Wisconsin GOP 'Freaking Out' After Election Loss: Washington Post

Democrats in Wisconsin earned a stunning victory in the 10th District State Senate race, in which democratic candidate Patty Schachtner defeated her opponent, Republican state Rep. Adam Jarchow, by 9 points.

Tuesday's special election in western Wisconsin was the first head-to-head Republican-versus-Democrat election in the state since Donald Trump carried the state in the 2016 election, and the race has garnered national attention - including the likes of the Washington Post - as a possible sign of a wave of anti-Trump backlash.

The district, which includes parts of five counties between Eau Claire and Superior along the Minnesota border, has already been known as a "Pivot District" in political circles - one that voted for Barack Obama in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016 in successive presidential elections. Analysts say Tuesday's special election could be a harbinger of things to come.

In an article published Wednesday authored by James Hohman, he wrote "Ten months is an eternity in politics, but a stunning Democratic victory Tuesday in a special election deep in the heart of Trump country suggests a blue tsunami could be forming."

Trump won rural 10th State Senate district by 17 points in 2016. Nearly a year later, on Nov.10, 2017, Gov. Scott Walker issued an executive order calling a special election for State Senate District 10 to fill the seat held by the Senator Sheila Harsdorf, who resigned after being appointed as secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Walker wasted no time charging up his GOP faithful, taking to twitter just hours after Jarchow's election defeat. In several tweets he posted late Tuesday night, he called the defeat a "wake up call" for Wisconsin Republicans.

According to the Washington Post, Wisconsin's 10th State Senate seat was about more than just the race, as outside interests poured thousands of dollars into each party's campaigns. Americans for Prosperity reportedly poured $50,000 into the race, and two other GOP-aligned groups contributed another $80,000, said the Post. The Democrats were funded by an additional $10,000 from the National Democratic Redistricting Committee.

Hohman wrote that former talk show host Charlie Sykes "called the results ominous and said his prominent friends inside the GOP are freaking out"

According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, things could swing back positive for Wisconsin Republicans, considering that the local economy is improving and the election is nearly a year away. The Journal Sentinel says state Democrats will continue to push for more gains in the Badger State.

Photos Courtesy Jarchow, Schachtner Campaigns