On Tuesday, he finished just ahead of Rose Fernandez, a former pediatric trauma nurse and parent advocate, in a five-person field.
Although she finished the night in second place, Fernandez, 51, characterized her performance as "a victory for real people over the special interests."
In addition to being first to declare his candidacy, Evers also captured endorsements - and contributions - from the Wisconsin Education Association Council as well as other labor and education-based groups. WEAC PAC, the political arm of the state's largest teachers union, contributed $8,625 to Evers' campaign, in addition to spending nearly $180,000 on media buys for the candidate, according to campaign filings earlier this month.
By contrast, the Fernandez campaign spent $20,000. She said that her message of calling for merit pay for teachers and choices for parents had resonated with voters.
"Tonight, we have all the momentum," she said. "This is going to be a real choice. It's going to be a choice between special interests and the status quo, the bureaucracy that is entrenched at the Department of Public Instruction, vs. a focus on the results we are looking for in our investment in education, a push for higher standards instead of higher taxes."
Evers, 57, has distanced himself somewhat from the current schools superintendent, Elizabeth Burmaster, saying it's time to be more aggressive about reforming Milwaukee Public Schools and calling for an increase in the state's graduation rate.
On Tuesday, he denied Fernandez's charge of favoring special interests
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