The 2012 Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial recall election was a special election to elect the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. It resulted in voters retaining incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch over the Democratic candidate Mahlon Mitchell. Kleefisch's retention made her the first lieutenant governor in U.S. history to run in and survive a recall.[1] Primary elections took place on May 8, 2012.[2]
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 County results Kleefisch: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% Mitchell: 50–60% 60–70% 70–80% | |||||||||||||||||
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Background
editGubernatorial succession
editThe lieutenant governor is established within Article V of the Wisconsin Constitution as the first person in the line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, and serves as governor in the event of the death, resignation, removal, impeachment, absence from the state, or incapacity due to illness of the governor of Wisconsin.[3]
Gubernatorial succession came into focus during the recall, as under Wisconsin law, the lieutenant governor is "acting governor" whenever the governor leaves the state. This arrangement, paired with the recall election, could have led to a scenario where the governor was of one party, and the lieutenant governor was of another party.[4]
While acting as governor, the lieutenant governor has all the powers of the governor, though the impacts would be limited as the governor, upon their return, can immediately reverse any actions taken in their absence.[5]
Despite speculation, such a scenario never came to pass as Kleefisch won re-election by 5.8%.
2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election
editDespite holding an office with little to no actual power, serving an almost entirely ceremonial purpose, Kleefisch faced similar anger from Wisconsinites regarding her role in Walker's efforts to weaken collective bargaining rights. Similar to Walker, Kleefisch had low favorability ratings, with one Marquette poll leaving her around 25% favorability, compared with 31% unfavorability.[6]
Republican primary
edit- As Kleefisch was the incumbent being recalled, the Republican Party did not hold a primary for this race.[7]
Democratic primary
editSimilarly to Gladys Huber in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, in this primary, the Republican Party supported a "placeholder" candidate, Isaac Weix, a perennial candidate who had previously ran in the 10th Senate district's Democratic recall election primary. The purpose of Weix running was to force Democrats to hold a recall primary for lieutenant governor and give Republicans more time to campaign for the general election.[8] Democrats also opposed candidates such as Weix because they felt that such candidates would only confuse voters.[9]
Candidates
editNominee
edit- Mahlon Mitchell, firefighter, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin[10]
Eliminated in primary
edit- Ira Robins, private investigator[11]
- Isaac Weix (Republican), candidate for the 10th senate district in the 2011 recalls[12][9]
Failed to make ballot
editDeclined
edit- Cory Mason, State Representative from the 62nd district (2007–2013)[14]
Results
edit
- 40-50%
- 50-60%
- 60-70%
- 30-40%
- 40-50%
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mahlon Mitchell | 396,302 | 52.23% | |
| Democratic | Isaac Weix | 197,148 | 25.98% | |
| Democratic | Ira Robins | 165,325 | 21.79% | |
| Total votes | 758,775 | 100.0 | ||
General election
editCampaign
editResults
edit| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Rebecca Kleefisch (incumbent) | 1,301,739 | 52.9 | ||
| Democratic | Mahlon Mitchell | 1,156,520 | 47.1 | ||
| Total votes | 2,458,259 | 100.0 | |||
| Republican hold | |||||
References
edit- ^ "Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch survives recall election". News8000.com. June 5, 2012. Retrieved July 23, 2012.
- ^ Hall, Dee J. (March 15, 2012). "Judge OKs petition review extension, June 5 recall election". Wisconsin State Journal. Retrieved March 20, 2012.
- ^ Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau, ed. (2007). "Chapter 3: Wisconsin Constitution (Article V)" (PDF). State of Wisconsin 2007–2008 Blue Book (PDF). Madison: Wisconsin Legislature Joint Committee on Legislative Organization. pp. 213–215. Retrieved December 22, 2017.
- ^ Ramde, Dinesh (June 5, 2012). "Wis. Lt. Gov. Kleefisch survives recall election". Associated Press. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Ramde, Dinesh (May 29, 2012). "Wisconsin recall: Vote could put opposing parties in top two offices". St. Paul Pioneer Press. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Charles, Franklin (May 16, 2012). "Marquette Law School Poll shows Walker, Kleefisch lead in recall". Marquette University Law School. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ a b "County Vote for Lieutenant Governor". University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries. p. 913. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Henzl, Ann-Elise (April 4, 2012). "GOP to Run "Fake Democrats" in all Six Republican Recall Elections". WUWM. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ a b "6 fake Democrats allowed on Wis. recall ballot". St. Paul Pioneer Press. April 16, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Frank, Steve (March 19, 2012). "Wisconsin firefighters union head enters lt. governor's race". NBC News. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Konkol, Denise (March 6, 2012). "Ira Robins Will Challenge Rebecca Kleefisch for Lt. Governor". Muskego Patch. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ "Isaac Weix - person". Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ a b "4 candidates fail to qualify for recall ballot". St. Paul Pioneer Press. April 10, 2012. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ Jones, Stephanie (December 9, 2011). "Mason considering a run for Lt. Gov., Lehman mulling another run for state Senate". The Journal Times. Retrieved May 18, 2024.
- ^ "County Vote For Lieutenant Governor". University of Wisconsin Madison-Libraries. Retrieved May 18, 2024.