Democrats are looking to flip the majority in the state Senate going into the recall elections by winning at least three of the six districts up for grabs Tuesday.
“Less than that they (Democrats) don’t get control, more than that is icing on the cake,” says UW-Madison Political Scientist Charles Franklin.
Of the six seats, the districts occupied by Randy Hopper and Luther Olson are considered most contested. Jessica King is hoping to oust Hopper to gain control of the Fond du Lac area district while Rep. Fred Clark is challenging Olson in his central Wisconsin Senate district.
However, Franklin says there is uncertainty in the races for Sheila Harsdorf and Alberta Darling’s districts. Shelly Moore is targeting Harsdorf’s western Wisconsin seat while Sandy Pasch is hoping gain control of Darling’s suburban Milwaukee district.
“It wouldn’t be shocking to see some of the races decided by just a few hundred votes,” says Franklin, adding the unprecedented election makes predicting turnout difficult.
Some finger pointing is going on between candidates whose supporters get out of state money.
Franklin says voters don’t care so much about at that issue but may find themselves influenced by the massive ad campaigns sponsored by groups based both in Wisconsin and out of state.
No matter the outcome in Tuesday’s race, neither party is out of the woods in the push to recall lawmakers. Two Democratic Senators are up for recall next week.
