Kloppenburg declares victory in Wisconsin judge race

Challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg has declared victory in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election that is serving as a proxy battle over the controversial policies of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, Kloppenburg held a tiny 204-vote lead over incumbent Justice David Prosser, according to an unofficial Associated Press tally. A victory for Kloppenburg, who was given little chance coming into the race, would be a rebuke for Walker, the conservative governor whose efforts to limit collective bargaining rights for public employee unions prompted weeks of protests.

"Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust," Kloppenburg said in a statement, as the Journal Sentinel Of Milwaukee reports.

Under state law, a candidate can request a recount free of charge if the spread between votes is less than one half of 1 percent. Prosser, who held a narrow lead during much of the count, is expected to request a recount if the numbers hold. (The AP is currently rechecking its results.)

It's unusual for a challenger to unseat an incumbent in a Wisconsin Supreme Court race. And in this case, Kloppenburg, the Assistant Attorney General, was up against a former state House Republican leader with higher name recognition.

In the nonpartisan four-way primary, Prosser won easily with 55 percent of the vote. Second-place finisher Kloppenburg got half as many votes and was not expected to be competitive in the runoff.

Yet the race became competitive when activists and Wisconsin residents made it a proxy battle for the larger fight between conservatives and liberals in the state over workers' rights and benefits.

Though both candidates professed to be neutral, liberals have lined up behind Kloppenburg and conservatives behind Prosser.

The state became a hotbed of controversy two months ago when Walker introduced a "budget repair bill") that scaled back most public workers' collective bargaining rights. The legislation prompted Democratic lawmakers to flee the state to stall its progress. Attempts to recall several Republican and Democratic lawmakers in the wake of the fight are now underway.

The Progressive Change Campaign Committee (PCCC) mobilized supporters across the country to make 96,000 calls in support of Kloppenburg in the last week.

Both conservatives and liberals have called the race crucial for their agenda, in no small part because Walker's budget repair bill was signed into law but remains held up in a court challenge. Democrats contend that the Republican-led state House violated procedural rules and passed the bill illegally.

Even if there were no recount in this case, however, the victor would not be sworn into the court until August 1. The case over the budget repair bill is likely to go before the Supreme Court bill before that.

Still, the court could have a role in the potential recall elections gearing up against state senators on both sides of the aisle. Additionally, Democratic state Sen. Chris Larson said a victory for Kloppenburg could have implications for future state legislation.

"I think you're going to see a shift in tone from Republicans" if Kloppenburg wins, he said. "Right now, they are almost cocky they're going to be victorious in courts. They've been acting like cowboys because they have the majority in courts."

PCCC also contends that the regional results of the race indicate that liberals could prevail in their attempts to recall Republican state senators. For instance, PCCC co-founder Stephanie Tayor said, Kloppenburg received over 55 percent of the vote in Republican state Sen. Luther Olsen's district.

"This bodes very, very well for the recall campaigns against the senators," Taylor said.

Conservatives, meanwhile, contend that liberals underperformed in this election given that the liberal base is fired up over Walker's budget repair bill.

"The organizing power of the unions should have been overwhelming, and Prosser should have been toast even in less-progressive areas of the state," wrote conservative commentator Ed Morrissey at HotAir.com. "Instead, Wisconsin voters thundered to the polls to support Prosser, and Kloppenburg turned out to do poorly outside of Dane and Milwaukee counties -- and even in Milwaukee, Kloppenburg led by just a 57/43 margin."

"What should have been a slam-dunk if Walker's proposal was really as extreme and disaffecting as unions claim turned out to be an even split," he continued. "Given their power and the investment of time and money by the unions, this is an eye-opening stumble."

Walker played down the results, casting them as reflecting disproportionate turnout in the state's liberal bastions of Milwaukee and Madison. But Democrats said they sent a clear message.

"This continues to add fuel to the tremendous fire of enthusiasm and passion to recall the Republican senators that support Scott Walker's backwards priorities for the state," Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate told the AP.