Visual source: Newseum
They said WI is a divided state but you can't split down the middle any more than this:
Supreme Court REPORTING 99%
David Prosser (inc) 733,074 50%
Joanne Kloppenburg 732,489 50%
Thanks to the Swing State Project crew for such sharp analysis, and for all you Badgers (activists and voters) who proved yet again that every vote (and every GOTV) counts. Can you spell "recount"?
First Read:
The political fight in Wisconsin won't be ending any time soon -- with court battles and recall elections on the horizon. And today, there are two general-election races in the state that some may view as referendums on Gov. Scott Walker (R). In the race to replace Walker as Milwaukee County executive, nonpartisan (though Democratic leaning) Chris Abele faces off against Republican Jeff Stone. ..
Is Walker toxic? If Democrats win one or both of these races by tying the Republican to Walker, it could be further evidence that Walker is politically toxic in Wisconsin and that Dems have the momentum in the state. And these two contests are just the beginning: The first recall election of a GOP state senator looks like it will take place a couple of months from now…
AP:
Wisconsin's fight over union rights came to a head at the polls as voters split almost evenly over whether to re-elect a conservative-leaning justice or give his little-known opponent his seat on the state Supreme Court.
The race between Justice David Prosser and challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg was too close to call early Wednesday morning. With 99% of precincts reporting, Prosser led Kloppenburg by fewer than 600 votes. Final, official results could vary and a recount appeared likely.
The race reflected the divide in the state over Republican Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining law, which would strip public workers of nearly all their union rights. The issue, which could ultimately be decided by the state Supreme Court, propelled the relatively unknown Kloppenburg into prominence and heightened voter interest in the election.
jsonline:
Chris Abele - a 44-year-old philanthropist, scion of a wealthy Boston family and political neophyte - handily defeated state Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale) at the polls Tuesday to become the next Milwaukee County executive.
Abele had 61% of the vote to 39% for Stone, according to unofficial results with all votes counted...
Stone on defensive
Stone found himself on the defensive over Walker's collective bargaining bill since voting twice for it in February, following a three-week period in which news coverage of protests in Madison overshadowed other political news.
While often protesting critic's claims he'd be a carbon copy of Walker, Stone said he and Walker shared a similar conservative philosophy. Stone also advocated for county policies pioneered by Walker, including ruling out tax increases, pursuing a possible long-term lease of Mitchell International Airport to a private firm and relying on business expansion to drive a county financial resurgence.
A key part of Stone's plan to fix the county's long-term budget shortfall was to reform employee health care with a wellness incentives and primary care available in or near county offices.
Dana Milbank:
“This is not a budget,” Paul Ryan said as he introduced the Republicans’ 10-year budget plan. “This is a cause.”
Truer words have never been spoken.
The document released by the chairman of the House Budget Committee isn’t a serious budget proposal because it fails at the central mission of ending the deficit and taming the debt.
Harold Meyerson:
If it does nothing else, the budget that House Republicans unveiled Tuesday provides the first real Republican program for the 21st century, and it is this:
Repeal the 20th century.
NY Times:
United States government engineers sent to help with the crisis in Japan are warning that the troubled nuclear plant there is facing a wide array of fresh threats that could persist indefinitely, and that in some cases are expected to increase as a result of the very measures being taken to keep the plant stable, according to a confidential assessment prepared by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Among the new threats that were cited in the assessment, dated March 26, are the mounting stresses placed on the containment structures as they fill with radioactive cooling water, making them more vulnerable to rupture in one of the aftershocks rattling the site after the earthquake and tsunami of March 11. The document also cites the possibility of explosions inside the containment structures due to the release of hydrogen and oxygen from the water used to cool the cores, and offers new details on how semimolten fuel rods and salt buildup are impeding the flow of water meant to cool the nuclear cores.