Wisconsin the difference in Trump over Clinton; Shilling edges Kapanke

Shilling announced win over Kapanke Wed. morning

MILWAUKEE — The Latest developments on Election Day in Wisconsin:

4:39 a.m.

In a press release early this morning, Jennifer Shilling announced: “I am proud to have earned the support of the voters in the 32nd Senate District and I look forward to continue serving as a strong voice for western Wisconsin in our State Capitol.”

Shilling was in a deadlock throughout the night and well into the morning with Dan Kapanke for the Senate.

2:25 a.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan calls Donald Trump’s win an “incredible victory” but work now must turn to “bringing the country together.”

And Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says his victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton is “a win for taxpayers and a win for America.” And he says “our leaders should look to Wisconsin and be willing to make the decisions needed to enact serious reforms.”

Both Ryan and Walker have a complicated relationship with Trump. Walker was critical of Trump before endorsing him. And Ryan pledged in October not to defend or campaign with him. But as the election neared, Ryan became more vocal for Trump.

Ryan says Trump’s win is a “repudiation of the status quo of failed liberal progressive policies.”

2:05 a.m.

Republicans have expanded their majority in the state Senate to 20 seats and are looking for one more.

The GOP went into the election with an 18-14 edge with one open seat. They needed to win at least four of the eight seats in play to win a 17-member majority in the 33-seat chamber. They did that and more. Four GOP incumbents held onto their jobs, Republican newcomer Daniel Feyen captured an open seat and Republican Patrick Testin defeated incumbent Democrat Julie Lassa.

That gives the GOP a 20-12 advantage in the chamber. But Republicans weren’t done; GOP challenger Dan Kapanke was locked in a race with Senate Minority Leader Jennifer Shilling that was still too close to call on Wednesday morning.

Republicans grew their majority in the Assembly as well, defeating incumbent Democrat Chris Danou to get to 64 seats with one race — Republican Julian Bradley and Democratic incumbent Steve Doyle in La Crosse — still too close to call.

1:35 a.m.

Donald Trump has defeated Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin.

The victory Tuesday ends a Democratic presidential winning streak in Wisconsin dating back to 1988 that had covered seven elections. Trump becomes the first Republican since Ronald Reagan in 1984 to win Wisconsin.

Trump nets 10 electoral votes with the win.

Trump campaigned in the state many times, winning over anti-Trump forces that helped fuel his defeat in the primary. He won the backing of high-profile Republicans, including Gov. Scott Walker and Sen. Ron Johnson.

Clinton had been confident of her chances in Wisconsin. She did not campaign there after losing the April primary to Bernie Sanders, although she did dispatch running mate Tim Kaine and others to rally supporters on her behalf.

1:26 a.m.

Donald Trump is leading Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin but the race remains too close to call.

With nearly all of the precincts reporting, Trump was hanging to a 3-point lead over Clinton. Should he prevail, Trump would be the first Republican presidential candidate to carry Wisconsin since Ronald Reagan in 1984.

Trump was on the verge of having enough electoral votes to capture the presidency. Wisconsin’s 10 votes would be enough to put him over the top.

Trump made Wisconsin a priority, campaigning in the state five times during the general election. Clinton didn’t visit once. Polls consistently showed her ahead, but Trump was poised to prove them wrong. 

11:45 p.m. 

Republicans have not only retained control of the Wisconsin Senate, but they look like they’re going to knock out three Democratic incumbents. 

Republican challengers were leading Democratic incumbents Julie Lassa of Stevens Point, Dave Hansen of Green Bay and Jennifer Shilling of La Crosse late Tuesday. 

Three GOP incumbents won their seats and a Republican won an open seat representing the Fond du Lac area to secure a Republican majority in the chamber for another two years. 

10:45 p.m.

Russ Feingold says in the wake of his defeat that “this could be one of the most challenging times in the history of the country.”

Feingold delivered the dour message after losing to Republican Sen. Ron Johnson in Wisconsin’s U.S. Senate race. Polls had shown Feingold ahead the entire race, but Johnson closed the gap in the waning days.

Feingold was trying to avenge a 2010 loss to Johnson.

Feingold tells his supporters that they should “be as restrained as you can be.”

Johnson says that he intends to concentrate on areas of agreement with Democrats as he sets off on his second term.

10:40 p.m.

Republicans have retained control of the Wisconsin state Senate, setting the stage for the GOP to maintain complete control of state government.

The GOP entered Tuesday’s election with an 18-14 advantage with one open seat. Democrats needed to win six of the eight seats in play to get to a 17-member majority. Republicans needed to win only four. GOP incumbents Robert Cowles of Green Bay, Sheila Harsdorf of River Falls, Tom Tiffany of Little Rice all won. Republican newcomer Daniel Feyen won an open seat representing the Fond du Lac area to give the GOP 17 seats.

Republicans were widely expected to maintain their majority in the Assembly as well. Republicans have controlled both legislative houses and the governor’s office since 2011. With Gov. Scott Walker not up for re-election until 2018, Republicans will have complete control of state government for another two years.

10:30 p.m.

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson tells The Associated Press he defeated Democrat Russ Feingold because “I told the truth.”

Johnson tells AP in a telephone interview from Oshkosh that “I think the good folks of Wisconsin recognized that.

Johnson says his win shows people are concerned about the direction of the country.

He says, “They are not happy with what’s happened in Washington, D.C. They see a dysfunctional system.”

Johnson says he will be working with Gov. Scott Walker and national Republican leaders on a coordinated agenda “so we really can bring the type of change that voters have asked for now.”

Johnson is the first Republican to win election to the Senate in a presidential year since 1980.

10:25 p.m.

Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson has won re-election, beating Democrat Russ Feingold in Wisconsin.

Johnson’s victory Tuesday came in a rematch of the 2010 race in which Johnson ended Feingold’s 18-year run in the Senate.

Democrats pegged Johnson to be vulnerable and eyed the seat as one they could pick up in their attempts to regain majority control of the Senate.

They were wrong.

Johnson argued that Feingold had already been fired by voters once six years ago and had done nothing to warrant returning to the Senate. Feingold tried to make an issue of Johnson supporting Donald Trump for president as he argued the former manufacturer had been an ineffective.

10 p.m.

Republican Mike Gallagher has defeated Democrat Tom Nelson in the race for an open congressional seat representing northeastern Wisconsin.

Gallagher is a former Marine from Green Bay who served as national security adviser on Gov. Scott Walker’s short-lived presidential campaign last year. Nelson, a former state legislator from Appleton, currently serves as Outagamie County executive.

Gallagher will represent Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District, which includes Marinette, Brown, Kewaunee, Door, Calumet, Outagamie, Waupaca, Menominee and Oconto counties.

He replaces Republican three-term incumbent Reid Ribble, who announced in January that he wouldn’t seek re-election.

9:35 p.m.

Republican Mike Gallagher has opened a sizable lead on Democrat Tom Nelson in the race for northeastern Wisconsin’s open congressional seat.

According to returns tabulated by The Associated Press, Gallagher was leading Nelson by about 65 percentage points with a little less than a quarter of the expected vote counted in the 8th Congressional District. The district includes a large chunk of northeastern Wisconsin, including Green Bay, Appleton and Marinette. The district has swung between Republican and Democratic control over the last two decades.

Gallagher and Nelson are vying to replace Republican incumbent Reid Ribble, who announced in January he wouldn’t seek a fourth term.

9:10 p.m.

Republican Dan Feyen has won an open seat in the Wisconsin state Senate, dashing Democratic hopes of picking up a district they had targeted.

Feyen beat Democrat Mark Harris in the 18th Senate District that includes parts of Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties. Democrats had high hopes of winning the seat after incumbent Republican Rick Gudex announced last year that he wouldn’t seek re-election.

Republicans passed a law this past session designed to drive Harris, the Winnebago County executive, out of the race. The law prohibits county executives from serving simultaneously in the Legislature.

The measure would have forced Harris to trade his $102,834 county executive salary for a senator’s $50,950 salary if he had won the race.

8:45 p.m.

The race for president and U.S. Senate in Wisconsin are too close to call based on early returns.

Republicans Donald Trump and incumbent Sen. Ron Johnson both had narrow leads based on early returns.

Democrat Russ Feingold is trying to defeat Johnson in a rematch of their 2010 race. And Democrat Hillary Clinton was so confident about her chances in Wisconsin she didn’t even campaign in the state after the primary.

That marked the first time since 1972 that one of the two major party candidates for president skipped the state in the general election campaign.

Wisconsin has 10 electoral votes.

8:40 p.m.

House Speaker Paul Ryan has won a ninth term in Congress.

Ryan, a Janesville Republican, defeated challenger Ryan Solen, a Mt. Pleasant Democrat, in Tuesday’s election.

Ryan was first elected to represent southeastern Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District in 1998. He succeeded John Boehner as speaker last year.

Ryan took pointed criticism from Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump last month after Ryan told House members he would no longer defend or campaign for Trump. Ryan made the pledge after a tape surfaced of Trump making predatory remarks about women in 2005.

8 p.m. 

Polls are closed in Wisconsin, but people in line can still cast their ballots. 

Results will begin to roll in as counties report their totals in the presidential race, the contest for U.S. Senate and a host of other races for the state Legislature and local offices. 

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson is running for re-election against Democrat Russ Feingold, a rematch of their 2010 race. Polls leading up to the election showed the race to be tight.