Roggensack wins second term

State Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack easily won a second term Tuesday, overcoming Marquette University law professor Ed Fallone.

With 93% of precincts reporting, Roggensack had 57% of the vote to Fallone's 43%.

Roggensack touted her experience in the race, noting she served seven years on the Court of Appeals and nearly 10 years on the Supreme Court. She had the backing of law enforcement and more than 100 judges, as well as the state Republican Party.

Fallone, who had the support of Democrats and unions, contended the high court has grown dysfunctional and said Roggensack needed to be replaced to start to improve sour relationships on the court.

Roggensack's victory gives her a second 10-year term on the bench and preserves the court's conservative majority. On the most controversial issues and cases in recent years, the court has often split 4-3, with Roggensack in the majority.

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State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers easily withstood a challenge from Republican state Rep. Don Pridemore on Tuesday and will spend another four years overseeing the state's more than 870,000 public school students.

With 95% of the vote counted, Evers had 61% of the vote and Pridemore had 39%.

Evers, 61, has championed more funding for public schools and opposed legislation signed by Gov. Scott Walker that dramatically limited collective bargaining for teachers. He has also opposed the governor's current proposals to expand voucher schools and open the door for more independent charter schools, though he has worked with Walker on issues pertaining to school accountability and performance evaluations for educators.

The office of state superintendent is officially nonpartisan, but longtime educator Evers had the backing of unions and many public-school supporters, while Pridemore, from Erin, was critical of teachers unions and supported Walker's plans to expand voucher schools.

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