Democrats Flip Another Wisconsin Seat, Making 43 Since Trump Inauguration
The victory follows other surprise wins by the party in conservative districts in the state this year.
Photo Illustration by The Daily Beast
Wisconsin Democrats may have put fear into the heart of Republican Gov. Scott Walker again.
On Tuesday, they flipped another legislative seat in a traditionally conservative district, marking the 43rd seat to shift from Republican to Democratic control since President Trump’s inauguration.
In Wisconsin’s 1st Senate District, Democrat Caleb Frostman defeated GOP State Rep. Andre Jacque. With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Frostman led 51-49, a total of almost 1,000 votes. Republican Frank Lasee previously held the seat but was appointed to Walker’s administration last December. This district, including Door and Calumet, voted for Trump by 17 points and for Mitt Romney in 2012 by almost 5 points.
A Democrat did not prevail, however, in Wisconsin’s 42nd Assembly District, as Ann Groves Lloyd lost to Republican Jon Plumer. The seat was also vacated by a Walker appointment, when Republican Keith Ripp joined his administration. Voters in the district, which includes parts of Fond du Lac County, voted for Trump by more than 14 points but backed President Obama in 2012 by more than three points.
In both districts, however, liberal Rebecca Dallet won a Supreme Court race in April on her way to a double-digit victory.
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Still, the Democratic victory will be essentially a moral one for the party. The candidates will have to run again in an August primary ahead of November’s general election.
But Democrats will be happy with the result nonetheless, especially after Walker lost a court battle in his efforts to keep the elections from taking place.
The victory also follows another major upset for the Democratic Party in January, when Democrat Patty Schachtner flipped a state Senate seat where Trump won by 17 points.
Walker called that election result a “wake up call for Republicans in Wisconsin.”
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