DailyKos just released a new poll they commissioned from Public Policy Polling that gives us one last snapshot of the Wisconsin State Senate recall elections tomorrow. And the results appear to be good news for Republicans.
In the northwest portion of the state, Republican Sheila Harsdorf appears to have pulled ahead of her challenger, public school teacher Shelley Moore, by 12 points. Harsdorf, who hasn’t lost an election in 22 years, represents the fastest growing area in the state.
In the westernmost area of the state, Republican Dan Kapanke appears to be trailing his Democratic challenger, state Rep. Jen Shilling, by ten points. This was the one seat Republicans have all but written off over the past few months.
Republican Luther Olsen, who was down by two points in the last PPP poll, is now up by one point. Olsen’s district is heavily Republican, yet he faces a strong challenge from sitting assemblyman Fred Clark.
Perhaps the most surprising result is from a race I profiled on NRO last week, with Republican Randy Hopper now leading his challenger, Jessica King, by one point. Hopper was all but written off as dead by both parties following news of some marital problems — but the unions’ attempts to cash in on those personal issues may be causing a backlash in Hopper’s favor.
There are six Republicans up for recall; Democrats need to pick up three seats to retake the majority in the state senate. Not listed in the poll are GOP senator Robert Cowles, who is believed to be relatively safe, and Republican Alberta Darling, who is in a very close race with incumbent assemblyperson Sandy Pasch.
— Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.