A new round of polls in Wisconsin by Daily Kos/Public Policy Polling shows an uphill climb for Democrats in their new effort to recall their way to a majority in the state Senate.
In the three races officially targeted by state Democrats: Republican state Sen. Van Wanggaard edges Democratic former Sen. John Lehman 48 percent to 46 percent, in a rematch from their 2010 race. The other races are not as close: Republican State Sen. Terry Moulton leads Dem former state Rep. Kristin Dexter 51 percent to 41 percent. In the open race where GOP state Sen. Pam Galloway resigned, GOP state Rep. Jerry Petrowski leads Dem state Rep. Donna Seidel 51 percent to 37 percent.
In a race where local organizers for the effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker decided to take an extra initiative, state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald leads recall organizer Lori Compas 54 percent to 40 percent. The general elections for the four seats take place on June 5, the same day as the gubernatorial recall.
The polls of likely voters were conducted from April 13-15 — the same period that showed in a separate release Walker regaining a lead against his major Democratic rivals.
Wisconsin Democrats last year, faced with a 19-14 Republican majority in the state Senate, tried to mount a backlash against Walker’s anti-public employee union legislation, by initiating several recall races that had the potential to hand them the majority. But they were hampered by the fact that the only recall-eligible districts were in Senate districts where the incumbent had last won his or her term in 2008, meaning they withstood even that year’s Democratic wave. The seats won 2010, when the Dems lost their majority, were not recall-eligible because it was not yet a year into the term.
In the end, Democrats were able to pick up two seats, one shy of what they needed to knock the GOP out of the majority. In all, four incumbent Republicans and three Democrats retained their seats, while two Republicans lost to Democratic challengers.
