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Wisconsin Election Results 2012: Democrat Tammy Baldwin defeats Tommy Thompson for Senate; Rep. Paul Ryan reelected; Obama wins narrow victory

November 07, 2012

Here is a summary of the election results in Wisconsin: (View full map)

President

President Barack Obama won heavily-contested Wisconsin, a swing state blanketed by both campaigns in the closing weeks of the race. No Republican has taken the Badger state since Ronald Reagan in 1984, and Obama took the state by 14 points in 2008. A key brick in Obama’s Midwest firewall, the president trammeled from Green Bay to Madison to Milwaukee in the last week of the campaign as outside groups dumped a record number of ads onto the airwaves. Democrats leaned on the state’s progressive underpinnings and the state’s same-day registration – which helps bring out younger, Democratic-leaning voters – to lead Obama to victory. Republicans, meanwhile, felt they owned an enthusiasm advantage because Gov. Scott Walker won a recall election earlier this year. They also counted on the state native Paul Ryan’s presence on the ticket to get out the Republican vote.

Senate

Tammy Baldwin (D) outraced former four-term governor Tommy Thompson (R) to fill a seat vacated by retiring Democrat Herb Kohl. The win was crucial to the Democrats’ holding a majority in the Senate. A six-term Congresswoman, Baldwin will become the first openly gay Senator in U.S. history. The Madison native ran unopposed in her primary, while Thompson had to battle through a bitter primary season. The back-and-forth race initially favored Thompson, who served as governor for 14 years, but swung toward Baldwin last month. High turnout for Obama was seen as key to her win.

House

There was much less drama on the House front. Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan retained his seat in the first district, while freshman Congressman Sean P. Duffy (R), who was targeted by Democrats, also won.

More from PostPolitics:

For full coverage of Election Night breaking news, including reporting from swing states around the country, follow The Post’s Election 2012 liveblog.

The Grid aggregates the best multimedia, and commentary from across the social web in a clean, simple display.

Updated election results on a county-by-county basis are available on the The Post’s election day map. Sort through the Senate, House, Gubernatorial, and Presidential election results.