Is the Democratic 'Blue Wave' Real? Two Wisconsin Races Show Us

WISCONSIN — Is the Democratic "Blue Wave" for real? Two state legislative races in Wisconsin — both in traditionally Republican-held districts — offered mixed results for those across the U.S. who are studying the ebb-and-flow of partisan politics.

In one race, Democrats in a remote and historically Republican part of Wisconsin won a stunning special election victory - in an election that Gov. Scott Walker and state leaders put off for nearly a year.

Democratic State Senate candidate Caleb Frostman defeated Republican State Rep. Andre Jacque in a special election Tuesday in the state's First State Senate district, which covers Kewaunee and Door counties, and parts of Manitowoc, Calumet, Outagamie and Brown counties.

With the victory, however, Republicans maintain control of the Senate with an 18-15 advantage. Frostman's victory is short-lived, as he will have to defend his seat in November. Rep. Jacque has stated that he will run again for the GOP.

It was a State Senate district that had been held by Republicans for more than 40 years. During the 2016 November election, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump carried the district by 18 points. Gov. Scott Walker, another Republican, won by 23 points over Democratic challenger Mary Burke by 23 points in 2014.

Republicans Take Second Special Election

In the second of two races Tuesday, talk of a Democratic "Blue Wave" sweeping the Badger State hit a "Red Wall," said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, as voters 42nd Assembly District, Ann Groves Lloyd, also a Democrat went down to defeat to Republican Jon Plumer.

Wisconsin's 42nd State Assembly district encompasses several counties just north of Madison, including Marquette, Green Lake, Dodge and Columbia Counties. Lloyd has already registered to run again in November, also setting up a rematch.

Tuesday’s election results leave Republicans with a 64-35 advantage in the State Assembly.

Stopping the Elections

Walker issued Executive Order #280 at the end of March, calling for a special election for 1st Senate District and 42nd State Assembly District. Walker ordered the special election to be held on Tuesday, June 12.

Critics say Walker wanted to avoid another embarrassing defeat at the hands of Democrats. Supporters claimed filling the seats amounted to bad timing and a waste of taxpayer money. Meanwhile, more than 200,000 voters were left without some form of representation.

Walker had gone on record saying that it would be a "waste of taxpayer money" to fill the vacant legislative seats, because the Legislature's regular session is nearly complete, however Democrats were countering, saying that he's trying to block potential Democratic victories in both districts after they captured a stunning victory in a special State Senate election in December.

The legal battle between state Republicans and the courts dragged on for three months. After Walker's legal challenges to the delays were cut down one-by-one, he called for a special election for 1st Senate District on the last day of a court-imposed deadline.

Amy Hasenberg, Press Secretary for Walker said to Patch.com, "A D.C.-based special interest group is forcing taxpayers to pay for special elections for seats that will be filled again in just a few short months. The Legislature has indicated they are done. To illustrate how ridiculous this is, nomination papers for the fall elections are due on June 1st, which means candidates will already be on the November ballot before the special elections are held."

Democrats countered, saying that he was trying to block a Democratic victory after they captured a stunning victory in a special State Senate election in December.

"With the majority that Republican should in the state legislature, [Republicans] have the ability to pass any legislation they want. For a governor of any party to work with the legislature to undermine a judicial ruling, is outrageous. Their plan would have set a precedent that could have grave long-term consequences," State Sen. Lena Taylor (D-Milwaukee) told Patch.

Walker Sued

The National Redistricting Foundation, an affiliate of Attorney Eric Holder's National Democratic Redistricting Committee, filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court on Feb. 26.

At the heart of the lawsuit is Holder's claim that Walker has not exercised his legal duty to call for a special election.

The suit stated, in part:

"Governor Walker's improper refusal to issue writs of election to hold a special election to fill the vacancies in State Assembly District 42 and State Senate District 1 as promptly as possible is therefore currently causing and will continue to cause substantial injury to Plaintiffs, who have been and will remain unrepresented. Plaintiffs have a clear legal right to elect representatives to
fill those vacancies (and to representation in the Legislature) and Governor Walker has a plain legal duty to issue the writs of election to hold a special election as promptly as possible."

Timeline of Events: Walker vs. the Courts

On March 22, Dane County Circuit Judge Josann Reynolds ruled that Walker was bound under state law to hold special elections so voters could have representation in the Legislature. The deadline for Walker to call for special elections would be March 29.

On March 27, two days before the court-imposed deadline, Walker filed an appeal, asking the court to delay the special election deadline by eight days. The reason? To call the State Legislature into session to change state election laws to allow for further delays in these, and subsequent special elections. You can see the text of that bill here: https://www.wpr.org/sites/defa...

On March 28, The Wisconsin Court of Appeals on Wednesday turned down Walker's request for his delay. Dane County Judge Richard Niess said during his ruling that if Walker had called special elections within four days of the announced vacancies, they could have been on the ballot for the April 3 spring election.

On March 29, With time slipping away to call the State Legislature back to Madison for an emergency session, Walker and fellow Republicans gave up the fight to delay special elections. On March 29 - the date of the court-imposed deadline, Walker issued Executive Order #280 calling for a special election for 1st Senate District and 42nd Assembly District. Walker ordered the special election to be held on Tuesday, June 12, 2018. If a primary is necessary, it will be held on Tuesday, May 15, 2018. Circulation of nomination papers for candidates may begin, March 29, 2018. Nomination papers must be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on Tuesday, April 17, 2018.

Patch.com File Photo