Madison — Unofficial results Wednesday showed Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg with a paper-thin lead over Justice David Prosser after a race marked by massive voter turnout, Gov. Scott Walker's union bargaining plan and record spending by outside interest groups.
As of 2:15 p.m., The Associated Press had tallied results for all of the state's 3,630 precincts and Kloppenburg had taken a 204-vote lead after Prosser had been ahead most of the night by less than 1,000 votes.
Kloppenburg declared victory based on the AP's results.
"Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust," she said in a statement.
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Even with the precinct reported, the tally is not final. The Associated Press said that it was rechecking all of the totals in all 72 counties to make sure it has an accurate count in each county. The wire service said it anticipated getting the final numbers later Wednesday.
That close margin had political insiders from both sides talking about the possibility of the first statewide recount in more than two decades. Any recount could be followed by lawsuits - litigation that potentially would be decided by the high court.
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he slim margin in the race was the latest twist in Wisconsin's ongoing political turmoil. The state has drawn the attention of the nation in recent weeks because of the fight over Walker's controversial law repealing most collective bargaining by public employees, which caused massive weeks-long protests in the Capitol, a boycott of the Senate by Democrats and attempts to recall senators from both parties.
Interest groups on both sides had portrayed the judicial election as a referendum on Walker and his collective bargaining law. Conservatives backed Prosser, and liberals supported Kloppenburg, even though the candidates themselves insisted they were politically neutral.
Legal challenges to the new law - which would eliminate most collective bargaining for most public employees - are expected to reach the high court, but it's not clear if the justices would take up the case before this race's winner is scheduled to be sworn in Aug. 1.
In the contest for a 10-year term, Kloppenburg is trying to accomplish the rare feat of unseating a sitting justice. Michael Gableman defeated then-Justice Louis Butler in 2008, but before that it had been 41 years since an incumbent lost a race for a high court seat. Unlike Butler, who was appointed to the post, Prosser was elected to his current term.
If these results hold up, this is a big help when the anti-union bill cases go before the highest court.
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