Incumbent State Superintendent Jill Underly today won her reelection bid against education consultant Brittany Kinser in the race to lead the Department of Public Instruction.
Underly, who’s held the post since 2021, had 53% of the votes compared to Kinser’s 47%, with 84% of votes reporting.
Underly was backed by the state Dem Party, while Kinser received support and donations from the state GOP and backers of private school choice. Underly will earn another four-year term.
“I’m just deeply honored and humbled for the trust you have placed in me to continue as state superintendent from Public instruction,” Underly said in a victory speech tonight in Madison. “This victory belongs to all of us who believe in the power of public education, but for every educator, family, and most importantly, kids across our state.”
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Kinser later conceded the race in a statement.
“Over the last few months, I have been honored to campaign across the state on behalf of our kids,” Kinser said in a statement. “While this is not the outcome I had hoped for, I hope that my candidacy has inspired conversations about the importance of restoring high standards and ensuring every child can read, write, and do math well, so they have the opportunity to go to college, secure a meaningful job, or master a trade. We know that our children meet expectations when standards are set high.”
The two candidates leading up to election day clashed on state testing standards, which Underly changed as state superintendent. Underly defended the change, saying the new standards give a more accurate picture of student achievement, while Kinser attacked the updates for masking poor student performance.
Kinser and Underly also disagreed on private school vouchers. The former emphasized her support for investing in private school choice, while Underly said vouchers take away from key public school funding.
Ahead of the election, overall spending in the race reached a record $4.7 million, according to a WisPolitics tally of AdImpact data and independent expenditures filed with the Ethics Commission. That includes $2.8 million backing Underly and nearly $1.9 million backing Kinser. The previous spending record was $3 million in 2021.
Sauk Prairie Superintendent Jeff Wright, who finished third in the primary, reported spending $125,388 on his campaign.
Underly had just over $1 million in ad reservations, according to AdImpact, while Kinser was at $1.7 million. Independent expenditure reports show groups spending nearly $1.8 million backing Underly and opposing Kinser, and $153,513 backing Kinser and opposing Underly.
Underly has reported raising $1.3 million in the race, compared to Kinser’s nearly $2.6 million.
