All eyes on Wisconsin as today’s vote for state supreme court justice is considered a potential referendum on Governor Walker budget bill that limits big union power in Wisconsin. Incumbent Justice David Prosser is being painted as a “Walker Clone” by organized labor in their determination to see Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg replace him on the bench. Kloppenburg has signaled she doesn’t agree with the new budget law. The fate of that law is expected to be decided by the court which would tilt left with her election. Incumbents usually have a nearly insurmountable advantage in state supreme court races but not in this one — outside interest groups have spent millions on both sides in an unprecedented media blitz while unions have every boot on the ground in Madison, Green Bay and Milwaukee attempting to flush out liberal voters. Already over 7000 absentee ballots have been returned in Madison, outpacing the 2008 presidential primary returns. Political observers feel internal polling must show the race as neck in neck, given the amount of money and manpower being poured into the last few days of the campaign.
