If you are still afflicted with recall fever (generally accompanied by a rash and not covered under Obamacare), there’s more good news for you in Wisconsin today. Two of the Democratic state senators who fled the state to block a vote on Gov. Scott Walker’s collective-bargaining reforms are up for election today, just one week after six Republicans faced recall elections. Democrats picked up two seats in the state senate in the first round of voting (yet they failed to take over the majority in the senate), and the GOP has the chance to cut into those gains today.
In the northern part of the state, tea-partier Kim Simac takes on Democratic incumbent Jim Holperin in a GOP-leaning seat. The 12th senate district is an enormous district, sparsely populated, and with very few populous cities. Scott Walker won the district with 57 percent in 2010, yet Holperin is a well-known name in the area. Holperin represented part of the district for a decade in the 1980s and early 1990s, before returning to the legislature in 2008.
Compared to many of the more bare-knuckle affairs in the Republican round of recalls, this race has been reasonably cordial. In her TV ads, Simac fires up voters (and enthusiasts of thick Wisconsin accents) by ripping Holperin for fleeing the state when it came time to reform collective bargaining. Yet what the Tea Party giveth, it also taketh away — in a recent debate, Simac couldn’t name a single bill pending in the legislature that she would either support or oppose. A recent DailyKos poll has Holperin up double digits, but a poll conducted by the We Ask America polling firm has Holperin only up 51–49.
The second contest, in the 22nd district, is a longer shot for the GOP. Despite an attractive young candidate in Jonathan Steitz, this seat has always been out of reach for Republicans. The closest the GOP has gotten to retaking it in recent memory was in 2004, when future RNC chair Reince Priebus narrowly lost to incumbent Bob Wirch.
Steitz has similarly criticized Wirch for fleeing to Illinois in February. Wirch also received a “Pants on Fire” rating from Politifact for claiming he had lured 800 factory jobs to Kenosha, a claim the company forcefully denies. Wirch’s defenders, in turn, have popped Steitz for “failing to pay his taxes,” based on a single incident where Steitz’s business was late in paying its state taxes in 2003.
Both Republican candidates are hoping that Democratic voters are deflated after their failure to retake the senate last week. It seems it would be much more difficult for unions to organize get out the vote campaigns with so much less at stake. If the GOP gets back just one of the seats it lost on August 9, it would be a demoralizing blow for Wisconsin Democrats. Furthermore, it would a message to lawmakers all over America that taking on the public unions might not be the death sentence we all thought it might be.
— Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.
As these recalls wind down, hopefully the lessons learned will propel Wisconsin forward. No matter the outcome of these last recalls, the state still has a bright future should it stick to current legislation. Changes are afoot in the state. While there will always be opposition, it’s important to look at all that’s been made possible thanks to the legislation.
Doing their best to avoid the pitfalls that are enveloping the rest of the country (External Link
), where some cities are facing bankruptcy due to a fundamentally misunderstanding about how to handle state and local compensation (External Link 
), Wisconsin is blazing a path for others to follow.
With teachers making up the largest chunk of public sector employees, we’re seeing a lot of positive impact in local school districts. Schools are turning deficits into surpluses (External Link
), and subsequently reducing class size (External Link 
). Thanks to the ability to have a choice in health insurance, many districts are saving significant amounts of money there as well (External Link 
).
Even though these recall elections were unlikely to affect the legislation (External Link
), it’s nice to know that the majority of the people in the voting districts have supported those who helped the legislation come to fruition. In an election cycle dominated by a lack of transparency (External Link 
) and huge out-of-state spending (External Link 
), it’s a great sign that the state has been able to see through the rhetoric and move forward.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseA GOP win would be nice, but I'm not expecting it. However, it will be entertaining to hear/see the liberal spin if it should happen.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYeah, Jenna, like the ludicrous republican spin that losing two of six seats was somehow a victory.
I suppose that the loss of two seats, and the failure of the recalls to unseat the Democrats, translates to a mandate and unalloyed approval for Scott Walker and his devotees? Can't wait to hear that fable spun by NRO.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThat is most assuredly not a thick Wisconsin accent.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseAssuredly Wisconsin, but her accent could be thicker.
Actually it sounds to me like she is downplaying her accent and trying to articulate her syllables "like a TV announcer" ("the" instead of "da", but that singsongy Up North cadence creeps in: "VOAders of WisCAHNsin.")
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseI was in Wirch's district last week. Lots of Wirch yard signs, few for Steitz. Same for TV commercials, of which Wirch's were roundly nasty and Steitz' were far too sanitized. Pity, my relatives there despise Wirch.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseForget the union issue, both these guys ran and hid to stop a vote from happening. That's ab unacceptable tactiic regardless of the issue. Im disappointed only two of the dems who pulled this are up for recall. They should all be tried for treason. Democracy doesn't work when that sort of thing happens
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBoth Democrats won. That's the trend there, no matter how hard and lously you try to deny it. Walker is in serious trouble.
Reply to this commentLinkReport Abuse