View source for 2016 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary

{{short description|none}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2023}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2016 [[Wisconsin]] Democratic presidential primary
| country = Wisconsin
| type = presidential
| ongoing = no
| previous_election = 2008 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary
| previous_year = 2008
| next_election = 2020 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary
| next_year = 2020
| election_date = {{Start date|2016|04|05}}
| image1 = File:Bernie Sanders September 2015 cropped.jpg
| image_size = 160x160px
| candidate1 = '''[[Bernie Sanders]]'''
| color1 = 228B22
| home_state1 = [[Vermont]]
| popular_vote1 = '''570,192'''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/Canvass%20Results_4.pdf |title=Wisconsin Official Primary Results |access-date=2016-06-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161010124511/http://www.gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/Canvass%20Results_4.pdf |archive-date=2016-10-10 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| percentage1 = '''56.59%'''
| delegate_count1 = '''48'''
| image2 = File:Hillary Clinton by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg
| candidate2 = [[Hillary Clinton]]
| color2 = d4aa00
| home_state2 = [[New York (state)|New York]]
| popular_vote2 = 433,739
| percentage2 = 43.05%
| delegate_count2 = 38
| map_image = {{switcher |[[File:2016_Wisconsin_Democratic_Presidentisal_Primary_by_county.svg|250px]] |Results by county |[[File:WI Dem Primary President 2016 Precinct Results Fixed.svg|250px]] |Results by precinct |default=1}}
| map_size = 280x280px
| map_caption = Results by county:<br/>'''Sanders:''' {{legend0|#71bc62|50-60%}} {{legend0|#458933|60-70%}}<br/>'''Clinton:''' {{legend0|#eccc4b|50-60%}}<br/>Results by precinct:
{{legend|#228B22|Bernie Sanders}}
{{legend|#d4aa00|Hillary Clinton}}
{{legend|#ae8bb1|Tie}}
{{legend|#808080|No data}}
}}
{{ElectionsWI}}
The '''2016 Wisconsin Democratic presidential primary''' was held on April 5 in the U.S. state of [[Wisconsin]] as one of the [[2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries|Democratic Party's primaries]] ahead of the [[2016 United States presidential election|2016 presidential election]]. Vermont senator [[Bernie Sanders]] won the contest with 56.5%, distancing nationwide frontrunner [[Hillary Clinton]] by 13 percentage points.

The [[2016 Wisconsin Republican presidential primary|Wisconsin Republican primary]], held on the same day in conjunction with the Democratic primary, yielded a win for [[Ted Cruz]], who distanced nationwide frontrunner [[Donald Trump]] by 13%. With no other primaries being scheduled for that day by either party and just two weeks ahead of the important [[2016 New York Democratic presidential primary|New York primary]], the Wisconsin primary was in the national spotlight.

The two parties' primaries were held in conjunction with this year's Wisconsin judicial elections, where [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] justice [[Rebecca Bradley]] was confirmed for a 10-year elected term, winning over Appeals Court judge [[JoAnne Kloppenburg]].<ref name=SentinelBradley>{{cite news |author=Patrick Marley |title=Rebecca Bradley beats JoAnne Kloppenburg in high court race |newspaper=[[Milwaukee Journal Sentinel]] |url=http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/wisconsin-supreme-court-race-joanne-kloppenburg-vs-rebecca-bradley-b99698483z1-374671861.html |date=April 6, 2016 |access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref>

Wisconsin provided a friendly setting for Sanders's brand of [[economic populism]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Chozick|first=Amy|date=2016-04-05|title=Bernie Sanders Wins Wisconsin Democratic Primary, Adding to Momentum (Published 2016)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/us/politics/democratic-primary-results.html|access-date=2021-01-23|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> [[Liberalism in the United States|Liberals]] made up two-thirds of the majority-[[White Americans|white]] primary electorate, and the [[Economy of the United States|economy]], followed by [[Income inequality in the United States|income inequality]], were of top concern to voters, according to [[exit poll]]s.<ref name=":0" />

Clinton lost Wisconsin by a narrow margin of 0.77% in the [[2016 United States presidential election in Wisconsin|general election]], against Republican nominee [[Donald Trump]].

==Procedure==
===State primary procedure===
As Wisconsin held an [[open primary]], residents could choose freely which party's primary they wished to participate in, when showing up at the polls on election day, regardless of their official registration with either party or none. Polling stations were opened between 7 a.m. and 8 p.m. [[Central Time Zone|Central Time]].<ref name=Newsweek>{{cite web |author=Michele Gorman |title=How to follow voting results in Wisconsin |publisher=[[Newsweek]] |url=http://europe.newsweek.com/how-follow-voting-results-wisconsin-443917 |date=April 5, 2016 |access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref>

The two parties' primaries were held in conjunction with this year's spring elections that included the election of the [[Wisconsin Supreme Court]] justice.<ref name=SentinelBradley />

===Democratic nomination procedure===
The [[Democratic Party of Wisconsin]] pledges only 86 out of 96 delegates to the [[2016 Democratic National Convention]] based on the popular vote at the primary election on the basis of proportional apportion. However, only the 18 at-large delegates and 10 pledged "Party Leaders and Elected Officials" (PLEOs) are apportioned according to the statewide vote, while the 57 district delegates are apportioned according to the vote within each of the state's [[Wisconsin's congressional districts|eight congressional districts]]. The remaining ten Wisconsin delegates are unpledged "Party Leaders and Elected Officials" (PLEOs), or "[[Superdelegates]]", who may vote for whomever they wish at the party's upcoming National Convention.<ref name=GP>{{cite web |title=Wisconsin Democratic primary, 2016 |work=The Green Papers |url=http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/WI-D |access-date=April 6, 2016}}</ref>

==Candidates==
While three candidates appeared on the Democratic primary ballot,<ref>{{cite web |title=Candidates on ballot: 2016 spring election and presidential preference vote |publisher=[[Wisconsin Government Accountability Board]] |url=http://www.gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/page/candidates_on_ballot_4_5_2016_spring_election_3_2_20281.pdf |date=March 29, 2016 |access-date=April 6, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415023905/http://www.gab.wi.gov/sites/default/files/page/candidates_on_ballot_4_5_2016_spring_election_3_2_20281.pdf |archive-date=April 15, 2016 |url-status=dead }}</ref> only [[Bernie Sanders]] and [[Hillary Clinton]] actively campaigned for the Wisconsin contest, after [[Martin O'Malley]] had already suspended his campaign.

===Presidential debate in Milwaukee, February 2016===
{{main|Sixth Democratic Party presidential debate, February 2016 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin}}

The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] held its [[Sixth Democratic Party presidential debate, February 2016 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin|sixth presidential debate]] on February 11, 2016 in Milwaukee, at the [[University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee]]. Moderated by [[PBS NewsHour]] anchors [[Gwen Ifill]] and [[Judy Woodruff]], the debate aired on [[PBS]] and was [[simulcast]] by [[CNN]]. Participants were Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders.

===Opinion polling===
{{see also|Statewide opinion polling for the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries}}

{{Wisconsin Democratic primary polls, 2016}}

==Results==
{{see also|Results of the 2016 Democratic Party presidential primaries}}

{{2016WIDem}}

===Results by county===
{|width="50%" class="wikitable sortable"
! width="10%" | County 
! width="10%" | Clinton
! width="10%" | %
! width="10%" | Sanders
! width="10%" | %
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Adams County, Wisconsin|Adams]]	        ||         1,375||47.22%|| 1,515|| 52.03%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Ashland County, Wisconsin|Ashland]]       ||         1,248||36.00%|| 2,204|| 63.57%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Barron County, Wisconsin|Barron]]          ||	 5,572||46.11%|| 2,965|| 53.16%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Bayfield County, Wisconsin|Bayfield]]       ||	  1,488||36.09%|| 2,619|| 63.52%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Brown County, Wisconsin|Brown]]         	||	    16,701||42.40%|| 22,559|| 57.27%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Buffalo County, Wisconsin|Buffalo]]	        ||	    825||41.46%|| 1,149|| 57.74%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Burnett County, Wisconsin|Burnett]]       ||      918||49.04%|| 936|| 50.00%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Calumet County, Wisconsin|Calumet]]           ||	    3,028||42.86%|| 4,017|| 56.86%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Chippewa County, Wisconsin|Chippewa]]               ||	    4,022||43.77%|| 5,127|| 55.79%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Clark County, Wisconsin|Clark]]	        ||	    1,473||42.67%|| 1,969|| 57.04%
|- 
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Columbia County, Wisconsin|Columbia]]	        ||	  4,187||39.21%|| 6,460|| 60.49%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Crawford County, Wisconsin|Crawford]]       ||	  1,146||41.61%|| 1,592|| 57.81%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Dane County, Wisconsin|Dane]]	        ||	  61,405||37.27%|| 102,986|| 62.51%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Dodge County, Wisconsin|Dodge]]             ||4,505||41.75%|| 6,249|| 57.91%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Door County, Wisconsin|Door]]	        ||         2,943||46.06%|| 3,426|| 53.62%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Douglas County, Wisconsin|Douglas]]       ||         3,577||43.82%|| 4,512|| 55.27%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Dunn County, Wisconsin|Dunn]]          ||	 2,421||35.95%|| 4,279|| 63.54%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Eau Claire County, Wisconsin|Eau Claire]]       ||	  7,689||35.88%|| 13,674|| 63.81%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Florence County, Wisconsin|Florence]]         	||	    175||36.92%|| 293|| 61.81%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin|Fond du Lac]]	        ||	    5,519||42.65%|| 7,385|| 57.07%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Forest County, Wisconsin|Forest]]       ||      610||47.25%|| 667|| 51.67%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Grant County, Wisconsin|Grant]]               ||	    3,068||40.37%|| 4,491|| 59.10%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Green County, Wisconsin|Green]]	        ||	    2,766||38.59%|| 4,368|| 60.95%
|- 
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Green Lake County, Wisconsin|Green Lake]]	        ||	  871||42.89%|| 1,148|| 56.52%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Iowa County, Wisconsin|Iowa]]       ||	  2,164||40.14%|| 3,202|| 59.40%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Iron County, Wisconsin|Iron]]	        ||	  437||42.93%|| 563|| 55.30%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Jackson County, Wisconsin|Jackson]]             ||1,294||40.64|| 1,872|| 58.79%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Jefferson County, Wisconsin|Jefferson]]             ||4,775||38.60%|| 7,555|| 61.07%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Juneau County, Wisconsin|Juneau]]             ||1,355||42.21%|| 1,839|| 57.29%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Kenosha County, Wisconsin|Kenosha]]             ||10,897||42.49%|| 14,653|| 57.13%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Kewaunee County, Wisconsin|Kewaunee]]             ||1,497||47.06%|| 1,667|| 52.40%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[La Crosse County, Wisconsin|La Crosse]]             ||8,908||36.93%|| 15,156|| 62.84%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Lafayette County, Wisconsin|Lafayette]]             ||1,170||46.37%|| 1,331|| 52.75%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Langlade County, Wisconsin|Langlade]]             ||1,192||44.83%|| 1,447|| 54.42%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Lincoln County, Wisconsin|Lincoln]]             ||1,732||41.33%|| 2,442|| 58.27%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Manitowoc County, Wisconsin|Manitowoc]]             ||4,999||43.37%|| 6,458|| 56.03%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Marathon County, Wisconsin|Marathon]]             ||8,061||40.66%|| 11,673|| 58.87%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Marinette County, Wisconsin|Marinette]]             ||2,580||48.59%|| 2,698|| 50.81%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Marquette County, Wisconsin|Marquette]]             ||994||42.62%|| 1,321|| 56.56%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Menominee County, Wisconsin|Menominee]]             ||204||36.36%|| 355|| 63.28%
|-
| style="background:#D4AA00;" |	[[Milwaukee County, Wisconsin|Milwaukee]]	        ||      100,798||51.68%|| 93,688|| 48.02%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Monroe County, Wisconsin|Monroe]]             ||2,269||38.86%|| 3,539|| 60.61%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Oconto County, Wisconsin|Oconto]]             ||2,422||47.99%|| 2,590|| 51.32%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Oneida County, Wisconsin|Oneida]]             ||2,500||39.40%|| 3,813|| 60.09%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Outagamie County, Wisconsin|Outagamie]]             ||11,228||39.62%|| 17,021|| 60.07%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Ozaukee County, Wisconsin|Ozaukee]]             ||6,587||48.75%|| 6,897|| 51.04%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Pepin County, Wisconsin|Pepin]]             ||435||43.54%|| 561|| 56.16%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Pierce County, Wisconsin|Pierce]]             ||2,343||41.82%|| 3,208|| 57.27%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Polk County, Wisconsin|Polk]]             ||2,165||46.21%|| 2,476|| 52.85%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Portage County, Wisconsin|Portage]]             ||5,088||35.08%|| 9,351|| 64.46%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Price County, Wisconsin|Price]]             ||862||37.56%|| 1,418|| 61.79%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Racine County, Wisconsin|Racine]]             ||14,111||48.84%|| 14,681|| 50.82%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Richland County, Wisconsin|Richland]]             ||1,276||41.55%|| 1,786|| 58.16%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Rock County, Wisconsin|Rock]]             ||11,262||39.20%|| 17,360|| 60.42%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Rusk County, Wisconsin|Rusk]]             ||816||42.52%|| 1,092|| 56.90%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[St. Croix County, Wisconsin|St. Croix]]             ||4,895||45.90%|| 5,679|| 53.25%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Sauk County, Wisconsin|Sauk]]             ||4,527||38.48%|| 7,203|| 61.22%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Sawyer County, Wisconsin|Sawyer]]             ||976||36.86%|| 1,654|| 62.46%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Shawano County, Wisconsin|Shawano]]             ||2,117||41.19%|| 3,303|| 58.44%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Sheboygan County, Wisconsin|Sheboygan]]             || 7,145||44.13%|| 8,952|| 55.30%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Taylor County, Wisconsin|Taylor]]             ||852||39.68%|| 1,279|| 59.57%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Trempealeau County, Wisconsin|Trempealeau]]             ||1,989||44.76%|| 2,430|| 54.68%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Vernon County, Wisconsin|Vernon]]             ||1,936||35.60%|| 3,481|| 64.01%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Vilas County, Wisconsin|Vilas]]             ||1,414||36.36%|| 2,147|| 60.09%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Walworth County, Wisconsin|Walworth]]             ||5,188||37.96%|| 8,426|| 61.65%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Washburn County, Wisconsin|Washburn]]             ||1,058||42.32%|| 1,419|| 56.76%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Washington County, Wisconsin|Washington]]             ||6,388||45.24%|| 7,690|| 54.46%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Waukesha County, Wisconsin|Waukesha]]             ||24,835||48.28%|| 26,442|| 51.40%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Waupaca County, Wisconsin|Waupaca]]             ||2,585||39.68%|| 3,894|| 59.77%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Waushara County, Wisconsin|Waushara]]             ||1,241||43.45%|| 1,600|| 56.02%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Winnebago County, Wisconsin|Winnebago]]             ||11,212||38.44%|| 17,854|| 61.22%
|-
| style="background:#228B22;" |	[[Wood County, Wisconsin|Wood]]             ||4,428||39.46%|| 6,756|| 60.20%
|-
|                             |'''Total'''                                      ||        433,739||43.05%||'''570,192'''||   '''56.59%'''         
|}

===Detailed results per congressional district===
{| class=wikitable style="text-align:right"
|-
|+ Detailed results for the Wisconsin Democratic primary, April 5, 2016<ref>[http://www.thegreenpapers.com/P16/WI-D The Green Papers]</ref>
|-
! rowspan=2 style="width:45px;" | District
! colspan=2 style="width:80px;" | Total
! colspan=2 style="width:80px;" | [[Bernie Sanders]]
! colspan=2 style="width:80px;" | [[Hillary Clinton]]
|-
! style="width:80px;" | Votes
! style="width:60px;" | Delegates
! style="width:80px;" | Votes
! style="width:60px;" | Delegates
! style="width:80px;" | Votes
! style="width:60px;" | Delegates
|-
| [[Wisconsin's 1st congressional district|1st district]]
| 104,747
| 6
| 57,327
| 3
| 47,420
| 3
|-
| [[Wisconsin's 2nd congressional district|2nd district]]
| 204,897
| 11
| 127,466
| 7
| 77,431
| 4
|-
| [[Wisconsin's 3rd congressional district|3rd district]]
| 117,465
| 7
| 72,043
| 4
| 45,422
| 3
|-
| [[Wisconsin's 4th congressional district|4th district]]
| 144,659
| 10
| 68,255
| 5
| 76,404
| 5
|-
| [[Wisconsin's 5th congressional district|5th district]]
| 100,823
| 5
| 54,809
| 3
| 46,014
| 2
|-
| [[Wisconsin's 6th congressional district|6th district]]
| 105,348
| 6
| 60,490
| 3
| 44,858
| 3
|-
| [[Wisconsin's 7th congressional district|7th district]]
| 98,860
| 6
| 56,683
| 3
| 42,177
| 3
|-
| [[Wisconsin's 8th congressional district|8th district]]
| 107,841
| 6
| 61,965
| 3
| 45,876
| 3
|-
| [[At-large]] delegates
| 1,002,036
| 19
| 567,865
| 11
| 434,171
| 8
|-
| Pledged PLEOs
| 1,002,036
| 10
| 567,865
| 6
| 434,171
| 4
|-
! Total
! style="text-align:right" | 1,002,036
! style="text-align:right" | 86
! style="text-align:right" | 567,865
! style="text-align:right" | 48
! style="text-align:right" | 434,171
! style="text-align:right" | 38
|}

==Analysis==
[[File:Liberals & Conservatives Line Up for Bernie Sanders’ Wisconsin Rally - THE CIRCUS - SHOWTIME.webm|thumb|Liberals & Conservatives Line Up for Bernie Sanders’ Wisconsin Rally]]
Bernie Sanders scored a large victory in Wisconsin, a largely [[Liberalism|liberal]] and big [[manufacturing]] state. He was bolstered by a 73-26 showing among younger voters, a 64-35 showing among [[Man|men]], a 72-28 showing among self-identified [[Independent Party (United States)|Independents]], and a 59-40 showing among [[White people|white]] voters who comprised 83% of the electorate in the Cheese State. Sanders also won [[Woman|women]] 50–49, but lost [[African Americans|African American]] voters to Clinton, 69–31. Sanders swept all income and educational attainment levels in Wisconsin.

Sanders won [[Trade union|unions]] 54–46, a key demographic in the industrial [[Rust Belt]].

Sanders swept all counties in Wisconsin but one. He was victorious in the southeast 55–45, in the southwest 62–38, and in [[Rural area|rural]] northeastern and northwestern Wisconsin 57–42. He carried the major cities of [[Madison, Wisconsin|Madison]], which has a younger electorate, as well as [[Eau Claire, Wisconsin|Eau Claire]], [[Green Bay, Wisconsin|Green Bay]], [[Oshkosh, Wisconsin|Oshkosh]], and [[Kenosha, Wisconsin|Kenosha]]. Clinton won in [[Milwaukee]] 51–48, likely thanks to her ardent African-American support.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.cnn.com/election/primaries/polls/wi/Dem|title=2016 Election Center|website=CNN|access-date=2016-10-18}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

{{2016 Democratic primaries}}

[[Category:2016 United States Democratic presidential primaries by state|Wisconsin]]
[[Category:2016 Wisconsin elections|Democratic primary]]
[[Category:Wisconsin Democratic primaries|2016]]