State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout Enters Governor Recall Race

Democratic state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, a former dairy farmer and college professor from the tiny western Wisconsin town of Alma, has announced that she will challenge Gov. Scott Walker in his probable recall election.

The 53-year-old is the second candidate to announce her candidacy; former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has also declared she will be running.

Vinehout is running as an outsider, aloof from contentious Madison politics.

“We are living in unconventional times, and maybe it's time for an unconventional candidate who runs an unconventional campaign,” she said, according to the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. “Maybe it's time for someone who's different.”

She was one of 14 democrats who left the state for Illinois in an unsuccessful attempt to block Walker’s union bargaining bill, the Milwauke Journal-Sentinel noted. She won re-election in 2010 in a close race.

Vinehout taught health administration at the University of Illinois at Springfield before she was elected five years ago to serve the 31st Senate District.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and former U.S. Rep. Dave Obey’s names have also been floated as possible candidates to run against Walker, but neither have declared.

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Rep. Dean Knudson (R-District 30)

• Knudson’s bill, A.B. 555, which would allow school boards to call special elections to deal with emergency projects, was introduced and referred to the committee on Education.
• Knudson’s bill, A.B. 556, which would require food stamp recipients between the ages of 18 and 60 to undergo an employment training program, was introduced and referred to the committee on Homeland Security and State Affairs.

Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-District 10)

• Harsdorf’s bill, S.B. 402, which would allow the waiver of the requirement to obtain a water pollution discharge permit for research projects under certain circumstances, was reported out of committee.
• A fiscal estimate was received for Harsdorf’s bill, S.B. 396, which would allow the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection to pay contracted administrators of the livestock premises registration program.
• Harsdorf .

Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)

• Kind wrote in The Hill about the childhood obesity epidemic. “Obesity is also a serious budget concern, as we spend $168 billion/year on obesity-related healthcare expenses,” he wrote.
• Kind supported a proposal to ban insider trading by members of Congress.
• Kind co-wrote an open letter to Gov. Walker, asking the state to end its enrollment limits for the Family-Care program, which helps elderly and disabled citizens stay out of nursing homes.
• In an event with Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Kind took questions on “the role of employers in pushing for payment reform in the health care system.”

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

• At CPAC, the annual D.C. conservative activist conference, Johnson said, “President Obama is not someone we can compromise with—President Obama is someone we must defeat.”
• Johnson voted to extend the ban on insider trading to White House officials who must be confirmed by the Senate and senior federal employees.
• Johnson asked Federal Reserve Chair Ben Bernanke whether the government can “extract more than 18.1 percent of GDP” in taxes without damaging the economy.

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)

• Kohl voted to extend the ban on insider trading to White House officials who must be confirmed by the Senate and senior federal employees.
• Kohl co-wrote an open letter to Gov. Walker, asking the state to end its enrollment limits for the Family-Care program, which helps elderly and disabled citizens stay out of nursing homes.
• Kohl warned that a proposed congressional provision could hinder the FCC’s ability to offer competitive auctions of the airwaves.
• Kohl co-wrote a letter urging the Office of Management and Budget to release a delayed rule to create a medical device identification system