Milwaukee Local News

Click here for complete election results

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Gov. Scott Walker tells The Associated Press that any decision about whether he will run for president "will have to wait," as he intends to focus on working with the Legislature on quickly passing his agenda for the state. Walker says his win Tuesday is "great for us" and he will be meeting with his cabinet on Wednesday in the Capitol before traveling around the state on Thursday to visit technical colleges. He says, "The bottom line is people elected me to get the job done in Wisconsin. We're going to spend the next couple months putting together our legislative agenda." Walker says he wants to pass a budget quickly to show the country that things work more smoothly in Wisconsin than Washington.

Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker has defeated Democratic challenger Mary Burke, winning re-election to a second term.

MILWAUKEE - Conservative Republican state Sen. Glenn Grothman has won Wisconsin's only open US House seat and will succeed the more moderate Tom Petri. Grothman had been the favorite to win in the Republican-leaning district. He defeated Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris, a fiscally conservative Democrat, in Tuesday's election. Grothman has made a name for himself in the Wisconsin Senate with outspoken attacks on affirmative action, abortion and welfare benefits. He offended the retiring Petri earlier this year by remarking during a July 31 debate that he would be insulted if people said he was like the more moderate Republican. The 59-year-old Grothman worked as a lawyer and tax preparer before running for public office. He lives in Campbellsport.

A successful campaign means everyone pitches in, and that's the case with Governor Scott Walker's two sons as well.

A 20-year-old Wausau man has been sentenced to 35 years in prison in the fatal beating of a local bowler.

Click here for live election results starting at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday.

Dramatic testimony on day two of the Sylvester Lewis trial.

Another race we're watching closely on Election Day is the 6th Congressional District. The winner will replace Tom Petri, who's retiring.

One week after a Fond du Lac teenager nearly his lost his life while riding his bicycle home from a friend's, the community's coming together.

We've all seen the election observers, but there are also people from the state and federal Department of Justice who are keeping an extra eye out, too.

NBC News

Social media is playing a huge role in this year's midterm elections, with every candidate and campaign making their presence clearly known on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

The race for governor has been a heated battle.

Election Day is underway in Battleground Wisconsin, and while polling places will be buzzing all day Tuesday, some spots will be less busy than others. Barry Burden is a professor at UW-Madison; he said voting in a small town is more of a communal experience. "Some of these small communities have potlucks where people bring a dish and people spend time at the poll," he said. "They don't just come and cast the ballot and leave, they might spend a couple hours there, talking with neighbors, cast the ballot, have some food, hang around for a while and socialize." That's the experience voters in Random Lake have, as every Election Day the town's Lutheran church hosts an all-you-can-eat spaghetti supper. Reverand Ned Dorau said that it's not competitive, but more a friendly meal between neighbors. That same friendly atmosphere at the polls can be found in the Village of Egg Harbor - one of the smallest wards in the state. Lynn Ohensorge is the Village's Clerk Treasurer, and she said there are just 211 registered voters. "Obviously there's not as long of a wait, as larger municipalities," she said. "Even during the absentee, in-office voting, nobody really had to wait more than a couple minutes." Ohnesorge said the village's small size creates a much different environment at the polls. "I think that it's a friendlier environment," she said. "We obviously aren't as overwhelmed with voters." While not everyone may know each other, Ohnesorge said the faces voters see on Election Day are usually familiar. "A lot of times you know the voters, or they've seen you at the grocery store, or you've seen them in the community," she said. Ohnesorge said there's never a long line to vote - even during early voting. 45 people casts their ballots early, which she said is a lot for the village. Burden saod that this voting experience with neighbors is part of what small towns special. "That really changes the feel of elections from kind-of cold exercise in democracy to a celebration," he said.

Election officials are predicting a record breaking voter turnout, and a group of nuns are canvassing the country pushing for change.

MILWAUKEE -- Tuesday's midterm election is one of the most contentious elections in our states history, and turnout numbers are expected to be record breaking.

As voters head to the polls today to cast their ballots, many might not think about the reasons why they're voting on a Tuesday, or even in November. But Election Day is steeped in deep history and tradition, and there is reasoning behind every decision. Barry Burden is a professor in the Political Science department at UW-Madison; he said we vote on Tuesdays because of our nation's roots as farmers. "That meant there were days of the week when crops needed to be delivered to market," he said. "That ways typically in the middle of the week. Most people were going to church on Sunday and that was a big commitment, and so that just left a couple of days in between." With a day decided upon, November was chosen to avoid the fall harvest. "People didn't want to have elections while the harvest was still being brought in," Burden said. "And in many parts of the country, that could last until September, October, maybe into November. He said even with a day and month chosen, voting could span weeks or even months. "Early on, the states were doing elections on all different days," Burden said. "And elections across the country might last three months from the first day to the last day." But while many traditions have stayed the same, others have changed: Congress eventually narrowed voting down to one day and made the voter's ballot secret. When early Americans cast ballots in the 19th century, a secret ballot was not the case. "If you wanted to vote for Republican candidates, you would find your local Republican party boss and everyone could see that you took the ballot from that person and you intend to vote Republican." Burden said this lead to people feeling a lot of pressure to vote a certain way. "There were many stories of party officials or leaders of other groups, going around from polling place to polling place, offering people whiskey in exchange for having them vote for the right party." Burden said this changed when the Progressive Movement around the turn of the 20th century, when prohibition and the idea of a secret ballot were passed. Shades of red and blue have become synonymous with the major parties, but they weren't ingrained in the two-party system from the start. "It used to be that red indicated 'Democrat', and blue indicated 'Republican,'" he said. "And I think that stems from the association of red with the left generally around the world." The colors switched around World War II to what we know today. Burden said the state of Wisconsin also has important ties to national election traditions. "The primary election had not been used as a way to nominate candidates by party, but it was really the La Follettes and the state of Wisconsin that lead the way on opening up that system." While many of the traditions of Election Day are holding strong, the day is slowly changing from a celebratory experience of democracy to something much colder. Burden said the idea of the polls being a communal experience where voters could linger for hours and even share a meal is quickly disappearing.

WAUKESHA -- A 33-year-old man is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old Waukesha girl.

Tonight, after you cast your vote, turn to TODAY'S TMJ4.