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Subtle change in primary elections

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By Alex Brousseau
Thursday, September 11, 2008 12:00 a.m.

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With presidential candidates preaching about “change,” there was no such call in Tuesday’s Wisconsin primary elections as 11 incumbents will move on to November’s election.

Democratic and Republican party representatives said they were satisfied with the primary results and that they are hopeful about the slate of candidates elected in the primaries.

“We feel very strong about our field of candidates, and we’re very happy about chances for November, especially when you take a look at how it went for the Democrats,” said Kirsten Kukowski, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin. “A couple of their handpicked candidates did not come through the primaries.”

Jim Smith, director of the Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee, said he hopes their candidates will gain the majority in the Assembly and the Senate, which is currently held by the Republicans by a slim margin.

“[Primaries] clear the picture a little bit,” Smith said. “We have a strong slate of candidates all over the state, rural and urban. Good candidates make great campaigns, and we’re going to have some great campaigns this fall.”

The closest race in the primary was in Francis Creek, where Democrat Ted Zigmunt beat Democrat Lee Brocher by four votes. Brocher has asked for a recount due to the close margin.

Brocher said he received several phone calls from supporters this morning after the results were in, most of them calling for a recount. He added he “owed” a recount to his supporters, otherwise he “would be disappointing quite a few people.”

Brocher is not the only one in this election calling for a recount. Republican Steven Schmuki of Waukesha lost to Republican Bill Kramer by nine votes. Call for a recount was the “logical thing to do,” he said.

“I think I owe it to the team that supported me through primary process and all who voted for me to examine if [there are] any potential issues within the recount,” Schmuki added. “It’s on me to say, ‘I’m not going to let you go and walk away that easy. Let’s take another look.’”

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