The six-month saga that was Wisconsin's state Senate recall movement ended Tuesday with Democrats retaining two seats - and Republicans still in possession of a week-old, razor-thin 17-16 majority.

On the fourth election day of the summer, two Democratic incumbents were victorious. Sen. Jim Holperin (D-Conover) beat challenger and tea party activist Kim Simac of Eagle River, and Sen. Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) easily topped Republican lawyer Jonathan Steitz.

Bottom line: Republicans will continue to control the agenda in the Capitol, but it will be difficult for Gov. Scott Walker and other GOP leaders to get everything they want.

Holperin said he believes his win and that of Wirch showed that voters in both districts supported the move by the 14 Senate Democrats to leave the state earlier this year to delay a vote on the budget-repair bill that limited collective bargaining for public employees. "Maybe it shows that voters indicated they deserved more time to let their voice be heard on such an important piece of legislation," he said.

Democrats issued this statement from Wirch:

"I am proud to continue to represent the people of the Kenosha region. The future of Wisconsin depends on the strength of our working, middle-class families, and I look forward to returning to Madison with two new Democratic senators to enact a moderate Wisconsin agenda that supports them."

Meanwhile, John Hogan, chairman of the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate, said the overall results of the recalls were a sign that voters are content with Walker's policies.

"They want to keep things the way they are going," he said. "Voters were saying that recalls aren't the best way to do this."

But Mike Tate, state Democratic Party chairman, said: "At the end of this historic recall effort, Democrats have the momentum. No Democrat was defeated for standing up for our principles and standing up against the runaway, reckless agenda of Scott Walker."

Thin majority

The one-vote Senate majority means a single Republican defection could halt any legislation. Many eyes are turning to Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center), who was the only Senate Republican to vote against Walker's collective bargaining bill, which spurred the recalls of three Democrats and six Republicans.

In the recalls of the Republicans a week ago, Democrats claimed two Senate seats, leaving the GOP with a 17-16 majority.

Schultz or any other Republican could block any future legislation, assuming the 16 Democrats vote together in opposition. That gives more power to moderate Republicans like Schultz while also forcing GOP leaders to fashion legislation that can win the votes of at least some Democrats.

The narrower majority would make it tougher to win approval of controversial legislation, such as stricter abortion restrictions or tougher penalties for illegal immigrants.

Nonetheless, Republicans this year have already achieved many of the top goals that they have pursued for years. In addition to the collective bargaining changes, they approved significant cuts in state aid to schools and local governments; some tax cuts; the carrying of concealed weapons; requiring photo ID at the polls starting next year; and eliminating all taxpayer funding for political campaigns.

Speaking before the polls closed on Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) acknowledged that a tighter margin in his house could affect the flow of GOP legislation.

"The agenda will probably be items that people could perceive as not being as contentious," Fitzgerald said.

But Fitzgerald said he was still confident that Republicans could pass key remaining priorities such as legislation to boost the state's economy.

Mordecai Lee, a political scientist at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, called the results of the entire recall process "muddled" in that both Democrats and Republicans could claim some sense of victory while also experiencing defeats.

"Each side can claim they did pretty well, and that they walked off the field alive and kicking," Lee said.

Tuesday's elections closed a process that started when 14 Democratic state senators left the state on Feb. 17 in an effort to delay a vote on Walker's budget-repair bill, which proposed to curtail collective bargaining by public employees. That prompted the recalls of Wirch, Holperin and Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay).

Democrats launched their own recall efforts, claiming GOP politicians introduced the collective bargaining measure with insufficient warning.

The measure eventually did pass without the Democrats, after weeks of massive protests in Madison. It survived a court challenge and became law in June.

Both challengers in Tuesday's elections focused their attacks on the Democrats' decision to leave the state. Holperin and Wirch said they needed to leave because the GOP was rushing through the changes, and a delay in the vote gave the public a chance to digest them.

UW-La Crosse political scientist Joe Heim said that the margins in the two races were far from close, even though Holperin comes from a district that leans Republican and Wirch hails from a district that is historically Democratic.

Along with the earlier victory of Hansen, "one has to think that voters didn't want to penalize these three Democrats for leaving the state for three weeks," said Heim.

Also, Heim noted, all three Democrats were up against inexperienced candidates. "That never hurts," he said.

Holperin's seat was from the beginning of the recalls considered the most vulnerable to being taken over by a Republican, but that didn't happen Tuesday.

During the campaign, Simac, 52, a small-business owner in Vilas County, described Holperin as a "stale, career politician" who had lost touch with district residents and their concerns long before he left for Illinois in February.

Holperin, 60, a lifelong resident of the North Woods except for a 10-year gap in the 1970s, touted his endorsement from the National Rifle Association in this race and its "A" rating for his support of concealed carry as well as mentor programs for young hunters.

Holperin described himself as an effective advocate for residents of the sprawling 12th Senate District, which encompasses all or portions of 11 counties - from Menominee north to Vilas, from Lincoln east to Marinette.

He has the distinction of being the only Wisconsin lawmaker to face a recall election twice. He survived a recall election stemming from Chippewa spearfishing rights in 1990 when he was in the Assembly.

Wirch race. The 67-year-old lawmaker has held his seat since 1996; it was the first run for office for Steitz, 37.

Both men live in Pleasant Prairie. District 22 includes most of Kenosha County and the city and Town of Burlington.

Steitz said he was recruited to run against Wirch by Republicans active in the recall effort. Dan Hunt, the main Wirch recall organizer, served as Steitz's campaign spokesman.

Wirch, who served in the Assembly before he was elected to the Senate, points to what he considers his "proven record of fighting for the underdog - for the disabled, elderly, autistic children, seniors and the working class."

He called Steitz a Chicago corporate lawyer who wouldn't fight in Madison for the middle class.

Steitz countered that it's time for a new vision and new policies. He said he favored simplifying the tax code, reducing regulations and creating jobs.

"The way to help the middle class is by creating jobs and a business environment in which businesses want to expand," he said.

Even though Wirch won Tuesday, under new legislative maps adopted by the Legislature and signed by Walker, he'll live outside the district in the next election. The same was true of his opponent.

A federal lawsuit has been filed over those maps, meaning they may change before the November 2012 elections.

Journal Sentinel reporters Jason Stein, Patrick Marley and Emma Roller contributed to this report.