Darling Recall Primary to be a Real 'Three for All'

The July 12 primary in the recall of Sen. Alberta Darling's seat will be a three-way race between a "fake" Democrat, a "placeholder" Democrat and the official choice of the state Democratic party.

Confused?  Join the crowd. The three-way race is the result of political gamesmanship by both parties.

The candidates in the 8th Senate District primary are:

• Sandy Pasch, a longtime Democrat from Whitefish Bay who is currently in the state Assembly.

• , a longtime Republican activist from Mequon who has a Darling lawn sign in her front yard.

• Nicholas Brehm, a Milwaukee Democrat whose name will be on the ballot but who will not be campaigning.

The nomination papers for all the candidates were turned in just before the 5 p.m. Tuesday deadline. The state Government Accountability Board has not determined if all the signatures submitted are valid but is expected to do so Wednesday.

Once the nomination papers are validated, the candidates names  cannot be removed from the ballot. 

The successful primary candidate will face Darling in the general election Aug. 9.

Republicans have been forthright in talking about their decision to solicit Republican activists to run as fake Democrats force primary elections in each of the six districts where Republican senators are being recalled.

Keith Schmitz, a founder of Grassroots Northshore, said it is important for Democrats to get out and vote in the primary because many Republicans will cross over and vote for Huber.

"Gladys Huber is a proxy for Alberta Darling in the primary," said Schmitz. "This will be the first opportunity for those who are against what Scott Walker and the Republicans are doing to vote against it."

Brehm was solicited to run because some Democrats feared that some of the announced "fake" candidates would not file their nomination papers. That left open the door to some of the six Republican senators facing primaries on July 12 while others would run in the general election.

One Democratic insider said the move was a ploy that would enable the GOP to concentrate its money and its time supporting fewer candidates in two elections.

Thus the Democrats came up with a plan to run "placeholders" — sacrificial candidates who would allow their names to be placed on the ballot to ensure that all six Republicans will face recall on the same day because there will be "Democratic" primaries in all six districts.

 The fake primary in will cost taxpayers at least $68,000 and could exceed $78,000, according to the the county clerks in the four counties that make up the Darling's district. The general election will cost about the same, according to the clerks. The sum does not include the cost of paying poll workers except those in Milwaukee County.

The Aug. 9 date for the general election is also up in the air because Darling that the Government Accountability Board concluded were sufficient.

"How can we schedule an election when that has not been decided?" asked Lisa Wiener, head of elections for Milwaukee County. "What happens if the court rules in her (Darling's) favor?"

The case has been assigned to Dane County Circuit Judge Patrick Fiedler. No date for a hearing has been set. 

Darling's district includes Fox Point, Bayside, Shorewood, Whitefish Bay and Menomonee Falls.