Voters Split On Impact Of Tuesday’s Special Election

Wisconsin Democrats are looking to keep up the momentum as voters decide who gets a pair of open legislative seats in special elections.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. in northeastern Wisconsin’s 1st Senate District and the 42nd Assembly District in south-central Wisconsin. Both seats have stood vacant since December when Gov. Scott Walker appointed the Republican incumbents to his administration.

GOP state Rep. Andre Jacque and Democrat Caleb Frostman are running in the 1st, while Republican Jon Plumer faces Democrat Ann Groves Lloyd in the 42nd.

Voters casting ballots Tuesday said they are tired of all the mudslinging in the campaign, but they’re divided on what the outcome may mean for the fall.

Ardell Christianson, of Lodi, says she voted for Lloyd because she’s a Democrat and Christianson has known her and her family for years. The 79-year-old retired teacher says whichever side wins will provide an accurate view of how voters feel heading into the fall midterms.

But Republican Mike Busser, of Lodi, voted for Plumer and says not to read too much into the outcome. He calls the predictions a “lot of hoopla.”

Democrats are coming off two big wins already this year. Democrat Patty Schachtner won an open seat in a conservative northwestern Wisconsin state Senate district in January and liberal-backed Rebecca Dallet won a spot on the state Supreme Court in April.