7/14/11 – Wisconsin taxpayers could wind up spending close to a half-million dollars on the state Senate recall elections. And State Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate says Republicans should reimburse taxpayers. He said the G-O-P abused the process by putting up fake Democrats to run against the real ones in Tuesday’s six primaries. Republicans said the primaries were necessary to give their Senate incumbents some time to campaign, after they spent months acting on the new state budget. John Hogan, who’s managing the Senate Republicans, said the Democrats should pay for the elections because they and labor unions suggested them in the first place. Waupun City Clerk/Treasurer Angie Hull estimates that Tuesday’s recall election primary will end up costing the city between $2500 and $3000. The city is part of the 18th State Senate district where Democrat Jessica King beat protest candidate John Buckstaff by taking about 75-percent of the vote. She’ll move on and challenge Randy Hopper in next month’s election, which Hull says will again cost the city a couple thousand dollars.
