It’s hard to read too much into these elections. They are at a strange time to elect someone who will only serve until the next election in November. And there are always local issues and local personalities that don’t have anything to do with larger trends. Interesting, nonetheless.
It was a split decision Tuesday night in two special Legislative elections being closely watched for signs of which party is building momentum heading into the fall midterms.
Republican Jon Plumer declared victory over Democrat Ann Groves Lloyd in the 42nd Assembly District, which includes part of northern Dane County, while Democrat Caleb Frostman defeated Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, in the 1st Senate District, which covers the Door County peninsula.
Frostman’s roughly three-point victory came in a Senate district held by Republicans for more than 40 years and that Republican President Donald Trump won by 18 points in 2016 and Gov. Scott Walker won by 23 points in 2014.
“Tonight’s special election win for Democrats in Wisconsin is more bad news and yet another ‘wake up call’ for Scott Walker, and he knows it,” the Democratic Governors Association said in a statement.
Frostman’s win doesn’t give Democrats control of the Senate. The GOP still holds an 18-15 advantage. But it marks another in a string of Democratic victories this year.
Republicans ran a flawed candidate in that Senate race.
k, I actually agree with you on that comment, but for probably different reasons. Many folks in that district have undrinkable water, thanks to unenforced groundwater laws allowing the unsustainable spreading of manure from ever expanding dairy operations. State government has avoided and exacerbated the issue for the last 7+ years and people were fed up with the inaction. AJ is also a tireless self-promoter and has a strong aversion to facts and details, and assumed that nobody would notice. Not this time.