Wisconsin Voters Head to Polls in Next Step to Recall the ‘Walker 6
Mike Hall
After the state Senate in March rammed through Walker’s bill that eliminates collective bargaining rights for public employees, working families mobilized to recall six of the Republican lawmakers. A gain of three seats would break Walker’s stranglehold on the Senate.
Today, voters in six state senate districts will choose Democratic opponents for half a dozen Republican-held seats. But these primary elections have been marred by Walker supporters who recruited fake candidates to run in the elections in an attempt to sow confusion among voters. The winners of today’s elections will face the six Republicans in an Aug. 9 general election.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Spokesman Graeme Zielinski slammed the election ruse.
It’s a total outrage what these Scott Walker Republicans are doing to preserve his radical agenda. The people of Wisconsin will see through these dirty tricks.
Click here for a list of candidates from the Wisconsin AFL-CIO.
This past weekend, working family volunteers and community, civil rights and faith activists went door-to-door, staffed phone banks and set up information tables at popular locations in each district to get the word out about the real candidates vs. the ringers.
Republicans who earlier this year vowed to recall several Democrats were unable to gather enough signatures in all but three of their targeted districts to qualify for the ballot. Next Tuesday, primary elections will be held in two of those districts, along with a general election for the Green Bay seat of state Sen. Dave Hansen (D).
In the Green Bay election, the leading Republican candidate was disqualified from the ballot for lack of adequate signatures. So Hansen will face Republican David VanderLeest—who according to Wisconsin news media has a court record of two misdemeanor convictions, fines for multiple building code violations, an unpaid judgment, bankruptcy and a home foreclosure.
July 12, 2011