Petitions to recall yet another Republican senator are expected to be handed in Thursday, while the campaigns collecting signatures against three Democrats have been unable to reach the required amount before the 60-day deadline.
Sen. Robert Cowles, R-Green Bay, could face a special recall election in his district this summer if the petitions pass a review by the Government Accountability Board.
Volunteers are still collecting signatures and will turn up at the GAB office with a total signature count well above the required count of 15,960. Democratic Party of Wisconsin spokesperson Graeme Zielinski said he estimated the total to be at least 10,000 signatures more than the necessary amount, which continues the trend in recalls against Republicans.
“Typically, every effort has been more than 140 percent of the required total,” Zielinski said.
The recall elections against Republicans come largely because of their votes in favor of the Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill, currently stuck in court, that would limit the collective bargaining authority of and require increased pension and health care contributions from public employees.
Still, Cowles said he remains sure of his vote for the bill and, while he does not take the chance of a recall election lightly, is confident he will remain a senator.
“I’m optimistic I have a majority [in my district],” Cowles said, adding that he ran unopposed in the 2008 election.
Cowles is the sixth Republican to potentially face a recall election. Campaigns against three Democrats have also handed in their petitions, all of which collected more than 130 percent of the number of signatures required.
A 60-day deadline for a few of the recall campaigns has passed, ensuring the continued term of four Democratic senators.
Campaigns against Sens. Lena Taylor and Spencer Coggs, both Democrats representing Milwaukee, Fred Risser, D-Madison, and Minority Leader Mark Miller, D-Monona, did not collect the required amount of signatures, which were due to the GAB this week.
The next campaigns that could run into a deadline issue are against Sens. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, and Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin. The petitioners have until May 2 to collect 20,061 and 20,973 signatures, respectively.
