Prosser, Kloppenburg advance in primary

• Election Results

Election Results

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Pierce and St. Croix residents joined voters around the state to choose incumbent David Prosser and Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg to advance to the April election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

In both counties and statewide, Prosser got the most votes, Kloppenburg was second, Marla Stephens was second, and Joel Winnig finished last.

Prosser, a justice for 12 years, received 55% of the vote in Tuesday’s primary. Kloppenburg had 25%. Stephens, head of the public defender’s appellate division, was eliminated with 11% of the vote. Winnig, a Madison attorney, placed fourth with 9%.

Just over 400,000 total votes were cast in a primary that was expected to get a 10% statewide turnout.

Prosser said he has strong support in every part of the state, and he wants to build on it. Prosser – part of the court’s 4-3 conservative majority – also said Kloppenburg and Stephens want a “much more left-leaning court than the one we have now.”

Kloppenburg said her showing in the primary indicates that voters are fed up with the public divisiveness on the Supreme Court, and they’ve lost some confidence in the institution.

She said it’s clear that people want public financing. All the primary candidates except Stephens received $100,000 tax dollars for their campaigns under a new law designed to keep special interests out of judicial races. Stephens only raised about $40,000 on her own.

Prosser and Kloppenburg will each get $300,000 in tax money for the general election. But outside groups can still advertise on their own. The conservative Wisconsin Club for Growth had the only statewide TV ad in the primary, supporting Prosser.

Tags: state news, politics