Lehman will face Wanggaard in Senate recall
By Ed Nadolski
Editor in chief
Crossover voting didn’t appear to be a factor in Tuesday’s recall primary as Gov. Scott Walker’s Western Racine County supporters turned out in force to put their votes behind the embattled incumbent Republican.
Countywide 44 percent of registered voters turned out for the primary, which exceeds predictions from the State Government Accountability Board by roughly 10 percentage points.
With the votes in all major west-end communities counted, Walker dominated candidates in both parties with more than 62 percent of the total cast in both the Republican and Democrat primaries.
Because Walker faced token opposition from state capital protestor and Abraham Lincoln impersonator Arthur Kohl-Riggs in the Republican primary, many people speculated that some of his supporters would crossover and vote in the Democratic Party primary in hopes of influencing which opponent Walker will face in the June 5 recall election.
Instead, at least in Western Racine County, it appeared Walker’s supporters sent a strong message that they’re behind their candidate and his policies regardless of the opposition.
Walker became the target of a recall more than a year ago when his budget repair bill – now known as Act 10 – was voted into law. The law, which severely curtailed the collective bargaining rights of most public employees, touched off a firestorm of protest that put the state at the epicenter of the national debate.
Among all west-end voters Walker dominated with 62 percent of the ballots cast for candidates in both parties. Democrat frontrunners Tom Barrett and Kathleen Falk finished well behind with 23 and 12 percent, respectively.
Walker’s support is down somewhat, but still robust, when votes throughout Racine County are factored in. He garnered 49 percent of all votes cast (23,053 votes) in the two primaries for governor.
Barrett, with 30 percent (14,311) of the vote, nearly doubled the votes cast for Falk, who finished at 16 percent (7,796).
Based on the statewide vote, Walker will face Barrett June 5 in what is essentially a redo of the 2010 race that propelled Walker to the governor’s office.
21st Senate District
Democrat John Lehman is headed for a rematch with incumbent Republican Van Wanggaard for the 21st Senate District seat, which includes Rochester, Waterford, Dover, Union Grove and Yorkville. Lehman faced a primary challenge from “fake” Democrat Tamara Varebrook of Union Grove and easily rolled to victory with 51 percent of the vote (20,273) to Varebrook’s 24 percent (9,507).
Many voters, presumably Republicans, chose to sit out that race with 9,902 (25 percent) ballots for that race left unmarked.
Wanggaard had no primary opposition and now faces Lehman in the June 5 recall election.
“I look forward to contrasting my record against John Lehman,” Wanggaard said in a statement released late Tuesday. “My opponent has made it very clear on the direction that he wants to take Wisconsin in: backwards.”
Lehman also said he looked forward to the campaign.
“I hope that after tonight we can finally discuss the issues that are important to the 21st Senate District instead of hiding from the voters demanding Van Wanggaard’s recall,” he said.
Lieutenant governor
State firefighters union President Mahlon Mitchell won the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, with 30 percent of the vote in Racine County. Placeholder candidate Isaac Weix garnered 17 percent in the county and Milwaukee private detective Ira Robbins finished with 15 percent.
Mitchell will now challenge incumbent Republican Rebecca Kleefisch in the June 5 recall election.
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