A head to head comparison of the Wisconsin 2016 General Election gives us an idea of the break down of the voters.
Donald Trump received 1,405,284 votes beating Hillary Clinton who gained 1,382,536 by a marginal 22,748 votes in Wisconsin.
Donald Trump won 60 counties out of the 72 counties that make up Wisconsin. The record shows that Hillary Clinton won 12 counties.
2016 WI Primary Election vs Presidential General Elections Counties Won
Primary Elections
Presidential General Election
Primary Election
In the Primary, Trump won the 27 counties in a 4-way match up. In the same 4-way match up, Sanders won 25 counties, Cruz won 19 counties and Clinton won 1 county. No doubt, some counties won by Sander went for Clinton in the general elections.
2016 WI Presidential Primary vs Presidential General Elections w.r.t % Votes and Total Votes Won
Primary Election
Presidential Election
On a head to head count with the total votes between in Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump between the primary and general, % vote shift difference is 3% decrease for Hillary Clinton and a 3% increase for Donald Trump. These percentages are represented by a vote increment of 949,769 for Clinton and 1,018,914 for Trump at the Presidential General Elections. There is a 69,145 vote difference between Clinton and Trump.
Clinton's Popular Vote Victory Contributed by Wisconsin at the 2016 General Elections
Presidential Primary Elections
Presidential General Elections
During the 2016 General elections, over 146,434,269 total number of votes were cast. Hillary Clinton got 65,849,971 (65.8 Million) over Donald Trump's 62,984,405 (62.9 Million). She won the popular vote by 2,865,566 (2.8 Million). Even though she lost to Trump at Wisconsin, her 1,382,536 represents 2.1% of her popular vote victory. The remaining 49 states contributed to her the remaining 97.9 popular votes victory.
Top 15 Counties in Primary Elections vs General Elections
All Candidates (Primary Elections)
All Candidates (General Elections)
Primary vs General
These 15 counties play an important role in these primary elections. If a candidate, can get a sizable majority in the biggest counties (Milwaukee, Dane and Waukesha), it becomes very difficult to win majorities in the smaller counties with out voter out reach and increased voter participation in them. However, steady wins in larger counties (as in the case of Trump), can amass minimal vote margins that can lead to a slender lead.
Top 15 Counties Comparison in Primary Elections vs General Elections
Primary Elections
Hillary Clinton
Primary Elections
Donald Trump
General Elections
Hillary Clinton
General Elections
Donald Trump
Milwaukee and Dane, two of the larger counties voted in favor of Clinton, giving her over 300K vote advantage. Waukesha, another larger countye voted in favor of Trump giving him a 63K voter advantage in that county. However, Trump's steady win in the less dense counties contributed to the 22K marginal vote advantage that helped him gain an upper hand in the State of Wisconsin.
Related References: 2016 Wisconsin Primary Election Story, 2020 Wisconsin Primary Election Story, 2020 Wisconsin General Election Story, Wisconsin Early Voting Absentee Data on Nov 1st, 2020 as compared to 2000 through 2020 General Election Votes
