Did Marijuana Help Tony Evers Defeat Scott Walker? Data Says Yes

WISCONSIN -- Did ballot measures in 16 Wisconsin counties help tip the Nov. 6 Governor's race to Democrat Tony Evers over Scott Walker?

According to official results, Evers defeated Walker by 30,576 votes - a razor-thin margin when you consider that nearly 2.7 million Wisconsinites cast their ballots in what is largely considered a record turnout for a midterm election.

Conversely, voters in 16 counties overwhelmingly voted in favor of pro-marijuana ballot measures that were on the Nov. 6 ballot. The 16 counties with the advisory referendum are Milwaukee, Rock, Dane, Sauk, Brown, La Crosse, Marathon, Portage, Clark, Langdale, Marquette, Eau Claire, Forest, Kenosha, Lincoln and Racine.

While Wisconsinites supported a variety of pro-Marijuana ballot measures in all counties they appeared, experts say that ballot measures often have an effect on voter turnout. Brookings Institute Senior Fellow John Hudak said that ballot measures often have an effect on voter turnout.

"Democrats and Republicans alike have put ballot initiatives on in election years for a variety of topics including minimum wage, gun rights, etc.," he said. "The more people who turn out in elections tend to help Democrats win. They tend to be younger voters and poorer voters. When fewer people turn out it tends to help Republicans because the most ardent voters tend to be older voters and conservative voters."

Wisconsin Patch studied the voter turnout in each of the 16 counties where pro-marijuana ballot measures passed and determined that while Walker enjoyed more support in many of the 16 counties when compared with his last election in 2014, his totals were dwarfed by the gains Democrats enjoyed in 2018.

While Walker collected 3,314 more votes in 2018, his opponent Tony Evers collected a whopping 143,584 more votes when compared to 2014 when Mary Burke ran against Walker.

When we looked at the vote totals, three counties stand out: Milwaukee, Waukesha and Dane.

In 2018, voters in Dane County gave Evers more than 44,000 more votes than Burke in 2014. In Milwaukee County, Evers got more than 31,000 votes than Burke did in 2014. And surprisingly, in conservative Waukesha County, Evers garnered more than 17,000 more votes than Burke did in 2014.

When you look at Walker's support in each of the three counties, he got 4,400 fewer votes this time around. In Milwaukee, he got 8,500 fewer votes. In Waukesha County, Walker received 580 fewer votes.

By The Numbers: Voter Turnout

Wisconsin Patch studied the Nov. 6 election results for the 16 counties that had Cannabis ballot measure questions on their ballot. When we looked at how many people voted for Scott Walker vs. Tony Evers in each county, this is what we found:

Brown County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent

2018 61,424 vs 51,724
2014 58,408 vs 40,751

Clark County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 7,469 vs 3,994
2014 7,409 vs 3,848

Dane County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 69,206 vs 220,052
2014 73,676 vs 175,937

Eau Claire County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 20,855 vs 26,768
2014 20,304 vs 21,239

Forest County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 2,336 vs 1,544
2014 2,032 vs 1,511

Kenosha County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 31,509 vs 34,481
2014 28,398 vs 27,367

La Crosse County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 23,537 vs 32,103
2014 22,321 vs 25,429

Langlade County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 5,712 vs 2,825
2014 5,476 vs 2,921

Lincoln County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 7,846 vs 5,328
2014 6,866 vs 5,104

Marathon County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 36,882 vs 24,050
2014 34,583 vs 21,305

Marquette County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 4,143 vs 2,911
2014 3,611 vs 2,629

Milwaukee County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 124,051 vs 262,101
2014 132,553 vs 230,976

Portage County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 15,958 vs 18,007
2014 14,650 vs 15,283

Racine County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 44,770 vs 40,498
2014 42,944 vs 35,769

Rock County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 26,904 vs 39,680
2014 24,993 vs 32,523

Sauk County:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 12,613 vs 15,627
2014 12,222 vs 13,041

Waukesha:

Walker vs Leading Opponent
2018 146,686 vs 72,114
2014 147,266 vs 54,500

Campaign Handout Photos