1998 Wisconsin Senate election

1998 Wisconsin State Senate election
November 3, 1998
17 of 33 seats in the Wisconsin Senate; 17 seats needed for a majority
	; Democratic hold Democratic gain; Republican hold; No election ; 50–60% 60–70% >90%; 60–70% 70–80% >90%; No election
President before election; Brian Rude; Republican	Elected President ; Fred Risser; Democratic

The 1998 Wisconsin Senate election were held on Tuesday, November 3, 1998. Seventeen of the 33 seats in the Wisconsin Senate were up for election—the odd-numbered districts. At the time, Republicans held 17 seats while the Democrats held 16, having lost their majority only months prior due to Republicans winning a special election to replace Senator Lynn Adelman.

Summary

Party		Candidates	Votes
Party		Candidates	No.	%
	Democratic	15	386,360	46.13%
	Republican	15	441,073	52.67%
	Independent	2	6,296	0.75%
	Taxpayers	1	975	0.12%
	Libertarian	1	816	0.09%
	Write-in	–	1,992	0.24%
Total			837,512	100.0%

Close races

Seats where the margin of victory was under 10%:

State Senate district 9, 5.48%
State Senate district 15, 7.82% (gain)
State Senate district 5, 8.23%

Special election

Results summary

Dist.	Incumbent				This race^[1]
Dist.	Member	Party	First elected	Status	General
01	Alan Lasee	Republican	1977 (special)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Alan Lasee (Rep.) 87.33% ▌Janet E. Van Asten (Ind.) 18.59%
03	Brian Burke	Democratic	1988 (special)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Brian Burke (Dem.) 98.41%
05	Peggy Rosenzweig	Republican	1993 (special)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Peggy Rosenzweig (Rep.) 53.30% ▌ Jim Bohl (Dem.) 45.07% ▌ Dave Howard (Lib.) 1.53%
07	Richard Grobschmidt	Democratic	1995 (special)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Richard Grobschmidt (Dem.) 98.69%
09	Calvin Potter	Democratic	1990	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic hold.	▌Y James Baumgart (Dem.) 52.72% ▌Paul F. Nus (Rep.) 47.24%
11	Joanne Huelsman	Republican	1990	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Joanne Huelsman (Rep.) 68.00% ▌Richard W. Hennecke (Dem.) 31.60%
13	Scott L. Fitzgerald	Republican	1994	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Scott L. Fitzgerald (Rep.) 67.26% ▌Susan L. Lidholm (Dem.) 30.75% ▌Kenneth W. Eyre (Tax.) 1.96%
15	Timothy Weeden	Republican	1987 (special)	Incumbent retired. New member elected. Democratic gain.	▌Y Judy Robson (Dem.) 53.88% ▌Bill Sodemann (Rep.) 46.06%
17	Dale Schultz	Republican	1991 (special)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Dale Schultz (Rep.) 70.48% ▌James M. McGhee (Dem.) 29.51%
19	Michael Ellis	Republican	1982	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Michael Ellis (Rep.) 70.46% ▌Michael L. Meyer (Dem.) 29.46%
21	Kimberly Plache	Democratic	1996 (recall)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Kimberly Plache (Dem.) 55.40% ▌David Hazen (Rep.) 44.49%
23	David Zien	Republican	1993 (special)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y David Zien (Rep.) 61.03% ▌Paul Gordon (Dem.) 38.92%
25	Bob Jauch	Democratic	1986	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Robert Jauch (Dem.) 65.33% ▌Robert G. Schuck (Rep.) 34.65%
27	Joe Wineke	Democratic	1993 (special)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Joe Wineke (Dem.) 56.54% ▌Nancy Mistele (Rep.) 43.39%
29	Russ Decker	Democratic	1990	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Russ Decker (Dem.) 62.44% ▌Dan Krcma (Rep.) 37.54%
31	Rodney C. Moen	Democratic	1982	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Rodney C. Moen (Dem.) 67.94% ▌Gary Klinker (Rep.) 31.97%
33	Margaret Farrow	Republican	1989 (special)	Incumbent re-elected	▌Y Margaret Farrow (Rep.) 99.07%

References

↑ Fall General Election Election Date: 11/03/98 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 3, 1998. pp. 30–45. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2002. Retrieved July 30, 2026.

[generalresults-1] Fall General Election Election Date: 11/03/98 (PDF) (Report). Wisconsin State Elections Board. December 3, 1998. pp. 30–45. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 9, 2002. Retrieved July 30, 2026.

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