Republican activists in Wisconsin have officially filed signatures to recall Democratic state Sen. Dave Hansen, in the escalating battle over Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-public employee union legislation and the Democratic attempt in in late February and early March to stop it by leaving the state.
On Wednesday, conservative organizers had also announced that they will file signatures on Thursday against another Democrat, Jim Holperin. In addition, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports, organizers say they will turn in signatures on Thursday against Dem state Sen. Robert Wirch. On the other side of the ledger, Democrats have announced that they will file signatures against Republican state Sen. Alberta Darling, and have already filed signatures against four others: Dan Kapanke, Randy Hopper, Luther Olsen and Sheila Harsdorf.
As the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s district rankings show, Hansen’s district voted 53.5%-44.9% for Scott Walker in the Republican wave of 2010, but before that it voted 56.5%-42.1% for Barack Obama in 2008.
The state Senate currently has a 19-14 Republican majority, with Democrats hoping to pick up three seats in recall elections and win the majority of the chamber back. They are collecting signatures in all eight Republican-held districts that are eligible. Under Wisconsin’s recall law, elected officials must have served at least one year of their term before being recalled — thus exempting the half of the Senate that was just elected in 2010.
In order to initiate a recall, signatures of at least 25 percent of the number of voters in the previous gubernatorial election, within the targeted district, must be collected in a 60-day window.
