In a race with limited voter participation, Madison voters chose incumbent Mayor Paul Soglin and Ald. Scott Resnick, District 8, to advance to the April 7 general mayoral election.
Soglin finished with 52.7 percent of the vote followed by Resnick with 23.3 percent of the vote.
Election officials reported low turnout across the board.
"In a word, [turnout has been] abysmal," Ald. Mike Verveer, District 4, said. "I think everybody expected voter turnout to be low given the particular lack of enthusiasm for the election, and the fact that there's only one race on the ballot."
According to Verveer, only 28 voters had cast ballots at Gordon Dining and Event Center, shortly after 7 p.m., and numbers at Porchlight Inc. had not eclipsed 100.
At a victory party held at Cardinal Bar, Soglin thanked his supporters and family, emphasizing his record of leadership and familiarity with the systems used to solve Madison’s issues.
“In 2011, we were talking about fixing the city finances and then moving on to the challenges of poverty and equity,” Soglin said. “[It was] long before the race to equity reports came out, long before a lot of other people suddenly discovered that this was a major issue in our community.”
Soglin delivered on his promises from the 2011 mayoral campaign and continues to “work tirelessly on the issues,” according to Soglin spokesperson Melissa Mulliken.
“We’ve been Soglin supporters for 40 years. We’re here to support Paul.” Cardinal Bar owner Ricardo Gonzalez said.
Across Capitol Square at The Fountain, Resnick celebrated amid supporters and family members. The mayoral hopeful, who was elected as a campus alder in 2010, stressed his plans to foster Madison’s future growth.
“I’m very excited for him,” Steve Resnick, the candidate’s father, said. “He gets to live his passion, and his passion has always been service to his community.”
In his speech, Resnick argued the city is tired of the “status quo,” as well as pushed the need for new leadership.
“Today, voters went to the polls and asked themselves a question. What does the city of Madison’s future look like?” Resnick said. “And tonight we are providing an answer for them. Our next mayor must represent each and every person in Madison … not only those folks that voted today but those folks who didn’t vote today.”
Resnick supporters cited their trust in the candidate’s abilities to lead.
“For me, one of the biggest differences [that sets Resnick apart] is his ability to coalition-build,” UW-Madison College Democrats Chair Hayley Young said. “As the campus alder, he’s already been very responsive to the needs of students.”
Members of both mayoral camps recognized the difficulty of increasing student voter turnout.
“I know the April elections come right around spring break and so that will be a challenge,” Mulliken said.
Former Ald. Bridget Maniaci, District 2, finished third with 14.8 percent of the vote, while UW-Madison graduate Christopher Daly received 4.3 percent of the vote and former Dane County Supervisor Richard Brown received 4.6 percent of the vote.
Jen Wagman and Patricia Johnson contributed to this report.
Correction: A previous version of this article said the date of the general election was April 17. It is April 7. The Daily Cardinal regrets this error.
