<div dir="ltr"><div><font face="Thread-00000268-Id-00000021" size="2">Vision2020 Post: Ted Moffett</font></div><div><em><font face="Thread-00000268-Id-00000021" size="4">----------------------------</font></em></div><div><font face="Times New Roman"><a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/patty-schactner-wins_us_5a5ec4e2e4b096ecfca88c03">https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/patty-schactner-wins_us_5a5ec4e2e4b096ecfca88c03</a><span></span></font></div><div><em><font face="Times New Roman"><br></font></em></div><div class="gmail-timestamp"><span class="gmail-timestamp__date--published">01/16/2018 10:56 pm ET</span> <span class="gmail-timestamp__date--modified"><strong><font face="Thread-00000268-Id-00000020">Updated</font></strong> 8 hours ago </span> </div> <div class="gmail-headline gmail-js-headline"><h1 class="gmail-headline__title">Democrats Score Special Election Upset In Wisconsin GOP Stronghold</h1><h3 class="gmail-headline__subtitle">Donald Trump won the 10th Senate District in Wisconsin handily in 2016</h3><p class="gmail-headline__subtitle">By Amanda Terkel</p></div><div class="entry__content gmail-js-entry-content"><div class="entry__body gmail-js-entry-body"><div class="entry__text gmail-js-entry-text gmail-bn-entry-text gmail-yr-entry-text" id="entry-text"><div class="gmail-advertisement gmail-sharebox_260x60"><div class="gmail-ad_share_box"><div class="gmail-sharebox-label" style="font:0.6em/normal sans-serif;color:rgb(144,144,144);display:none;font-size-adjust:none;font-stretch:normal"><a class="gmail-share-bar-highlight__facebook gmail-js-highlight-share-button gmail-bn-share-item gmail-yr-share-item gmail-bn-clickable">ADVERTISEMENT</a></div><div class="gmail-ad_wrapper" id="gmail-ad_sharebox_260x60" style="background:none;padding:0px"><div class="gmail-adtech-adspot gmail-ad-sharebox_260x60" id="gmail-adsDiv3"><a class="gmail-share-bar-highlight__facebook gmail-js-highlight-share-button gmail-bn-share-item gmail-yr-share-item gmail-bn-clickable">Democrat Patty Schachtner won a special election for a state Senate seat in Wisconsin on Tuesday, scoring a huge upset victory for her party in a district that President </a><a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/donald-trump">Donald Trump</a> handily captured just over a year ago. </div></div></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>It was the latest in a string of election victories for <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/democratic-party">Democrats</a> since Trump took office, and a sign of hope for the party that the energy from the base and frustration with the president could lead to more wins in November.</p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p><span dir="ltr">Schachtner, the chief medical examiner for St. Croix County, <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://twitter.com/jasonmdstein/status/953691601523519489" target="_blank">won by 11 percentage points</a>. </span></p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>Republican Sheila Harsdorf <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="http://www.leadertelegram.com/News/Front-Page/2018/01/13/div-class-libPageBodyLinebreak-Race-on-for-10th-Senate-District-seat-div.html" target="_blank">had held the seat since 2001</a>, but she left in November to become Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s agriculture secretary. In 2016, Harsdorf won re-election by <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.wpr.org/democrat-wins-10th-state-senate-special-election" target="_blank">26 percentage points</a>, and Trump beat Democratic rival <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/hillary-clinton">Hillary Clinton</a> by 17 points. Republican presidential candidate <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/topic/mitt-romney">Mitt Romney</a> won the district in 2012. </p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>“This campaign was about investing in people and revitalizing our area, whether that is making sure that every Wisconsinite has access to affordable health care, funding our public schools, technical colleges and UW campuses, or investing in good-paying jobs right here in Western Wisconsin,” Schachtner said in a <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://twitter.com/jessieopie/status/953473656683888641" target="_blank">statement</a>. “Tonight, voters showed that they share those priorities, and I am deeply grateful for their support.”</p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>Attorney Adam Jarchow, Schachtner’s GOP opponent, conceded the race Tuesday night. </p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component embed-a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 </div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>Republicans clearly sensed that this district was vulnerable. The conservative Americans for Prosperity <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.jsonline.com/story/news/politics/2018/01/12/tuesdays-wisconsin-senate-special-election-could-bellwether-2018-legislative-races/1024131001/" target="_blank">spent at least $50,000 on ads</a>, and the Wisconsin Alliance for Reform and Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce threw in another $80,000. </p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>On the Democratic side, Greater Wisconsin <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/1/16/1733363/-On-Wisconsin-Democrats-flip-first-red-to-blue-seat-of-2018-in-epic-Badger-State-upset" target="_blank">spent $30,000</a>, and the National Democratic Redistricting Committee spent $10,000. </p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>Republicans will still control the state Legislature, with <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/democrat-wins-special-election-in-northwestern-wisconsin/article_ddbdd542-800e-506b-8882-78c9551fc034.html" target="_blank">an 18-14 majority</a> and one vacancy in the Senate. </p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>Democrats have fared well in other special elections since Trump became president, scoring big wins in <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/democrats-wave-2017_us_5a0267e1e4b092053058cdad">Virginia</a>, <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/doug-jones-wins_us_5a3026a9e4b091ca26833755">Alabama,</a> <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/360595-oklahoma-democrats-win-state-senate-seat-in-red-district" target="_blank">Oklahoma</a> and other places around the country. The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee, which works to elect Democrats to state office, said that, with the win in Wisconsin, there are <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="http://www.dlcc.org/press/wisconsin-democrats-flip-34th-seat-red-blue" target="_blank">34 districts</a> that have flipped from red to blue since Trump’s inauguration.</p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>Walker is up for re-election this year, and he has built up a formidable political machine in the state. So far, there’s a crowded field of Democrats running to unseat him, but there’s no solid front-runner. </p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>The governor tweeted Tuesday night, however, that Republicans needed to acknowledge that 2018 was shaping up to be a tough year. </p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component embed-asset gmail-bn-content-list-embed gmail-yr-content-list-embed">

 </div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p>Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) is also running in 2018, and her seat is <a class="gmail-bn-clickable" href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/tammy-baldwin-wisconsin_us_5a4bd21ce4b0b0e5a7a91159">a prime target for Republicans</a>. Conservative groups have so far spent at least <a href="https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/outside-spending-targets-wisconsin-sen-tammy-baldwin_us_5a1f1205e4b00579aa29f9f1" target="_blank">$3.1 million</a> against Baldwin, which is more than what all the other Democratic Senate incumbents on the ballot this year have faced combined (under $550,000), according to the Center for Responsive Politics.</p></div><div class="gmail-content-list-component gmail-bn-content-list-text gmail-yr-content-list-text gmail-text"><p><em>This story was updated with more details about Schachtner’s margin of victory.</em></p></div>

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