Wisconsin Election Results: Presidential Primary Race

MILWAUKEE, WI — Former Vice President Joe Biden is projected to win the Wisconsin presidential primary, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The former vice president swept the state with 65 percent of the vote at publishing time, with 18 percent of precincts reporting. Biden was the only remaining nominee after Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out.

Voters took to the polls on April 7 in Wisconsin for the presidential primary and statewide general election amid the coronavirus public health emergency. A court order prevented results from being tabulated before 4 p.m. on April 13 as a legal battle ensued over absentee ballot deadlines and the date of the election itself.

Wisconsin as a battleground state in the 2020 election is a fact that has been well-established. President Donald Trump defeated Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton in Wisconsin by less than 23,000 votes in 2016. That's a razor-thin 0.7 percentage margin of victory.

Trump appears as the lone candidate on the Republican primary ballot. After Sen. Bernie Sanders dropped out, the general election ballot is all but decided.

Voters first saw a total of 12 Democratic primary candidates on the ballot, but candidates have dropped out along the process, leaving former Vice President Joe Biden as the expected challenger to Trump.

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“Up until Biden got his mojo going, it was presumed Sanders would win the state again,” said Patrick Guarasci, a Milwaukee-based Democratic strategist in a Politico report, referencing Sanders' 2016 primary victory over Clinton. “He was the most organized here, he had the most vibrant following. A lot has changed in the last month.”

According to the latest Marquette University Law School poll conducted on April 1, Biden held a small lead over Sanders in November through January. Sanders even moved into first place in February.

According to the poll, those results are much different now: poll respondents pegged Biden at 62 percent and Sanders at 34 percent.

Pollsters say that Biden received 65 percent and Sanders 32 percent based on likely or current voters.

With the new coronavirus changing the dynamics of this election, Marquette Poll officials are a little more skeptical than usual about forecasting the April 7 election.

"Given the uncertainty created by historically high levels of absentee voting and the unknown levels of election day turnout, these findings should be viewed with more than the usual caution," officials said.

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