Wis. Democrats hope to hold ground in 2 recalls

By SCOTT BAUER
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin Democrats sought Tuesday to hold the ground they gained in last week's recall elections by fending off Republican attempts to oust two senators who fled the state in opposition to Gov. Scott Walker's proposal curbing public employee collective bargaining rights.

Based on unofficial early returns, one of the Democrats was losing to his Republican challenger while the other Democratic incumbent was ahead.

Democrats needed to win at least three of six recalls last week targeting Republicans, but they only captured two. That means the best they can manage from Tuesday's elections is to keep the ground they gained, which left the Senate in Republican control by a narrow 17-16 margin.

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A third Democrat, Sen. Dave Hansen of Green Bay, survived a recall election last month.

A pair of Republican wins Tuesday would leave the Senate in the same partisan split as it was before the recalls.

On the ballot were Sens. Bob Wirch of Pleasant Prairie and Jim Holperin of Conover.

Holperin had 54 percent of the vote with just 19 percent of precincts reporting early Tuesday night, while Wirch was trailing his Republican challenger with just 46 percent of the vote and 15 percent of precincts reporting.

Holperin is the first state-level elected official in U.S. history to have faced two recall attempts. He survived one in 1990 as a member of the state Assembly after he was targeted for supporting tribal spearfishing rights.