While round-the-clock protests continue to rage at the Capitol in Madison, one Wisconsin state senator gave The Badger Herald details about his flight from the state and what it would take for him to return.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, said the decision of the Wisconsin Senate Democrats to leave the state was not one taken lightly. In fact, he said, it was not until a caucus the morning of their flight that they even considered leaving.

The gathered Democrats had more than 100 amendments to offer to Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, but Erpenbach said they knew none would be taken seriously by the majority Republicans. It was then, he said, they realized without the Democrats there Republicans would not be able to make quorum. Erpenbach said he knew it was their only option to slow down the bill.

Once the decision was made, the Democrats quickly hopped in their cars and took off.

“I ran home, I threw some stuff into a duffle bag, and I headed for the border,” he said.

It was Thursday that the protests in Madison as well as the missing members of the Senate were thrust in to the national spotlight, with stories and interviews available on MSNBC, CNN and the BBC.

While the move surprised many, there is historical precedent for a minority party to slow down bills by breaking quorum.

In 2003, more than 50 Democratic members of the Texas State Assembly fled to Oklahoma during a dispute over redistricting.

One of history’s most celebrated examples of using quorum to delay a vote, however, came in 1840 in the Illinois State Assembly during a dispute over state banks. During the debate, Abraham Lincoln, then a member of the Assembly, jumped out a second story window to extend the session.

So when will Wisconsin’s missing Democrats return? Erpenbach says the ball is in Walker’s court.

Dems have pledged not to return to Wisconsin until Walker has agreed to remove the disbanding of collective bargaining rights from the bill, and with Wisconsin State Troopers’ lack of authority outside of state boundaries, Republicans can do little to force them to return.

With state government essentially at a standstill, Erpenbach said the divisiveness in the state will make it hard for Walker to do anything other than give in on collective bargaining.

“This bill and his idea are dividing the state in the middle,” Erpenbach said. “It’s difficult to function and let alone govern in a state that’s divided as it is right now.”

Even with recall exploratory committees formed against Sen. Jim Holperin, D-Conover, and Sen. Robert Wirch, D-Pleasant Prairie, Democrats’ resolve has not weakened. Erpenbach said although some of their constituents may be upset they left, he thinks a majority of them agree the senators are doing the right thing, and Walker’s stand against collective bargaining has nothing to do with balancing the budget.

“His priorities are all wrong,” Erpenbach said. “That is something that the people of Wisconsin do not like.”

For the time being however, the senators are keeping busy enough talking to their constituents in their districts, checking in with their kids and families and going from interview to interview.

As for the protesters at home, Erpenbach simply said he felt grateful. He added the students protesting at the beginning of the week helped to give the Democrats momentum to make their move.

“It really made a big difference in our resolve,” Erpenbach said.

– The Associated Press contributed to this report.