Wednesday, November 4: Democrats win governor’s office, majorities in both houses of Legislature, blue tsunami sweeps U.S. House and Senate races, Berman beats Steil, Cooke defeats Van Orden, constitutional amendments pass, more election results
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I’m feeling energized. I’m feeling emotional in the greatest way, I am feeling encouraged, and I am really sitting in the fact that we just elected our first Black governor.”
– Angela Lang, director of Black Leaders Organizing Communities, reacting to David Crowley’s victory at his watch party in Milwaukee
Governor-elect David Crowley celebrates his win in the 2026 election. (Photo by Isiah Holmes/Wisconsin Examiner)
In a historic victory Tuesday night, David Crowley was elected as Wisconsin’s first African American governor. Crowley, who became Milwaukee’s first Black county executive in 2020, defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany. Isiah Holmes reports from the victory party in Milwaukee.
Democrats won not just the Wisconsin governor’s race, but majority control of the state Senate and Assembly, giving them trifecta control of state government for the first time in nearly two decades, Baylor Spears reports on the sea change.
In a series of stunning upsets across the country, Democrats ousted Republicans and flipped control of the U.S. Senate Tuesday night, effectively establishing a barricade for President Donald Trump’s agenda for the last two years of his term. Ashley Murray and Shauneen Miranda report from Washington.
As Democrats also swept House races across the country, former emergency room nurse Mitchell Berman defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil in Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District to become the first Democrat in the seat in more than three decades. Erik Gunn has the story.
Democrat Rebecca Cooke defeated Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District, notching a win in one of the Democratic party’s highest priority House districts, Henry Redman reports. Cooke’s win brings Democratic control back to the district, which voted for President Trump three times.
Wisconsin voters passed two out of three constitutional amendments Tuesday. One bans programs designed specifically for the benefit of minorities and women and another limits the governor's veto powers. Voters narrowly rejected an amendment that would have exempted places of worship from public health orders. Henry Redman reports.
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ICYMI
Mitch Berman, the Democratic candidate elected Tuesday to represent Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District, greets supporters at his watch party in Elkhorn Tuesday night. (Photo by Heather Asiyanbi)
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