Democrats hold seats in Wisconsin recalls

Wisconsin’s state Senate recall contest ended Tuesday night
with two incumbent Democrats holding onto their seats, reports the Milwaukee
Journal-Sentinel.

Republicans still possess a majority in the chamber, but
Democrats were able to pick off two seats held by the GOP in early August.
Republicans now hold a narrow 17-16 edge in the chamber, making it harder for
them to push through legislation.

{mosads}A fight over Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s successful
effort to strip public workers of their collective bargaining rights spurred
Democrats and union supporters to begin the recall effort to take back the
GOP-controlled state Senate.

While the effort fell short, it helped re-engage a Democratic
base that had become stagnant in 2010. Because Wisconsin officeholders can
only be recalled after one year in office, all of those on the ballot had last
been elected in the Democratic wave year of 2008.

That all of the Democrats who rode President Obama’s
coattails survived and two of the six Republicans who had survived that tough
year were knocked out this month shows that Democrats are back in a state that
elected a Republican governor and senator and saw two U.S. House seats flip
to the GOP in 2010.

The fight over state employees’ union rights will continue
to be a major issue through the 2012 elections in the swing state, which could
be competitive at the presidential level and feature marquee races for the
U.S. Senate and House.

“If I’m in Wisconsin, I’m not focusing my attention on
the president, I’m focusing on Scott Walker,” former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed
Rendell (D) told The Hill.

Many Democrats are still pushing an effort to recall Walker,
and former Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) has hinted he wants to run against the
polarizing governor, although there are indications of “recall
fatigue” in the state.