The 2024 election cycle begins in earnest on February 20th. That’s when voters will head to the polls for the spring primary across the state.
Below is a complete summary of what you can expect on your ballots when you cast your votes tomorrow:
Milwaukee County
In Milwaukee, incumbent Mayor Cavalier Johnson is making a first-time defense of his position after defeating Bob Donovan for the seat in 2022.
“I think we’re headed in the right direction” Johnson tells WTMJ. “Still got a lot of work to do..I’m happy to be the cheerleader, and happy to be the main person at the head of city government doing that, but certainly I think [we’re] heading in the right direction.”
Johnson has received two official challengers that will be on city residents’ ballots this month. One is a name you might recognize from the last race for mayor: Ieshuh Griffin. Griffin is also slated to run against both Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley and Johnathan Brostoff in the city’s third aldermanic district this April. In 2022 Griffing was one of seven non-write-ins to receive votes in the mayoral primary, receiving just over 0.5% of the over 61,000 votes cast.
“I think the people want change…I am the change” says Griffin. “I can readily identify with most of the issues that people in this community are facing.”
The other challenger to Mayor Johnson is another past mayoral candidate: David King, founder of the Wisconsin God Squad, and also Head Basketball Coach for Kingdom Prep Lutheran High School in Wauwatosa. King last ran as a write-in against Mayor Tom Barrett in 2020.
“I think people want a mayor that will look after them” says King. “When you look at the current administration, the people are not being taken care of.”
As for others in city government, of Milwaukee’s 15 aldermanic districts, eight incumbents face opposition this spring, and there will be primaries for both city attorney, who legally represents the City of Milwaukee and its officials, and city comptroller, who exercises fiscal control over the activities of approximately 40 City departments and agencies.
On the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors, only the 18th district includes a primary, with Supervisor Deanna Alexander running against two challengers: political organizer for Citizen Action of Wisconsin Brandon Williford and Brown Deer High School teacher Marty Hagedorn.
As for municipality-specific ballot items, five school boards in Cudahy, Franklin, Germantown, Greendale, and Shorewood will have primaries for school board positions.
Waukesha County
In the Waterford Union School District, which includes parts of far southeast Waukesha County, voters will once again choose if they support or oppose the most expensive school referendum in the state on the February ballot. 91 million dollars is the ask, which would come with an increase in property taxes. It’s the third straight year the Waterford School District has asked voters for more money hoping to upgrade Waterford Union High School’s 65-year-old building; voters have turned down a smaller 20 million referendum each of the last two years.
In Brookfield, voters in District 5 will replace outgoing alderman Scott Berg. Candidates include businessman Sean Campbell, attorney Amanda Davis, and the city’s director of administration Dean Marquardt.
Meanwhile, in the Town of Genessee, the town board supervisor position is up for grabs. Voters will vote in the primary for two of the following: Tony Reece, Terry Tesch, Art Schneider, Mark Pichler, Adam Coker, and Adrian Tengler.
In the Village of Waukesha, incumbent Village Trustee Michael Goerectke is being challenged for his seat by Roger Adams and Cheryl Kaye.
Washington County
There will be just three races in Washington County that feature primaries on Tuesday. In the Town of Erin, five candidates are running for town board supervisor: Bob Bruha, Pat Landon, Michael Stapleton, Elaine Gonya, and Ken Priesgen.
In Hartford and Germantown, voters will make their initial selections for open school board seats.
Ozaukee County
In Ozaukee County, just one race will be on the ballot Tuesday. County District 17, which represents much of western Cedarburg, will elect a supervisor between candidates Peter Eisenhauer, David Irish, and Jack Arnett.
Racine County
Voters in Racine Aldermanic Districts 2 and 4 will choose representatives for the city’s Common Council. District 2 voters will choose between incumbent Mollie Jones or challengers David Czuper, Xavier Kendall Golden, or Tyler Townsend, and District 4 features all new faces: Keith Fair, Jordan Lawrence, David Maac, and Jacqueline Schrader.
As mentioned above, the Waterford Union School referendum mentioned is also up for a vote for voters in western Racine County.
Voters in Burlington will also decide on whether or not to support an 11 million dollar referendum to cover increased operational and maintenance costs.
Kenosha County
Residents of the county’s namesake city will choose who replaces Mayor John Antaramian, who will leave office after serving in the position since 2016. Candidates include Andreas Meyer, Mary Morgan, Elizabeth Garcia, Kelly MacKay, Lydia Spottswood, Gregory Bennett Jr., Tony Garcia, Koerri Elijah, and David F. Bogdala.
Additionally, Kenosha Aldermanic District 3 is up for grabs between Tanya McLean, Jan Michalski, and Cortney Marshall, while Kenosha County Circuit Court Branch 3 pits Heather Iverson, William Michel, and Frank Gagliardi against each other.
And voters in the Wilmont School District decide the fate of a 7.5 million dollar referendum.
Voters intending to register at the polls day-of should bring their valid, government-issued ID card along with proof of residency such as a phone or utility bill to their polling place on election day. And reminder: all votes must be in by 8:00pm Tuesday in order to count towards the final tally.
For a complete look at what will be on your specific ballot Tuesday, you can visit the My Vote Wisconsin website for a sample ballot.
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