If you've ever followed Twitter on election nights, you've probably seen jokes about how we've yet to learn the results from "crucial Waukesha County" that are sure to affect the outcome—whatever the race. Those ancient wisecracks, incredibly dated in Internet years, hark back to an unexpectedly close race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court in 2011.
As fury over Gov. Scott Walker's evisceration of union rights boiled over that winter, progressives took aim at a sitting justice, David Prosser, a former Republican speaker of the state Assembly who was up for re-election. Though the race was officially nonpartisan, there was no question as to where Prosser's loyalties lay, and Democrats grew eager to see state prosecutor JoAnne Kloppenburg unseat him.
It almost happened, too. Kloppenburg entered the race as a serious underdog—Prosser had led the way in the top-two primary by a dominant 55-25 margin—but on the night of the general election, she appeared to have pulled off a stunning 200-vote upset. However, in a heartbreaking turnabout the very next day, it turned out that Waukesha County, a heavily Republican county in the Milwaukee suburbs, had completely botched its count.
Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus, a Republican who had worked under Prosser in the Assembly, became instantly infamous when she claimed she had failed to save the results on her computer, leading to the discovery of almost 15,000 new votes. That gave Prosser a lead of about 7,000 votes, and he was ultimately declared the victor in a statewide recount by a 50.2 to 49.8 margin.
Now, half a decade later, Kloppenburg is back. On Tuesday night, she finished second in a primary for another state Supreme Court seat, trailing incumbent Rebecca Bradley by a narrow 45-43 margin. Bradley was only appointed in October to fill a vacancy, and the man who gave her the job, Scott Walker, is deeply unpopular with Wisconsinites—more than he ever was at the height of the union protests—thanks in part to his failed presidential bid. Kloppenburg, naturally, is doing everything she can to tie Bradley to the governor.
What's more, a third candidate, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Joe Donald, took 12 percent and had been supported by liberals, too, including former Democratic Sen. Herb Kohl. Kloppenburg is therefore arguing that she's likely to pick up Donald's support in the April general election, though he hasn't endorsed anyone yet. While progressives would have dearly loved to see Kloppenburg prevail five years ago, it'd still be a satisfying coda if she can defeat a Walker appointee now.
