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Politics & Government

Illinois Democrats to Campaign for Pasch

Ground troops will make up for money gap, supporters say.

Democrats from Chicago’s northern suburbs will campaign in Wisconsin Aug. 6 for Rep. Sandy Pasch in her bid to unseat Sen. Alberta Darling in an Aug. 9 recall election.

“The Republicans see this as a must-win election, making it a must-win for us!” states the Illinois Tenth Congressional Democrats website.

Darling, a Republican from River Hills, is being targeted because she is a high-profile supporter of Gov. Scott Walker and the republican agenda, the website states.

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“Darling is the ‘darling’ of Gov. Scott Walker,” the web site claims. “She presided as chair of the Joint Finance Committee over the draconian budget that stripped state workers of their collective bargaining rights.”

The Illinois Democrats note that Darling has raised twice as much campaign funds as Pasch, but live campaigning by grassroots supporters can offset that financial gap.

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The Illinois Democrats, from a congressional district that extends from Evanston to a bit past Waukegan, plan to meet in Highland Park and carpool to Wisconsin the morning of Aug. 6. 

The Illinois democrats did not respond to interview requests, but the Chicago Tribune reported that the group last winter joined thousands of demonstrators in Madison protesting Walker’s budget repair bill. The bill stripped public employees of most of their bargaining rights.

Fourteen Democrats from the Wisconsin Senate fled to Illinois in an attempt to thwart a vote on the bill.

As a fiscal measure, the Senate bill needed a two-thirds majority to pass. The standoff ended when Republicans removed financial language from the bill, allowing it to pass by a simple majority, absent Senate Democrats. 

The procedure was challenged in court but upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Pending lawsuits challenge the constitutionality of the law.

Darling is one of six Republicans and three Democrats from the Senate subject to recall elections. Sen. Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) warded off a republican challenger earlier this month, the only recall election where there was no primary.

Darling and the five other Republicans face challengers in the general recall election Aug. 9. The other two Democrats will face Republicans Aug. 16.

If Democrats gain three Senate seats in the recall elections, they will gain control of the Senate. That would make it more difficult for Walker to pass his agenda. "Recall Walker" signs already are plentiful, although he is not eligible for recall until Jan. 3, 2012. 

The 8th Senate District covers all or part of Shorewood, Whitefish Bay, River Hills, Fox Point, Bayside, Glendale, Mequon, Thiensville, Germantown, Menomonee Falls and Richfield, as well as two Milwaukee wards.

The recently adopted state redistricting plan removes Shorewood from the 8th District and extends it further into Waukesha County. The newly redrawn district skews more republican, and takes effect in 2012.

Darling’s campaign staff did not respond to a request for an interview.

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