Wisconsin Recalls 2011: Voters Head To Polls For First General Election Contest

WASHINGTON -- The Wisconsin recall fight kicks into full gear on Tuesday, with Green Bay voters heading to the polls in the first general recall election of the season. The outcome will determine whether incumbent Democrat Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) gets to keep his seat.

Six Republican and three Democratic state senators are facing recall elections this summer, with most of the elections taking place in August. The efforts to change the make-up of the state Senate came after Republicans passed Gov. Scott Walker's (R) controversial measure stripping public employees of their collective bargaining rights. Senate Democrats left the state for 21 days in order to delay their colleagues from pushing through the bill.

Hansen's Senate District 30 challenger is David VanderLeest, whose legal and personal troubles have been a focus of the intense campaign. He has $25,000 in unpaid property taxes and a history of domestic abuse.

As the Green Bay Press Gazette reported, "VanderLeest hasn't paid property taxes in three years, pled no contest to two misdemeanor disorderly conduct charges related to allegations of domestic abuse and has a bankruptcy, home foreclosure and unpaid settlement from 2006."

On Monday, VanderLeest announced that he plans to file a "slander lawsuit" against Hansen and several left-leaning groups -- the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, Greater Wisconsin Political Fund, We Are Wisconsin, Politiscoop, The Green Bay Progressive and One Wisconsin Now.

In a statement, VanderLeest said he had been the victim of "Chicago style mob politics," pointing to ads and mailers run by the groups.

A Public Policy Polling survey taken just days before the election (July 15-17) had Hansen leading, 62-34.

Democrats need to pick up three seats to win control of the upper chamber, which would give them the power to block many of Walker's proposals. Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse), whose district has a strong Democratic presence, is widely considered the member most vulnerable to recall. Sens. Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) and Jim Holperin (D-Conover) are also top targets.

Only two state lawmakers have been successfully recalled throughout Wisconsin's history.

While many of the recall elections are still several weeks away, the ad wars are already heating up. Independent expenditure groups on the Democratic side have outspent GOP ones almost 2-to-1 on broadcast television in the state's largest television markets, according to the firm CMAG, which tracks campaign advertising. The biggest spending by Democrats has been in the race of Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls).

Voters in Senate Districts 12 and 22 are also heading to the polls on Tuesday, for GOP primary elections to determine who will face off against Holperin and Sen. Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie), respectively.

Comments

[TruthIsAll]

11:28 AM on 08/06/2011

Wisconsin Recall Election Projections

Aug. 4, 2011

Richard Charnin

http://richardcharnin.wordpress.com/2011/08/05/wisconsin-recall-election-projections/

The Democrats need to win 3 of 6 GOP seats in the recall elections to gain control of the Wisconsin senate.

Assuming the Wisconsin 2008 presidential election
1) Recorded vote shares and election fraud (expected) in the recall elections, the Democrats will win 1 or 2 GOP seats.
2) Recorded vote shares and zero election fraud in the recalls, the Democrats will likely win 3 GOP seats.
3) True Vote shares and zero fraud in the recalls, the Democrats would likely win 6 GOP seats.

[Philclock]

10:57 AM on 07/21/2011

We'll see if union thuggery prevails, I hope not!

[rebelriser]

02:19 PM on 07/20/2011

"Rotten from the top down" and "rotten to the core" describes the Republican party as a whole. With it's hate group which they title a Tea Party that holds Republicans hostage to their ignorance and misinformation. Consider wealthy politicians who own farm land which they don't live on or farm, but collect billions in subsidies and which they, the Republicans voted to keep. No different than them voting to keep their own wealthy tax cuts. Republicans' lie that corporations need tax cuts to provide jobs. The wealthiest among them say they should pay more taxes. But do they? consider too that corporations with their Bush tax cuts now for over ten years have not been providing jobs. Most job creation has been the actions of small businesses who have been in existence less than five years. But these businesses are in trouble due to the Bush economic failure and obstructionism of the Republican party with its fringe hate group. Yes, we want our government back. The real reason Republicans want to keep the wealthy tax cuts is because these politicians are the persons who will benefit.

Time for the uninformed and uneducated or under educated to get better information sources before the Republicans rob you completely blind. Why don't you followers begin yelling for no tax cuts for wealthy republicans, no farm subsidies for wealthy republicans and leave Social Security and Medicare for the deserving for whom they were promised and paid toward?

[felic2011]

11:52 AM on 07/20/2011

Never trust a Republican.

[joedas]

09:55 AM on 07/20/2011

I didn't realize that there are more 'haves' in Wisconsin then the class of people below them.

A vote for a Republican anwhere is a vote to doom social security and medicare.

[rboylern]

02:49 AM on 07/20/2011

I hope they vote the ones who shafted them out of office. Politicians have to know that it is the people to who they are responsible and to whom they must answer. Many politicians seem to have forgotten this in their eternal question for power (and probably money as well).

[danceswithdata]

01:29 AM on 07/20/2011

I certainly hope that Gov Walker is among those listed for recall voting next month. Since I am not sure how this process actually works, I will need to read up on it soon. But he is the principal offender in a whole group of slithering, sleazy snakes that need to be placed face to face with the Orkin man.

[Bill Hummel]

01:26 AM on 07/20/2011

Wisconsin cheese heads. Wonder what that means.?

[Ramon Noches]

11:43 PM on 07/19/2011

In my most humble opinion, the Wisconsin Democratic victory is not only a state referendum but also the first indication that the Tea Party may have placed a dagger in the heart of a conservative Republican agenda gone too far right; we will see.

[RSK1177]

11:03 PM on 07/19/2011

justapasserby...apparently you've never worked for a corporation. Employees don't pay dues to a corporation. Contributions to the PAC for that corporation are strictly voluntary. Employees can contribute to candidates and/or political parties as they elect.

[MadamDeal]

10:41 PM on 07/19/2011

New thread. Front page.

[MadamDeal]

10:41 PM on 07/19/2011

New thread up from front page:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/19/dave-hansen-wins-wisconsin-recall-election_n_904101.html

[tangelan]

10:35 PM on 07/19/2011

" Hansen's Senate District 30 challenger is David VanderLeest, whose legal and personal troubles have been a focus of the intense campaign. He has $25,000 in unpaid property taxes and a history of domestic abuse."

In the GOP, this is what's known as flattery.

[Bill Hummel]

01:29 AM on 07/20/2011

And Libs known as business as usual.

[danceswithdata]

01:30 AM on 07/20/2011

not to mention being regarded as a real class act!

[bastalready]

10:28 PM on 07/19/2011

We have the big mo on our side...let's keep it going!

[eLucida]

10:25 PM on 07/19/2011

Watch Hansen live on the Ed Show
http://msnbclive.eu/