The latest vote totals has JoAnne Kloppenburg leading David Prosser by 204 votes. Challenger declares win in Wis. judicial race

Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate JoAnne Kloppenburg declared victory Wednesday afternoon as the latest vote totals from The Associated Press had her leading incumbent Justice David Prosser by 204 votes. A recount is expected.

The race for a seat on the high court has become a proxy for the state’s fight over public-sector unions, with Kloppenburg representing the pro-organized labor contingent and Prosser the anti. Through Tuesday night and into Wednesday, results were too close to call, but in the mid-afternoon, Kloppenburg made the call.


“We owe Justice Prosser our gratitude for his more than 30 years of public service,” she said in a statement. “Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust. I will be independent and impartial and I will decide cases based on the facts and the law. As I have traveled the state, people tell me they believe partisan politics do not belong in our courts. I look forward to bringing new blood to the Supreme Court and focusing my energy on the important work Wisconsin residents elect Supreme Court justices to do.”

Prosser’s campaign has not made an official statement and did not immediately respond to POLITICO’s request for comment.

Just two months ago, Prosser’s easy win of a second 10-year term on the high court would have been a foregone conclusion. In a nonpartisan primary in February, Prosser won 55 percent of the vote, while Kloppenburg, an assistant state attorney general, came in second with 28 percent.

But Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s legislation curtailing the collective-bargaining rights of public sector unions reframed the race as a referendum on the controversial law, which he signed in March after the Republican majority in the state Senate forced a vote with no Democrats present.

The law is on hold as a lower state court examines it, and appeals could reach the state Supreme Court. The law’s opponents see Kloppenburg’s place on the court as shifting the majority on the seven-judge panel to the left and more likely to strike down the law, while the law’s backers see Prosser as likely to keep it in place.

More than $5 million in outside money from both sides has been poured into the race, from labor unions, progressive activists, tea party groups and businesses. Blogs across the political spectrum have been abuzz and Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin weighed in to voice her support for Prosser. Election officials in Madison, Milwaukee and throughout the state observed higher-than-usual voter turnout for the kind of election that typically brings out only the most dedicated of voters.

At a press conference Wednesday, Walker told reporters that the statewide race was close only because of the liberal leanings of Madison and Milwaukee. “You’ve got a world driven by Madison, and a world driven by everybody else out across the majority of the rest of the state of Wisconsin,” he said. “For those who believe it’s a referendum, while it might have a statewide impact that we may lean one way or the other, it’s largely driven by Madison, and to a lesser extent Milwaukee.”

Even before Prosser declared victory, Democrats were saying they’d won. “There’s no question that this is a very significant victory regardless of the outcome” of the election, state Sen. Mark Miller said Wednesday on a conference call. “The fact that this Supreme Court candidate rose from relative obscurity” to a neck-and-neck race with an incumbent, he said, “is a real testament to the grassroots work” done by party activists.

Despite Kloppenburg’s declaration of a win, the votes are in all likelihood headed for a recount.

Prosser told supporters at an election night party, “There is little doubt there is going to be a recount in this race,” the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported. Earlier Wednesday, Prosser’s campaign director remained hopeful. “I think we’re confident. We have had a record turnout, but it will be a close election,” Brian Nemoir told the paper.