Wisconsin Secretary of State election, 2014

Wisconsin Secretary of State Election

Primary Date: August 12, 2014

General Election Date: November 4, 2014

November 4 Election Winner: Douglas LaFollette

Incumbent prior to election: Douglas LaFollette

Wisconsin State Executive Elections Top Ballot Governor • Lt. Governor • Secretary of State • Attorney General Down Ballot Treasurer

The Wisconsin Secretary of State election took place on November 4, 2014. Incumbent Douglas La Follette (D) was first elected in 1982 and won re-election in 2014.

A primary election is an election in which registered voters select a candidate that they believe should be a political party's candidate for elected office to run in the general election. They are also used to choose convention delegates and party leaders. Primaries are state-level and local-level elections that take place prior to a general election. Wisconsin utilizes an open primary system; registered voters do not have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.

For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.

La Follette faced three challengers in the general election including Republican candidate Julian Bradley, Constitution Party candidate Jerry Broitzman and Libertarian Party candidate Andy Craig. Learn more about the positions taken by the candidates by jumping to the campaign themes section. This page also features a polls section with results from a handful of polls taken in this race along with a past elections section that features vote totals from the three previous races for Wisconsin Secretary of State.

Candidates

General election

Doug La Follette - Incumbent
Julian Bradley
Jerry Broitzman - Constitution Party candidate
Andy Craig - Libertarian candidate

Lost in primary

Garey Bies

Withdrew

Jay Schroeder
Bill Folk
Rohn Bishop

Results

General election

Secretary of State of Wisconsin, 2014
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Doug La Follette Incumbent	50%	1,161,113
	Republican	Julian Bradley	46.3%	1,074,835
	Libertarian	Andy Craig	2.5%	58,996
	Constitution	Jerry Broitzman	1.1%	25,744
	Nonpartisan	Scattering	0.1%	1,347
Total Votes				2,322,035
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

Primary election

Democratic primary

Incumbent Democrat Doug La Follette won re-nomination without opposition.

Republican primary

Wisconsin Secretary of State Republican Primary, 2014
Candidate	Vote %	Votes
Julian Bradley	64.8%	138,569
Garey Bies	35.2%	75,379
Total Votes		213,948
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

Race background

See also: Background on La Follette's time in office

Incumbent Democrat Doug La Follette faced Republican challenger Julian Bradley and two third-party candidates, Constitution Party candidate Jerry Broitzman and Libertarian Party candidate Andy Craig, in the general election for Wisconsin Secretary of State. La Follette had held this seat since 1983. During his time in office, the powers of the Secretary of State's office had been reduced by the Wisconsin Legislature.

Both Republican primary candidates, Bradley and State Representative Garey Bies, argued that the office had become ceremonial and that the current state was unacceptable. While Bies wanted to eliminate the office and give its remaining powers to other agencies, Bradley's platform was to reform the office and regain its former powers.

Campaign themes

All four candidates for Wisconsin Secretary of State provided answers to a questionnaire published by the League of Women Voters of Dane County, Inc. Candidates were asked their priorities for the position and questions about the future of the office. The following sections provide the candidate responses to these questions verbatim:

Julian Bradley

“	1. Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues. I have 3 major priorities for the office. I want to reform the office by running an active and transparent office. I want to restore not just responsibilities to the office, but faith in it as well. And I want to rebuild the bridges that have been burned to the other branches of state government. I currently work in management for a Fortune 150 company where I have a staff that is larger than the staff in the Secretary of State's office. I know what it's going to take to turn this office around. It's going to take a clear vision by a proven leader. That's what I bring to the table. 2. There have been proposals to merge the functions of this office into other state agencies. If you believe this constitutional office is still relevant, explain why. If not, explain how the functions could most efficiently be taken over by other agencies. I've maintained my position that the problem isn't the office, the problem is the current office holder. That's the only thing that needs to be removed. Our state's founders had a vision for our government that included a Secretary of State. There is so much potential for this office to play an integral role in state government, just as it does in Minnesota, Iowa, Indiana, and the majority of the country. As your next Secretary of State, I am up to the task of taking this office from being one with great potential, to being one with great value for the people of Wisconsin.	”
—League of Women Voters of Dane County, Inc.

Jerry Broitzman

“	1. Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues. My first priority is to talk with the elected members of the Assembly and Senate to give my perspective on why the restoration of duties to the office would be a positive move. Given my experience as an elected representative, appointed official and years of private-sector business experience, I have the necessary political and diplomatic acumen to get things done. I am confident that enough members of both chambers would agree with my perspective and vote accordingly. 2. There have been proposals to merge the functions of this office into other state agencies. If you believe this constitutional office is still relevant, explain why. If not, explain how the functions could most efficiently be taken over by other agencies. The duties of the office have been stripped away by the legislature over the years, but the duties have not gone away. Instead, they have been reassigned to unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats. I want to restore the legitimate duties to the office, as they were originally intended in the Wisconsin State Constitution. This would provide more checks and balances, which is badly needed in our state government.	”
—League of Women Voters of Dane County, Inc.

Andy Craig

“	1. Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues. As Secretary of State, I will use the position to advocate overdue, nonpartisan constitutional reforms to state government, including abolishing marginalized, do-little offices like Secretary of State. I support nonpartisan redistricting, instant run-off voting, statewide initiative and referendum, increasing the size of the Assembly, and establishing an elected Commissioner of Lands and Resources. I would also be a consistent and outspoken voice for freedom, reason, and reform to the Legislature and Governor, which would not take place under either a Rep. or Dem. Secretary of State. 2. There have been proposals to merge the functions of this office into other state agencies. If you believe this constitutional office is still relevant, explain why. If not, explain how the functions could most efficiently be taken over by other agencies. Wisconsin decided correctly that an elected official should not be in charge of elections, leaving the Sec'y with little to justify its existence. Thus I support the proposal to abolish the Secretary of State, as other states have already done. Instead of an obsolete relic of the 19th Century, I would advocate for establishing an elected Executive Council to check one-man rule. During my term, I would minimize costs through decentralization and automation, before transferring the small remainder to those agencies (LRB, GAB, DNR, and Att'y Gen.) which already handle similar responsibilities.	”
—League of Women Voters of Dane County, Inc.

Doug La Follette

“	1. Please describe your priorities for your term in office and your specific qualifications to effectively address those issues. To continue to maintain the office and serve the people of Wisconsin. Be available to citizens who need assistance. And work to restore the important responsibilities to the office so Wisconsin will be like all other states and better able to compete. 2. There have been proposals to merge the functions of this office into other state agencies. If you believe this constitutional office is still relevant, explain why. If not, explain how the functions could most efficiently be taken over by other agencies. It is not only relevant but for the future good of our State the important responsibilities that have been removed and are located in the offices of Secretaries of State in most all other states should be restored. This would allow Wisconsin to compete and make it easier for people to obtain the information they need.	”
—League of Women Voters of Dane County, Inc.

Polls

Wisconsin Secretary of State
Poll	Doug LaFollette (D)	Julian Bradley (R)	Other/Unsure	Margin of error	Sample size
Gravis Marketing October 3-4, 2014	44%	43%	13%	+/-3	837
Gravis Marketing July 31-August 3, 2014	46%	39%	15%	+/-3	1,346
AVERAGES	45%	41%	14%	+/-3	1,091.5
Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to [email protected].

Campaign finance

Comprehensive donor information for this election has been collected by Follow the Money. Based on available campaign finance records, the candidates raised a total of $75,449 during the election. This information was last updated on January 20, 2015.

Campaign Contribution Totals
Candidate	Office	Result	Contributions
Julian Bradley	Wisconsin Secretary of State		$73,533
Douglas La Follette	Wisconsin Secretary of State		$4,372
Jerry Broitzman	Wisconsin Secretary of State		$−2,456
Andy Craig	Wisconsin Secretary of State		$0
Grand Total Raised			$75,449

Past elections

2010

On November 2, 2010, Douglas La Follette won re-election to the office of Wisconsin Secretary of State. He defeated David D. King in the general election.

Wisconsin Secretary of State, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Douglas La Follette Incumbent	51.6%	1,074,118
	Republican	David D. King	48.3%	1,005,217
	-	Scattering	0.1%	1,863
Total Votes				2,081,198
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

2006

Wisconsin Secretary of State, 2006
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Douglas La Follette Incumbent	57.1%	1,184,720
	Republican	Sandy Sullivan	38.4%	796,686
	Green	Michael LaForest	4.5%	92,587
	-	Scattering	0.1%	1,412
Total Votes				2,075,405
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board

2002

On November 5, 2002, Douglas La Follette won re-election to the office of Wisconsin Secretary of State. He defeated Robert Gerald Lorge (R) and Edward J. Frami (C) in the general election.

Wisconsin Secretary of State, 2010
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Douglas La Follette Incumbent	56.6%	950,929
	Republican	Robert Gerald Lorge	41.3%	693,476
	Constitution	Edward J. Frami	2.1%	34,750
	-	Scattering	0.1%	1,009
Total Votes				1,680,164
Election results via Wisconsin Government Accountability Board.

Key deadlines

Deadline	Event
June 2, 2014	Filing deadline
August 12, 2014	Primary election
November 4, 2014	General election
December 1, 2014	Certification of results
January 5, 2015	State executives inaugurated

Recent news

This section links to a Google news search for the term "Wisconsin + Secretary + elections"

Wisconsin Secretary of States Election News Feed

See also

• Wisconsin Secretary of State
• Wisconsin state executive official elections, 2014
• State executive official elections, 2014

External links

Suggest a link

• Office of the Secretary of State of Wisconsin