Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is projected to win reelection in Wisconsin, blocking Republicans from taking total control of the swing state.
Evers defeated Republican construction company CEO Tim Michels, who conceded early Wednesday morning.
Michels won his primary with the backing of former President Donald Trump and largely embraced his backer’s lies about the 2020 election. He then proceeded to relentlessly attack Evers on the economy, crime and education.
Evers fought back with his own focus on education, arguing that he successfully guided the state’s schools through the coronavirus pandemic.
A mild-mannered executive, Evers has battled GOP efforts to strip away his power since his narrow 2018 victory over incumbent Republican Gov. Scott Walker. His vetoes have prevented the GOP from enacting a slew of different conservative policy goals.
Evers could still lose his veto powers, as a fresh gerrymander of the state’s legislative districts has given Republicans a shot at veto-proof supermajorities in both chambers of the state legislature.
The governor’s race was long considered a toss-up, with polls showing the two men within the margin of error.
A Michels win, along with continued GOP control of Wisconsin’s heavily gerrymandered state legislature, would have meant that Republicans would have had total control of one of the nation’s most crucial swing states. President Barack Obama won the state twice, though Trump won it in 2016 and Biden narrowly took it back in 2020.