Democrats successfully took Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) to court when, openly fretting about a "blue wave," he refused to call special elections to fill two state legislative seats. On Tuesday, Democrats won one of the seats while Republicans held on to the other one. Both districts in northwestern Wisconsin had gone heavily for President Trump in 2016, but in the 1st senate district — which voted for Trump by 17 points — Democratic businessman Caleb Frostman beat GOP state Rep. André Jacque. This was the 43rd GOP-held state legislative seat Democrats have flipped since Trump was inaugurated — Republicans have flipped seven seats — and state Democratic Party chairwoman Martha Laning celebrated the district's "21-point swing from Trump's 2016 performance."
In the other race, in the 42nd assembly district, Republican Jon Plumer appears to have defeated Democrat Ann Groves. Republicans now have an 18-15 advantage in the state Senate. Democrats are hoping to unseat Walker in November while Republicans are trying to beat Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Fed chair Powell in Trump's firing lineSpeed Read The president considers removing Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell
-
Trump trashes supporters over Epstein filesspeed read The president lashed out on social media following criticism of his administration's Jeffrey Epstein investigation
-
Judge nixes wiping medical debt from credit checksSpeed Read Medical debt can now be included in credit reports
-
Grijalva wins Democratic special primary for ArizonaSpeed Read She will go up against Republican nominee Daniel Butierez to fill the US House seat her father held until his death earlier this year
-
US inflation jumps as Trump tariffs 'bite'Speed Read Consumer prices are climbing and the inflation rate rose to its highest level in four months
-
SCOTUS greenlights mass DOE firingsSpeed Read The Supreme Court will allow the Trump administration to further shrink the Education Department
-
Cuomo announces third-party run for NYC mayorSpeed Read He will go up against progressive Democratic powerhouse Zohran Mamdani and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams
-
Secret Service 'failures' on Trump shootingSpeed Read Two new reports detail security breakdowns that led to attempts on the president's life
