Politics & Government

Wanggaard Says Race Is Too Close To Call

Sen. Van Wanggaard and his supporters left their election night party about one hour before former Sen. John Lehman declared victory. If the win holds when all the votes are counted, Wanggaard would be the only Republican who lost in the recalls.

UPDATED 1:08 a.m.: The definitive answer to who won the 21st Senate seat was not answered in Sen. Van Wannggaard's mind, even though John Lehman declared himself the winner of the race.

With all City of Racine locations reporting, Lehman retained his lead 31,410 to 31.092, according to numbers tallied by Patch using figures from the county and the City of Racine. Wanggaard and supporters were at Buona Vita tonight waiting to see if he will keep his seat following the recall election.

"The numbers are so close," Wanggaard said to a dwindling crowd at about midnight. "We don't really know where we're at."

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Wanggaard told the crowd that they would see what the officials were in the morning and decide what their options are in the morning.

"I want to thank everyone who had a part in this campaign," he said.

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Earlier in the evening, at Wanggaard's party, the crowd erupted after they found out that Gov. Scott Walker is the projected winner and started chanting for Wanggaard. We're also hearing unconfirmed reports that the power is out at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Center.  

Wanggaard said he spent the day talking to business owners and his constituents.

"It was a very positive day. A lot of people were charged up," Wanggaard said. "A lot weren't happy that we were even having the recall."

Former Sen. John Lehman is the challenger. Wanggaard was elected over then-incumbent Lehman in November 2010.  When enough signatures were turned in to force a recall, Lehman declared candidacy for his old seat. 

Also on the ballot today were recall elections for Gov. Scott Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and three other state senators. Polls are open until 8 p.m.


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