Democrats officially gained control of the Wisconsin state Senate, in a special floor session Tuesday for the transfer of power from previous Republican control.
Democrats gained a one-seat majority, with 17 seats to the Republicans’ 16, in the recall elections held in June, at the same time as they failed to unseat Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Democrats will also have to play defense in the fall, with half the chamber up for election on maps that were drawn by the previous GOP majority.
In the cordial floor session, in which Republican state Senate President Mike Ellis was replaced by Democratic Sen. Fred Risser, the two party leaders also laid out their agenda for the fall elections: Republican Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald touted GOP accomplishments of the past year and a half, and Democratic Majority Leader Mark Miller called for a jobs bill and investments in workforce training.
