Watch Wisconsin Inauguration 2019 Live Via Live Stream Video

MADISON, WI -- For the first time in eight years, a Democrat will take the state's top office as Gov.-Elect Tony Evers takes the oath of office to become Wisconsin's 46th governor. He replaces Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

The Inauguration officially starts at 11 a.m. and will be held in the State Capitol rotunda in Madison.

In addition to Evers, Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and Secretary of State Doug La Follette will be sworn into office. All are Democrats.

Members of state Legislature will also be sworn into office. In the Assembly, 63 Republicans and 36 Democrats will be seated. In the Senate, 11 Republicans and six Democrats are taking office.

Fueled by a resurgent Democratic base, Tony Evers defeated Gov. Scott Walker, denying the Republican incumbent a third term in office.

Unofficial election night results showed Evers won by the slimmest of margins - barely one percent of the vote. That translated to roughly 30,000 votes statewide.

Waukesha County usually comes out big for its Republican candidates during election time -and it did again in 2018, yet a new report published by Wisconsin Public Radio says that Waukesha County Republicans stayed home when Gov. Walker needed them the most.

"I think it will take some time for us to understand whether what happened (Tuesday) was some disintegration of the Trump coalition or some falling apart of the Walker coalition or some combination of the two," University of Wisconsin-Madison political scientist Barry Burden said in the WPR report.

Waukesha voters still voted for Walker over Evers at a nearly two-to-one margin, however 2018's margin of victory fell short of all previous Walker gubernatorial advantages in Waukesha County.

What election results show are two things: Walker got slightly less votes in 2018 than he did in 2014 and 2012 (and 12,000 more when compared with 2010). At the same time, his Democratic challenger received nearly 20,000 more votes in 2018 than they did in 2014, 2012 and 2010.

Waukesha County Results - 2018

Scott Walker/ Rebecca Kleefisch 146,686 - 66.1%
Tony Evers/ Mandela Barnes 72,114 - 32.5%
Source Waukesha County

WPR: Rep Vote Margin - Waukesha County Infogram

According to official election results, Walker got 74,572 more votes than Evers in Waukesha County in 2018.

But that margin of victory is far less than in previous elections: Walker got 92,766 more votes than Mary Burke in 2014, 81,924 more votes than Tom Barrett in 2010, and 96,082 more votes than Barrett during the 2012 recall election - when opposition to Walker appeared to be its most strident.

Walker's Toughest Race Yet

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's political path has seemingly never been easy.
He survived mass protests that consumed the state capitol building after proposing and passing Act 10, which limited the ability of public workers of the ability to collectively bargain drew mass protests and demonstrations.

The next year, Walker survived his own recall election by defeating Democratic Opponent Tom Barrett in a rematch of the 2010 election.

Walker put forward a proposal to bring Voter ID to Wisconsin in January 2011. After five years, Voter ID survived many legal challenges before becoming law.

In January 2015, Walker set up a presidential campaign called "Our American Revival." Facing eroding political support and dwindling expenses, Walker suspended his campaign by September, and threw his support behind presumptive nominee Donald Trump.

He survived two John Doe investigations, both of which went on for years as prosecutors investigated Walker's recall campaign financing and at-work campaign activity by Walker staff members when he was Milwaukee County Executive.

November's election proved to be his toughest challenge yet - and the one he wouldn't win.

Sharp Differences

In Evers, Wisconsin voters had arguably the state's biggest opponent of ACT 10, the law Walker signed into law in 2010 that restricted collective bargaining for Wisconsin's public educators.

It's hardly a secret that Evers, the head of the Wisconsin's Department of Public Instruction, would work to repeal Walker's landmark legislation. Evers also supports repealing Walker's Right to Work legislation, which which bars mandatory union membership and prohibits unions or employers from requiring non-members to pay dues.

If Evers looks like the anti-Scott Walker in this election, it's likely because he supports unraveling even more Walker-era initiatives, such as the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. Evers has gone on record in favor of bringing back the state's old economic development agency, the Department of Commerce. Walker created the WEDC in 2011 after taking office.

While Walker had been a proponent of lowering taxes revenues - even to the point of creating transportation budget shortfalls that affect state roads -Evers said that he is in favor of raising taxes in specific ways.

Evers said he is interested in an income tax code overhaul "to make the wealthy pay more while giving lower-wage earners a break." He's also been on-record in favor of raising gas taxes.
"It will be our goal to keep taxes reasonable in the state of Wisconsin," Evers said in a Capital Times report, noting that his budget priorities would differ from Walker's.

Walker counters, however, saying that Evers wants to raise the gas tax by a dollar per gallon, while also introducing $7 billion in new spending.

"Tony Evers' plan is more spending and higher taxes. He wants to spend more than $7 billion in new government spending. Who do you think is going to pay for that? You are," Walker said during a recent campaign stop in Waukesha. "Tony's taxes will cost us jobs. They're a recipe for a recession in the State of Wisconsin. We went through that recession - I don't want to go back to the days of double-digit tax increases, record deficits and job losses."

Evers, however, is incredulous that Walker would mis-characterize his taxing ambitions.
"The governor loves to distract from his record around roads," Evers said in a Cap Times article. "I have never said we're going to raise the gas tax a dollar. It's ridiculous. Who the hell would, frankly?"
Recent Patch coverage:

• 'Tell The Truth': Obama Rallies Wis. Dems To Get Out And Vote
• Two Polls, Two Results: Gov. Scott Walker Ekes Ahead, Lags Behind
• Walker Catches Evers Plagiarizing Parts Of Budget Proposal
• Is the Democratic 'Blue Wave' Real? Two Wisconsin Races Show Us
• Replacing Paul Ryan, And Other Big Wisconsin Election Questions

Patch File Photo by Scott Anderson