MADISON – Democrats in Wisconsin fell short of their goal of capturing control of the state senate and blunting the agenda of governor Scott Walker when they failed to oust three Republicans in six recall elections.
Republican incumbents Alberta Darling, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen and Robert Cowles survived yesterdays recalls, according to vote tallies. Democrats took two seats, cutting the Republican margin in the senate to 17-16. Jennifer Shilling defeated senator Dan Kapanke and Jessica King beat senator Randy Hopper.
The results represent a victory for Mr Walker (43), who used his legislative majorities to place restrictions on the collective bargaining rights of most public employee unions in March, sparking weeks of protests.
The recall elections for the state legislative seats drew national attention and attracted a projected $40 million in campaign spending from Republican and Democratic support groups in a fight viewed as the first battle of the 2012 election season.
The votes were the climax of months of political fighting in Wisconsin, sparked by Mr Walker’s collective bargaining Bill, which he signed into law on March 11th. Recall efforts by Democrats began as Mr Walker used Republican majorities in the legislature to push through the curbs on unions.
Republicans retaliated with attempts to remove some of the 14 Democrats who fled the state in February in an effort to block a vote on Mr Walker’s plan. The record number of recall elections spurred national Republican to spend tens of millions on television and radio ads.
Republican groups saw the votes as an attack on Mr Walker and a threat to his fiscally conservative policies and efforts to rein in public-employee unions. Democratic groups and organised labour viewed the collective bargaining restrictions as a political assault on unions that could spread nationally. – (Reuters)