Republicans Win Key Open Seats To Retain Control Of State Senate

Wisconsin’s state Senate will remain in Republican control, with GOP candidates winning contested open seats in the 9th, 17th and 19th Senate districts on Tuesday night.

In the 9th District in eastern Wisconsin, there wasn’t much of a contest: Republican Devin Lemaheiu, a member on the Sheboygan County Board, handily defeated Democrat Martha Laning, a community organizer, by a 20-point margin. The victory was, perhaps, unsurprising, given that the district has now voted for overwhelmingly for Gov. Scott Walker in three straight elections.

The district had previously been state Sen. Joe Leibham, who vacated his seat to mount an unsuccessful bid for Congress.

One victory in an open election would have been enough for Republicans to retain a majority, but they nevertheless claimed two others. In the 17th District in southeastern Wisconsin, Howard Marklein won the seat of retiring state Sen. Dale Schultz, defeating Democrat Pat Bomhack by 10 points. Then, in western Wisconsin, Roger Roth defeated Penny Bernard Schaber to replace the veteran state Sen. Mike Ellis.

Ellis had announced his retirement shortly after a video was released showing him speculating with advisors as to whether it would be worthwhile to create a political action committee to attack Bernard Schaber.

The Republican’s retention of Senate control likely didn’t much of a surprise to political observers: A hypothetical Democratic takeover had always been pegged as a longshot.