The Wisconsin recall elections were the latest referendum on Gov. Scott Walker and his budget reforms. If Wisconsin Democrats could have recalled three of six Republican state Senators in Tuesday’s elections, they would have control of the Senate and halt Gov. Walker once and for all. However, the tide has been turning nationally for Republicans lately, and their momentum continued on the local level by winning four of the recall votes. Yet Walker and his anti-union bills still have a hard road ahead.
The GOP initially held a 19-14 lead in the state legislature according to MSNBC, and now their lead is down to 17-16. That still gives them the majority, yet it is by the slimmest margin possible. As such, Democrats can still make things hard for Gov. Walker as long as they stay united. In fact, now they only need to win over one Republican to get a majority for votes.
Of course, this only holds if there are still 16 Democratic senators. That could change next week when Wisconsin holds recall elections for two Democrats. If the GOP wins at least one of those battles, it will have a more secure 18-15 advantage.
Tuesday’s results were proclaimed as an “undeniable defeat for labor and for progressive activists” according to the Washington Post. But it was not a decisive defeat, especially since the Democrats gained as much ground as they could without taking over. It will be a much bigger defeat if one of their own gets recalled next week, since it would then give them less wiggle room in the state Senate.
The unions and progressives in Wisconsin are nothing if not resilient, which is why the struggle has gone on for so many months. They have endured the passage of Gov. Walker’s bill, and the controversial re-election of Judge David Prosser, so they can be counted on to endure this setback as well. There’s no doubt that their cause took a hit on Tuesday night, yet there is no sign that they are conceding.
State Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate still promised that they would recall Gov. Walker in the future, according to Politico. But that effort probably took a big hit, because if they couldn’t recall enough GOP senators, how could they do better against the governor? That will be a major long-term question to ask down the road, especially if things don’t improve by the time he can be recalled.
Wisconsin has undergone the largest political turmoil of the year, so expecting things to slow down now is premature. The first round of recall elections didn’t go the Democrats’ way, but they have to recover and contain the damage soon. If they do that, the battle can still be salvaged- but if not, then it will be time to worry.
Sources
MSNBC.com- “Democrats fall short in Wisconsin recall elections”
Washington Post- “Wisconsin Democrats fail to take back state Senate”
Politico- “Wisconsin GOP holds on to Senate”