General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Wasserman Schultz’s liberal challenger set to announce $1M haul [View all]CobaltBlue
(1,122 posts)that is, if Wisconsin carries Democratic for president. (If the presidency holds for the party
so, too, will Wisconsin.) The state has been in the Democratic Partys column over the last seven consecutive election cycles which began in 1988.
Since 1976, every presidential election in which Wisconsin had a U.S. Senate race ended up with the same party having won in the state at both the presidential and senatorial levels.
1976: Jimmy Carter (D), President; William Proxmire (D), U.S. Senate
1980: Ronald Reagan (R), who unseated Jimmy Carter and flipped the state, President; Bob Kasten (R), who unseated Gaylord Nelson, U.S. Senate
1988: Michael Dukakis (D), with a party pickup of the state, President; Herb Kohl (D), in a party hold with the retirement of William Proxmire, U.S. Senate
1992: Bill Clinton (D), President; Russ Feingold (D), who unseated Bob Kasten, U.S. Senate
2000: Al Gore (D), President; Herb Kohl (D), U.S. Senate
2004: John Kerry (D), President; Russ Feingold (D), U.S. Senate
2012: Barack Obama (D), President; Tammy Baldwin (D), in a party hold with the retirement of Herb Kohl, U.S. Senate
I think the pattern will continue in 2016.