Wisconsin elects Tammy Baldwin to the Senate, the first openly gay member chosen

Herb Kohl's retirement left a Wisconsin Senate seat open, and the state had never elected a woman to that chamber. On November 6, 2012, voters chose Representative Tammy Baldwin, a Democrat from the state's 2nd District, over Republican Tommy Thompson, the former governor and former Health and Human Services secretary. She took about 51.4 percent of the vote to his 45.9. Baldwin became the first openly gay person elected to the United States Senate, and Wisconsin's first woman senator…