Democratic Senator Joins Republican on Wisconsin Recall Block

The fallout continues from Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s successful legislation to limit collective-bargaining rights for public unions. Democratic State Sen. Robert Wirch may face a recall election soon, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

Dan Hunt, chairman of Taxpayers to Recall Robert Wirch, says his organization has "well over" the 13,537 signatures needed to trigger a recall election, though he said the group still has a target of 18,000 signatures, in case some are disqualified. The signatures probably will be submitted to the state Government Accountability Board next week, he said.

"Let the voters of Senate District 22 decide whether Senator Wirch was justified when he left the Senate to flee to Illinois," Hunt said, referring to the Democrats’ strategy to forestall Walker's budget-repair bill.

Recall elections could become as common as cheesehead hats at a Packers game in the wake of the Republican-Democrat standoff on the issue.

For example, eight Republicans are eligible for recall, and unions reportedly are sharpening their petition pencils, although an effort has started against only one so far, Sen. Dan Kapanke. On Friday, Democrats submitted petitions with more than 20,000 signatures to initiate a recall election against Kapanke.