Six Primaries Scheduled for Wisconsin Senate Recall Elections

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) recently announced that primaries would be held for six recall elections because more than one challenger seeks the Democratic Party nomination.

The primaries will be held in the six districts in which Senate Republican members face recalls on July 12, with the regular recall election to follow on Aug. 9.

These primaries are a result of the Republican tactic of running "protest candidates" in Democratic Primaries to give the Senate members facing recall elections more time to prep.

In District 10, currently represented by Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-District 10), candidate Shelly Moore will be facing off against Isaac Weix, a former Republican Wisconsin State Assembly candidate now living in Menomonie.

The other primaries will be held for the recalls of Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-District 32), Sen. Randy Hopper (R-District 18), Sen. Luther Olsen (R-District 14), Sen. Alberta Darling (R-District 8) and Sen. Robert Cowles (R-District 2).

No primaries have been announced in the recall elections for Sen. Jim Holpering (D-District 12), Sen. Robert Wirch (D-District 22) and Sen. Dave Hansen (D-District 30).

----

Rep. Dean Knudson (R-District 30)

• On Thursday, June 16, Rep. Knudson voted in favor of the Wisconsin Budget Bill. The bill passed both the Assembly and Senate along party lines; it now awaits the signature of Gov. Walker.
• The Assembly has scheduled a vote for SB93, the conceal and carry bill; the vote is scheduled for Tuesday, June 21. The legislation, co-sponsored by Knudson, seeks to create a licensing system under which an individual is permitted to carry a concealed weapon. Individuals would be able to apply for said permit through the Department of Justice. The bill already passed the Senate on June 14 with a 25-8 vote. SB93 is the only piece of legislation scheduled for a vote on Tuesday; once it clears the Assembly it will go to the desk of Gov. Walker, who is a supporter of the bill. Currently, Wisconsin and Illinois are the only states in the country that do not allow carrying concealed weapons.
• Knudson has a Committee on Education meeting scheduled for Thursday, June 9.

Sen. Sheila Harsdorf (R-District 10)

• SB 54, legislation co-authored by Sen. Harsdorf that seeks to ban synthetic marijuana in the state of Wisconsin, recently passed the Assembly, and now awaits the signature of Gov. Walker. 
• On Thursday, June 16, Harsdorf voted in favor of the Wisconsin Biennial Budget. The bill passed both the Assembly and Senate along party lines; it now awaits the signature of Gov. Walker.
• Harsdorf has no committee meetings scheduled for the week.

Rep. Ron Kind (D-WI)

• An amendment introduced by Rep. Kind to HR 2112, more commonly referred to as the Agriculture Appropriation Bill of 2012, passed with bi-partisan support and was added to HR 2112. Kind's amendment seeks to  to prohibit the use of taxpayer subsidies to the Brazilian Cotton Institute, and will save the United States $147 million a year. In a press release, Kind stated 
  "I’m pleased that a bipartisan group of Members agreed with me that supporting Brazil’s cotton industry with taxpayer dollars is wasteful and unnecessary."
• While the amendment written by Kind was successfully added to HR 2112, the Agriculture Appropriations Act of 2012, Kind still voted against the legislation as a whole. He commented that "the bill as a whole still irresponsibly overlooks other commonsense cuts such as the billions of dollars in outdated farm subsidies going to very few large agribusinesses. We cannot afford to continue spending carelessly and cutting recklessly, especially in this tough economy." Having passed the House of Representatives with a 217-203 vote, 12 members abstained from voting.
• On Tuesday, June 14, Kind voted in favor of HR 2055, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2012. The legislation appropriates a budget for construction-related projects for the Department of Defense (DOD). Having passed the House of Representatives with a 411-5 vote, the bill now awaits a vote in the Senate.
• Kind has no committee meetings scheduled for the week.
• In his weekly Youtube video, Kind discusses missed opportunities to make commonsense cuts to wasteful and unnecessary spending in the Agriculture Appropriations Bill of 2012.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI)

• On Tuesday, June 14, Sen. Johnson appeared on MSNBC's Morning Joe to discuss the Federal debt, and the best ways to encourage economic growth. You can watch the full interview here.
• Sen. Johnson has two meetings schedule for the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs scheduled for the week; one is scheduled for Wednesday, June 22 at 10:00 am, and the second is scheduled for Thursday, June 23 at 10:00 am.
• Tweet of the week: "As Greece faces the possibility of another bailout, a sobering reminder of why we need to get our debt under control."

Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI)

• On Thursday, June 16, Sen. Kohl’s Justice for Troops Act was included as an amendment when the Senate Armed Services Committee passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012. The bi-partisan legislation, originally introduced in May along with Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), is intended to help connect service members to quality pro bono legal assistance.
• Kohl has two Committee on the Judiciary meetings scheduled for the week; the first is on Monday, June 20 at 11:00 am, the second in on Wednesday, June 22 at 2:30 pm.
• Kohl has two Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs meeting scheduled for the week; the first is on Tuesday, June 21 at 10:00 am, the second is on Thursday, June 23 at 10:00 am.