Eric Holder group sues Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker for not calling special elections

Jason Stein | USA TODAY

MADISON, Wis. — A group led by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder sued Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker Monday over his refusal to call special elections to fill two open legislative seats.

Fresh off a victory in a Senate special election last month, Wisconsin Democrats have demanded that Walker call these two additional special elections and give their party an opportunity to notch more wins.

With Democrats seeing an opportunity — and Republicans seeing a threat — the controversy over the special election has taken on a strong political cast.

Holder's group, the National Democratic Redistricting Committee, jumped into the fight Monday, bringing the lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court on behalf of Wisconsin Democrats who live in the two districts.

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“Governor Scott Walker’s refusal to hold special elections is an affront to representative democracy,” Holder said in a statement. “Forcing citizens to go more than a year without representation in the general Assembly is a plain violation of their rights, and we’re hopeful the court will act quickly to order the governor to hold elections.”

Holder, who served as President Obama's first attorney general, has been leading an effort to help Democrats win statehouse races nationally, including Wisconsin races for governor and state Senate. These state campaigns take on added importance as the country gets closer to 2020 and 2021, when the next round of redistricting will draw the lines of legislative and congressional seats nationally.

Walker spokeswoman Amy Hasenberg said the governor's decision is "consistent with the law."

"This D.C.-based special interest group wants to force Wisconsin taxpayers to waste money," Hasenberg said. "The Legislature will be adjourned for 2018 before these seats could be filled in special elections, and staff in these offices are working for constituents until new leaders are elected."

In December, two GOP lawmakers — Sen. Frank Lasee of De Pere and Rep. Keith Ripp of Lodi — resigned to take jobs in the Walker administration. Walker's office said at the time he would leave those seats to be filled in the regularly scheduled elections in those districts in November.

The lawsuit was brought by the National Redistricting Foundation — an affiliate of Holder's group — and the legal team includes Democratic attorney Marc Elias, who served as the general counsel for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign.

The case will hinge in part on a state law that says Walker must promptly call a special election to fill any legislative seat that becomes vacant "before the 2nd Tuesday in May in the year in which a regular election is held."

Walker aide Tom Evenson has said that means Walker doesn't need to hold a special election since the vacancies occurred not in 2018 — the election year — but in 2017.

Democrats argue this reading of the law makes little sense since a vacancy in 2017 leads to the seats sitting vacant for more time, not less. That ought to argue for holding a special election, they say.

Both sides are clearly looking at a January special election in which Democrat Patty Schachtner won a northwestern Wisconsin Senate seat that a Republican had held for 17 years.

"(Walker) knows voters will reject his party’s failing agenda, so he’s decided that he won’t let them vote,” said Doug Hyant, executive director of the state Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee.

The Assembly held what Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said would be its final session day on Friday, though it might possibly return next month to settle a dispute over a tax cut bill. A spokeswoman for Vos had no immediate response to the lawsuit.

The Senate is expected to meet at least one more time on March 20. Republicans have a 63-35 advantage in the Assembly with one vacancy and an 18-14 advantage in the Senate with one vacancy.

Ripp’s former seat, Assembly District 42, is just north of Madison and includes most of Columbia County, as well as parts of Dane, Dodge, Fond du Lac, Green Lake and Marquette counties. Lasee’s former seat, Senate District 1, includes portions of Door, Kewaunee, Manitowoc, Brown and Calumet counties.

Holder's group has said he would campaign in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, in which Sauk County Circuit Judge Michael Screnock has won backing from conservatives and Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet has had support from liberals.

In an interview, Dallet said she was unaware of the lawsuit, which could potentially come before her or Screnock if the case reaches the state Supreme Court following the April 3 election.

"I care deeply about making sure our courts are fair and there's confidence in our courts," Dallet said, declining to weigh in about any potential conflict. "If there's a conflict that I have, I'll make sure to recuse myself from cases."

Follow Jason Stein on Twitter: @jasonmdstein