Update 3: State Election News: Kloppenburg 's lead holds, one precinct left to count

• Election Results

Election Results

Talk about it

JoAnne Kloppenburg's tiny lead over incumbent justice David Prosser for a seat on the Wisconsin State Supreme Court is now at 2e5 votes with one precinct left to count, the Town of Lake Mills in Jefferson County.

According to the Lake Mills Leader newspaper, a problem with its tally sheets kept the township from reporting any results to Jefferson County last night. Election officials in the township were supposed to begin counting 24 remaining uncounted votes and review their tally sheets again at 8:30 a.m. this morning but because there was a lack of a quorum on the Board of Canvassers, the vote count did not begin until 11:45 a.m.

Prosser carried Jefferson County by a 58-42 percent margin. The township reportedly has some 700-760 votes to add to the county total.

__________________________________________________________________

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court race was too close to call overnight. With 99% of the votes counted at 3:15 a.m. incumbent Justice David Prosser led challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg by just 585 votes out of almost one-and-a-half million cast. And reports indicated it might take hours to get the final ballots tallied.

The margin was less than .04 of one percent as of 3:15 this morning. That’s well within the threshold for a tax-funded recount which the loser is expected to request. Prosser told his supporters there was little doubt there would be a recount – and some media reports say legal challenges to that recount could be next. Kloppenburg simply told her supporters to get some sleep and see what today brings.

About one-third of Wisconsin’s eligible voters turned out yesterday. That was well above the state’s original forecast of 20-percent. The philosophy of the state’s highest court was at stake. A Prosser victory will preserve the court’s 4-3 conservative majority. A Kloppenburg win will most likely nudge the court to the left. The race gained national significance when Democrats and union supporters turned it into a referendum on Governor Scott Walker’s effort to take bargaining powers away from most public employee unions. And national groups saw the contest as a way to tilt the debate on government union influence going into the 2012 presidential election. As a result, spending on the race by both state-and-national groups skyrocketed after the massive protests over Walker’s union bill. The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University said total spending for-and-against both candidates had reached three-and-a-half million dollars through Monday – a new record for a State Supreme Court seat.

___________________________________________________________

One-of-every-eight Wisconsin counties have yet to report all of their results in the State Supreme Court election that’s too close to call. Milwaukee County still has 12 voting districts yet to report – and Dane County in the Madison area still has one district out. Other missing results are from Jefferson, Sauk, Crawford, Juneau, Dunn, Taylor, and Ashland counties. Incumbent David Prosser led challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg just by just four-hundredths-of-one-percent of the statewide vote as of early this morning. The margin is 585 votes out of almost one-and-a-half million cast. Prosser has already predicted a statewide recount – something that hasn’t been needed in decades. Kloppenburg easily carried Milwaukee and Dane counties, the state’s two largest. Kloppenburg also carried much of southwest Wisconsin, including La Crosse, as well as south central areas like Rock County and the far northwest. Prosser was strong in the Fox Valley where he’s from, as well as Racine and Kenosha counties and much of the eastern half of the Badger State. If Prosser loses, the Supreme Court would lose its 4-3 conservative majority. And Prosser would become only the sixth justice in state history to be unseated by the voters. It most recently happened in 2008, when Louis Butler lost to Michael Gableman. The only other justices removed by the voters were George Currie in 1967, James Rector in 1947, Robert Bashford in 1980, and Samuel Crawford in 1855.

__________________________________________________________________

Wisconsin’s third-largest city will keep its mayor for another four years. Jim Schmitt was re-elected Mayor of Green Bay yesterday with 60-percent of the vote over challenger Patrick Evans. Schmitt says he’s humbled by the victory, after he placed second to Evans in a six-way primary in February. Schmitt says he’ll keep focusing on jobs, fiscal responsibility, and making Green Bay’s neighborhoods stronger.

___________________________________________________________________

Governor Scott Walker’s name was not on yesterday’s local election ballots. But those who lost county executive races in the state’s two largest counties said the political turmoil caused by Walker’s policies played big roles in their defeats. Philanthropist Chris Abele got 61-percent of the vote to win the final year of Walker’s unexpired term as Milwaukee County Executive. He defeated State Assembly Republican Jeff Stone, who said his loss quote, “reflects the divide we have in Wisconsin right now.” In the Madison area, State Assembly Democrat Joe Parisi easily won the Dane County executive’s race with 70-percent of the vote over county Supervisor Eileen Bruskewitz – who knew she would lose big once she saw the huge voter turnout in Madison. It was 70-percent – unheard of in a spring election. And observers said it was fueled by union anger over the Republican Walker’s efforts to strip public union bargaining powers. Stone voted in favor of that legislation, and Abele used it against him. But now, he vows to stress cooperation, and work with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett to tackle problems head-on in the state’s largest county. Parisi said job creation would be his top priority as he replaces retiring Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. In the Appleton area, former State Assembly Democratic leader Tom Nelson was elected the new Outagamie County Executive. He got 55-percent of the vote over former GOP State Treasurer Jack Voight, to replace retiring executive Toby Paltzer.

_________________________________________________________________

Wisconsin’s three largest school referendums all went down to defeat yesterday. In Racine, only 38-percent of voters said yes to spending $83-million to replace five elementary schools and renovate five others. And other proposals to equip the new buildings, replace lost stimulus money, and build up reserves were defeated by similar margins. In the River Falls district, a $39-million dollar school referendum lost by a much closer margin, 52-48 percent. It would have paid for a variety of electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and energy improvements. And in Johnson Creek, voters said no to building a new elementary, middle school, and high school facility for $29-million-dollars. Racine’s funding requests totaled 128-and-a-half million dollars. And Superintendent Jim Shaw said he’s disappointed they weren’t approved, after officials spent two years putting together a plan they thought was acceptable. But Shaw also said it’s clear that it’s not a good time to ask voters for extra money. Referendums were held in almost 30 Wisconsin school districts yesterday, and not all of them were rejected. Voters in Poynette said yes to one-point-three million dollars in various building improvements. And the Spencer and Wisconsin Heights districts were among those getting approval to exceed their state-mandated revenue limits.

______________________________________________________________

Paul Soglin – who has served twice as Madison’s mayor since the late 1970’s – was given a third stint by the voters yesterday. He unseated eight-year incumbent Dave Cieslewicz by a margin of eight-tenths-of-one-percent. Soglin ran Wisconsin’s Capital City from 1979-to-’86, and again from 1989-to-’97. He campaigned on his experience, and said he was ready to take on big challenges like poverty. Cieslewicz said he was more current on Madison’s major issues, and he reminded voters that he led the city through a hard economy. And both tried to tap into people’s discontent over Governor Scott Walker’s effort to reduce public union bargaining powers.

_______________________________________________________________

The nation’s political junkies have their eyes on Wisconsin’s polarized electorate this morning, as a State Supreme Court race with national implications remains too close to call. Since about one a.m, we’ve been waiting for the final one-percent of the returns to come in. Incumbent Justice David Prosser leads challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg by a mere 585 votes out of almost one-and-a-half million cast. The margin is four-hundredths-of-one percent. Prosser told his supporters there would almost definitely be a recount. Kloppenburg told her supporters early this morning to get some sleep, and see what happens today. Reports say it could take much of the day to get the final returns in. And a statewide recount could follow – something Wisconsin has not seen in recent years. It’s just the latest dramatic twist in what had been a sleepy judicial election until Governor Scott Walker’s bill to curtail public union bargaining powers drew massive protests at the State Capitol. That drew calls by activists to elect Kloppenburg, assuming it would be easier to overturn the union law if Prosser loses and the court’s conservative majority disappears. Nationally, groups have tried to influence the Wisconsin election as union politics could potentially become an issue in the 2012 race for the White House. In Milwaukee, election commissioner Robert Spindell asked police to guard that city’s ballots overnight until a formal procedure could be set in place.

__________________________________________________________________

Many Wisconsin polling places were caught short of ballots yesterday, as their voter turnouts were much higher than expected. The Government Accountability Board said about 20-percent of the state’s eligible voters, or 875,000, would show up at the polls. But almost one-and-a-half million voted in the suddenly super-charged Supreme Court contest. And that would put the turnout at around 33-percent. It was much higher in places with hot local races, like Milwaukee and Madison. Officials in the Capital City said about 70-percent turned out – unheard of for an April election. Madison was the home of the massive protests against Governor Scott Walker’s bill to curtail most public union bargaining powers. And union supporters had rallied voters to elect challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg. At last word, she trails incumbent David Prosser by just 585 votes, or four-hundredths-of-one-percent. Late last night, Eau Claire County had only 65-percent of its ballots counted. That’s because many municipalities ran out of ballots for voting machines – and the late voters got ballots which had to be counted by hand. Officials there were also held up by counting write-ins for a school board race. But by one this morning, Eau Claire County finished its results. And one-percent of the statewide votes had yet to be tallied during the overnight hours.

____________________________________________________________________

Wisconsin Supreme Court

County-by-County results

Statewide - 3596 of 3630 districts counted, 99%

David Prosser 733, 074

JoAnne Kloppenburg 732,489

Adams - 100%

Prosser 2,393, 48%

Kloppenburg 2,559, 52%

Ashland 22/28 districts counted

Prosser 1,037, 29%

Kloppenburg 2,504, 71%

Barron 100%

Prosser 4,707, 50%

Kloppenburg 4,640, 50%

Bayfield 100%

Prosser 1,904, 33%

Kloppenburg 3,823, 67%

Brown 100%

Prosser 33,319, 55%

Kloppenburg 27,206, 45%

Buffalo 100%

Prosser 1,684, 51%

Kloppenburg 1,604, 49%

Burnett 100%

Prosser 1,932, 54%

Kloppenburg 1,675, 46%

Calumet 100%

Prosser 7,498, 62%

Kloppenburg 4,642, 38%

Chippewa 100%

Prosser 6,856, 49%

Kloppenburg 7,226, 51%

Clark 100%

Prosser 4,335, 58%

Kloppenburg 3,101, 42%

Columbia 100%

Prosser 7,302, 45%

Kloppenburg 8,959, 55%

Crawford 25/27 reporting

Prosser 1,689, 41%

Kloppenburg 2,428, 59%

Dane 247/248 reporting

Prosser 48,627, 27%

Kloppenburg 133,513, 73%

Dodge 100%

Prosser 13,373, 61%

Kloppenburg 8,519, 39%

Door 100%

Prosser 5,183, 53%

Kloppenburg 4,633, 47%

Douglas 100%

Prosser 3,814, 31%

Kloppenburg 8,674, 69%

Dunn 38/40 reporting

Prosser 3,790, 45%

Kloppenburg 4,649, 55%

Eau Claire 100%

Prosser 11,214, 42%

Kloppenburg 15,688, 58%

Florence 100%

Prosser 799, 62%

Kloppenburg 483, 38%

Fond du Lac 100%

Prosser 16,243, 61%

Kloppenburg 10,390, 39%

Forest 100%

Prosser 1,531, 56%

Kloppenburg 1,196, 44%

Grant 100%

Prosser 4,396, 44%

Kloppenburg 5,697, 56%

Green 100%

Prosser 4,872, 45%

Kloppenburg 5,845, 55%

Green Lake 100%

Prosser 3,778, 65%

Kloppenburg 2,049, 35%

Iowa 100%

Prosser 2,378, 38%

Kloppenburg 3,812, 62%

Iron 100%

Prosser 760, 45%

Kloppenburg 937, 55%

Prosser 2,224, 45%

Kloppenburg 2,686, 55%

Jefferson 40/41 reporting

Prosser 12,860, 58%

Kloppenburg 9,365, 42%

Juneau 28/29 reporting

Prosser 2,337, 48%

Kloppenburg 2,546, 52%

Kenosha 100%

Prosser 13,794, 47%

Kloppenburg 15,803, 53%

Kewaunee 100%

Prosser 3,331, 58%

Kloppenburg 2,404, 42%

La Crosse 100%

Prosser 12,114, 41%

Kloppenburg 17,369, 59%

Lafayette 100%

Prosser 2,034, 48%

Kloppenburg 2,199, 52%

Langlade 100%

Prosser 2,668, 58%

Kloppenburg 1,895, 42%

Lincoln 100%

Prosser 3,575, 50%

Kloppenburg 3,542, 50%

Manitowoc 100%

Prosser 12,211, 61%

Kloppenburg 7,752, 39%

Marathon 100%

Prosser 17,131, 54%

Kloppenburg 14,823, 46%

Marinette 100%

Prosser 4,980, 55%

Kloppenburg 4,082, 45%

Marquette 100%

Prosser 2,220, 56%

Kloppenburg 1,726, 44%

Menominee 100%

Prosser 141, 37%

Kloppenburg 241, 63%

Milwaukee 474/486 reporting

Prosser 95,129, 43%

Kloppenburg 125,090, 57%

Monroe 100%

Prosser 4,511, 49%

Kloppenburg 4,689, 51%

Oconto 100%

Prosser 5,199, 57%

Kloppenburg 3,852, 43%

Oneida 100%

Prosser 5,515, 52%

Kloppenburg 5,135, 48%

Outagamie 100%

Prosser 24,775, 57%

Kloppenburg 18,885, 43%

Ozaukee 100%

Prosser 20,811, 72%

Kloppenburg 8,278, 28%

Pepin 100%

Prosser 888, 47%

Kloppenburg 983, 53%

Pierce 100%

Prosser 4,053, 45%

Kloppenburg 4,905, 55%

Polk 100%

Prosser 4,663, 51%

Kloppenburg 4,439, 49%

Portage 100%

Prosser 8,111, 40%

Kloppenburg 12,039, 60%

Price 100%

Prosser 2,165, 52%

Kloppenburg 2,025, 48%

Racine 100%

Prosser 28,204, 56%

Kloppenburg 22,518, 44%

Richland 100%

Prosser 1,803, 45%

Kloppenburg 2,180, 55%

Rock 100%

Prosser 14,626, 40%

Kloppenburg 22,145, 60%

Rusk 100%

Prosser 2,220, 53%

Kloppenburg 1,941, 47%

Sauk 31/39 reporting

Prosser 6,166, 45%

Kloppenburg 7,625, 55%

Sawyer 100%

Prosser 2,120, 51%

Kloppenburg 2,059, 49%

Shawano 100%

Prosser 5,535, 61%

Kloppenburg 3,550, 39%

Sheboygan 100%

Prosser 19,531, 63%

Kloppenburg 11,407, 37%

St. Croix 100%

Prosser 8,272, 51%

Kloppenburg 7,953, 49%

Taylor 29/30 reporting

Prosser 3,602, 61%

Kloppenburg 2,266, 39%

Trempealeau 100%

Prosser 2,878, 46%

Kloppenburg 3,330, 54%

Vernon 100%

Prosser 3,578, 45%

Kloppenburg 4,307, 55%

Vilas 100%

Prosser 4,204, 60%

Kloppenburg 2,820, 40%

Walworth 100%

Prosser 14,233, 61%

Kloppenburg 8,929, 39%

Prosser 2,275, 48%

Kloppenburg 2,453, 52%

Washington 100%

Prosser 30,788, 76%

Kloppenburg 9,903, 24%

Waukesha 100%

Prosser 81,255, 73%

Kloppenburg 29,332, 27%

Waupaca 100%

Prosser 7,204, 59%

Kloppenburg 4,938, 41%

Waushara 100%

Prosser 3,394, 60%

Kloppenburg 2,300, 40%

Winnebago 100%

Prosser 19,488, 52%

Kloppenburg 18,054, 48%

Wood 100%

Prosser 8,844, 49%

Kloppenburg 9,274, 51%

Tags: state news, news, wisconsin, government, politics