Gov. Scott Walker Credit: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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Madison - Gov. Scott Walker is open to having Wisconsin allocate its Electoral College votes based on results from each congressional district - a move that would offer Republicans a chance to score at least a partial victory in a state that has gone Democratic in the last seven presidential elections.

The idea is being considered in other battleground states that have tipped toward Democrats as Republicans try to develop a national plan to capture the presidency in future years.

The GOP governor said he found the notion intriguing but neither embraced it nor rejected it.

"To me, it's an interesting concept, it's a plausible concept, but it's not one where I'm convinced either of its merits or lack thereof," he said in a recent interview at the governor's mansion in Maple Bluff.

Democrats promised to fight such a change, saying they viewed it as a way for Republicans to try to rig elections to their advantage.

"They cannot win a fair and square election in a presidential year, so (they say) we have to change the rules of the game," said Mike Tate, chairman of the state Democratic Party.

Walker's fellow Republicans will control both houses of the Legislature starting next month, giving them the opportunity to reallocate how electoral votes are doled out.

Like 47 other states, Wisconsin grants all its electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the statewide vote. Two states - Nebraska and Maine - give two electoral votes to the statewide winner and parcel out the rest by congressional district. As it happens, all their votes have gone to a single candidate, except in 2008, when one electoral vote in Omaha was given to Barack Obama.

If Wisconsin adopted such a system, the votes would be split routinely. If the state had such a system this year, Obama would have gotten five votes and his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney, would have gotten five. That's because Romney won the majority vote in five congressional districts, while Obama won the majority in three congressional districts and the statewide vote.

Wisconsin has gone for the Democratic candidate in every presidential election since 1988. It has continued to draw attention from both parties, nonetheless, with the results in 2000 and 2004 being extremely close.

Battleground status

The statewide results were much wider in 2008 and this year, prompting concerns from Republicans that Wisconsin - as well as some other battleground states - were now out of reach.

The Badger State's distinction as a battleground has meant it enjoys frequent visits from presidential candidates and their surrogates, as well as a glut of political ads. Walker acknowledged Wisconsin would likely lose that distinction if it split up its Electoral College votes by congressional districts.

"I think being a battleground state is a good thing because we get to hear from the candidates, people are interested in us," Walker said. "I think for a lot of people if (changing the allocation of Electoral College votes is) viewed as diminishing that prospect, there might be reluctance."

But Walker also argued "if you applied that standard today we'd still be a battleground state" because Wisconsin would have split its Electoral College votes between each party's candidate.

He recognized, however, that such a situation would mean fewer candidate visits to overwhelmingly Democratic places like Milwaukee and Madison or overwhelmingly Republican areas like suburban Milwaukee. The candidates would know most Electoral College votes were either in the bag or unattainable.

"You'd basically have people spend a lot of time in Green Bay and Wausau because those are competitive seats," Walker said.

Key states targeted

In the weeks since Obama won re-election, Republicans are now eyeing splitting up electoral votes in other key battleground states, according to the National Journal. If Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania went to such a system, Republicans would have a chance to edge into the national Electoral College advantage that Democrats now enjoy.

While those states lend an advantage to Democrats in presidential years, Republicans control all of state government in those three states after the GOP sweep of 2010.

The Republican National Committee is monitoring the states that are looking at changing how they allocate their Electoral College votes, RNC spokesman Ryan Mahoney said.

Wisconsin legislators have not yet weighed in on the matter.

Incoming Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) declined to comment on the idea through spokeswoman Kit Beyer because no bill had been drafted on the measure. Beyer said Assembly Republicans are focused on other issues for now, such as fixing the economy.

Democrats wary

Democrats expressed concerns about the notion.

"I think that it is ludicrous to move away from awarding our electoral votes to the person who wins our state," said Tate of the Democratic Party. "I think that any other alternative is a continuation of the Republican policies to try to prevent people from voting or trying to find some way to demean and diminish the voices of Wisconsin voters.

"I would anticipate a gigantic fight because I think the people of Wisconsin would be appalled and aghast because the people we vote for wouldn't receive our votes."

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) said none of Wisconsin's eight congressional districts is very competitive, which would make the allocation of most electoral votes a foregone conclusion.

"It divides us as a state and it's the Republicans gaming the presidential system," Erpenbach said.

Tate and Erpenbach compared the proposal to the GOP push for a voter ID law and for elimination of the ability of voters to register at the polls on election day, saying Republicans are trying to find political advantage by rigging elections.

Republicans last year bolstered their chances in congressional races by redrawing district lines. Those boundaries have to be redrawn every decade to account for population changes, and Republicans were able to use that opportunity to their advantage since they controlled state government.

They boosted GOP numbers in the congressional seats held by Republican Reps. Paul Ryan of Janesville, Sean Duffy of Weston and Reid Ribble of Appleton. To do so, they ceded the Democratic edge in the seat held by Rep. Ron Kind of La Crosse.