851 votes he received was the most by any one candidate in Wisconsin primary history. Obama would later win Wisconsin in the general election and ascend to the presidency.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
In April 2012, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney eked out a win in Wisconsin's Republican primary over insurgent former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum. Santorum's loss forced him to suspend his campaign a week later, leading to a sense of inevitability for Romney's campaign. Romney later lost the state to incumbent President Barack Obama in the general election.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Incumbent President Barack Obama did not face Democratic opposition in his bid for a second term. He won Wisconsin handily in the 2012 primary and general elections.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz decisively won Wisconsin's 2016 Republican primary, dealing a setback to national front-runner Donald Trump in a state where the brash billionaire had received a cold reception.
Wisconsin Republican primary election results
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders won the 2016 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary in convincing fashion, adding to his winning streak and fueling his long-shot bid to wrest the nomination from front-runner Hillary Clinton.
Wisconsin Democratic primary election results
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