4/08/2011

So what does the Prosser vote mean for the Wisconsin State Senate Recalls in Wisconsin

The important point for these recalls is that a politician in Wisconsin has to be in office of at least a year before he can be recalled. Given that 2006 and 2008 were strong Democratic years in Wisconsin, the Republicans facing a recall were politicians who had survived those tough elections. The reverse is true for the Democrats facing recalls. They got in on previously strong Democratic years. I wonder if Democrats are going to regret these recall votes. Personally, I hope that the Democrats get recall petitions filed against all the Republicans that they want to go after because on election night they will have a longer string of defeats and it will hurt their message even if they win one or two races.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this discussion here:

. . . . As close as the race was statewide, most of the targeted Republican senators - including Hopper - represent counties where the majority voted for Justice David Prosser, favored by conservatives, over Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg, favored by liberals. Many saw the Supreme Court race as a proxy referendum over Walker's budget proposals; the presumption was that voting would be similar in the recall races if they come to pass. . . .

But Scott Dillman, one of the coordinators of the Hopper recall effort, said that despite Prosser's victories in Winnebago and Fond du Lac counties (with 52% and 61% of the vote, respectively, according to Associated Press figures), Hopper has his own problems that make him vulnerable to an electoral defeat.

One would be the anger of many of the prison guards in his district, hundreds of whom volunteered to help collect recall signatures, over the limitations on union bargaining pushed by Republicans. . . .

Hopper issued a statement:

"I will continue to work hard on behalf of taxpayers and middle class families who understand the status quo in Madison is keeping Wisconsin from creating the jobs that make our families and communities stronger. . . . 

"I'm confident the voters of the 18th Senate District will support our goal to make Wisconsin a place in which businesses and middle class families can grow and prosper together." . . .

At least one other recall campaign - the one against Sen. Robert Wirch, a Democrat from Pleasant Prairie - is on the verge of filing signatures, its chairman, Dan Hunt, has said.

For the record, Prosser got 47% of the vote in Kenosha County, which makes up most of Wirch's district, according to AP figures from election night.

Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) continues to appear the most vulnerable to recall among the Republican senators - all three of the main counties in his district went convincingly for Kloppenburg. Signatures to recall him were filed with the state April 1.

Still vulnerable on the Democratic side: Sen. Jim Holperin of Conover - all but one of the 11 counties in his district went for Prosser. Kim Simac, the Eagle River businesswoman and tea party activist who's running the recall campaign, said, "That should be troubling for Sen. Holperin."

She said her effort to gather 15,690 signatures to recall Holperin is "looking good," but admitted, "it's not over the mark yet." The deadline is April 23.

The two counties that make up most of the district of Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) returned margins for Prosser of just over 50%. Democrats have targeted her district with more spending than in any other district.

Republicans Robert Cowles of Green Bay and Luther Olsen of Ripon saw most of their counties go for Prosser in margins from the mid-50s to more than 60% of the votes.

Democrat Dave Hansen of Green Bay saw 57% voting for Prosser in Oconto County and 55% in Brown County. Recall organizer David Vander Leest said Thursday that the campaign is close to having enough signatures to deliver to Madison.

Republicans Glenn Grothman of West Bend and Mary Lazich of New Berlin, and Democrats Fred Risser of Madison, Spencer Coggs and Lena Taylor of Milwaukee, and Mark Miller of Monona all seem safe from a possible recall defeat. Julie Lassa (D-Stevens Point) seems relatively safe, with Prosser gaining more than 40% of the vote in her main counties. Plus, Scott Noble, who's been collecting signatures in Lassa's district, said his effort is not going as fast as he expected. . . .


UPDATE: On Sunday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has this:

Last week, Democrats filed their first petition to try to recall a GOP senator who supported Gov. Scott Walker's law, which eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees.
Sen. Dan Kapanke of La Crosse represents a Democratic-leaning district in western Wisconsin. Two other Republican senators and three Democrats also face probable recall elections. . . .
On the Democratic side, Sen. Jim Holperin of Conover looks the most vulnerable. Holperin survived a previous recall election in 1990, when he was in the state Assembly.
Collective bargaining "is a divisive issue, and it did not come up in my campaign in 2008 and did not come up in any previous campaign," said Holperin, one of 14 Democrats who fled the state for three weeks to delay a vote on Walker's bill. "If that turns out to be the issue ... then I don't know what could happen."
Mike Tate, chairman of the state Democratic Party, acknowledged that Holperin is in a competitive district, but said he expects him to survive any recall. . . .

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