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Politics & Government

UPDATE: Republican Isaac Weix to Run as Democrat in Harsdorf Recall Primary Election

A Wisconsin state GOP official is calling for the tactic Republicans time to communicate with voters after the state budget is approved. Isaac Weix is now collecting signatures to get on the ballot as a Democrat in Senate District 10.

UPDATE (4:25 p.m., June 6, 2011): Isaac Weix from Elmwood, a former Republican Wisconsin State Assembly candidate now living in Menomonie, is collecting signatures to run against Democrat Shelly Moore in the primary of this summer's Wisconsin State Senate recall election. 

Hudson Patch has obtained . In the petition statement Weix transparently states that his campaign is a protest campaign.  

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UPDATE (3:45 p.m., June 6, 2011): Friends of Sheila Harsdorf campaign spokesperson Nathan Duerkop sent the following statement to Hudson Patch:

"Ever since the recall campaign was organized and funded by out-of-district special interests, Sheila Harsdorf has continued doing the work the voters sent her to do - balance the budget and serve taxpayers.  Last month, our campaign called attention to the fact that many recall petitioners from out-of-district were circulating the petitions, some from as far away as New York and Michigan.  Now, we learn that given the nature of this unprecedented recall campaign, the other side is playing games.  Quite frankly, we would have hoped Shelly Moore would have been as vocal about out-of-district influences as she is today about the state party’s apparent involvement.  We know that Sheila does not support either of these tactics, but it's a symptom of a recall process managed and run by big spending special interests that are prepared to spend millions to get Moore elected."

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The Shelly Moore campaign sent the following statement to Hudson Patch:

"It appears as though the GOP Senators will stop at nothing to avoid being held accountable," said Shelly Moore. "Now they are resorting to dirty tricks in order to delay elections, create confusion and chaos, and avoid being judged by voters in recall elections. Senator Harsdorf must pledge to oppose any similar tactics, and the Republican Party must immediately shut down this partisan, coordinated attack on democracy that wastes taxpayer dollars. These elections must get underway so the State can heal. These underhanded tactics serve no purpose but to divide us further."

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Stephan Thompson, executive director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, released the following statement on Monday:

"The upcoming recall elections are unprecedented not only in Wisconsin, but in our nation’s history. Unlike the Democratic Senators who deserted their constituents for a trip to Illinois, six Republican state Senators face recall not for misconduct, but for doing the job they were elected to do: taking a stance on a tough issue that came before the legislature."

"Now, these Republican senators are again busy doing their jobs crafting a fiscally responsible state budget that promotes economic growth, which puts them at a distinct disadvantage with many of their challengers who have had sufficient time to campaign. Because of this disadvantage, and the outrageous nature of elected officials facing recall for standing up for a balanced budget, the Republican Party of Wisconsin has advocated that protest candidates run in Democratic primaries to ensure that Republican legislators have ample time to communicate with voters throughout their districts after the state budget is approved."

"The public deserves time to learn about the differences between the candidates and about the Republican plan to control government spending and boost economic growth vs. the Democrat alternative of job-killing tax hikes."

Hudson Patch has left messages with both the Sheila Harsdorf campaign and the Shelly Moore campaign. We will update this post with any comments we receive from them.

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