In a race that wasn’t even expected to be close until Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled legislature rammed through anti-worker legislation last month, progressive challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg leads conservative incumbent David Prosser in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
With 100% of precincts reporting, Kloppenburg leads by 204 votes out of nearly 1.5 million cast. This contest is almost certainly headed to a recount, but this race already has been an enormous victory for Wisconsinites who stood up for their rights against Scott Walker and David Prosser’s extreme agenda.
It is also an indication of just how damaging Walker’s power grab has been to his allies. Just weeks ago in the primary election, Prosser beat Kloppenburg by 30 points — winning 55% to her 25%. The huge swing came despite national right-wing groups pouring unprecedented amounts of money into Wisconsin to defend an incumbent Supreme Court justice who should have had no problem getting re-elected. In the final week of the campaign, outside groups funded by the likes of the Koch brothers and the Tea Party Express spent $2.4 million. Our side in this race was outspent 3-to-1 in the final week.