A Democrat has won a special election for state senate in Wisconsin, winning the seat in a Republican-leaning district prompting hopes that the win is another sign of a coming “blue wave” of Democrat victories going into the 2018 midterm election cycle.
Democrat candidate Patty Schachtner defeated Republican state Representative Adam Jarchow in a special election to replace a state senator who resigned to take a job in Republican Governor Scott Walker’s administration, according to The Hill.
The former St. Croix County medical examiner defeated the Republican state rep. in Wisconsin’s 10th Senate district, a district that voted heavily for both Republicans Donald Trump and Mitt Romney in the past two presidential elections.
Despite the upset, Democrats are the minority party in the Wisconsin capital of Madison. Republicans control all the statewide offices and hold the majority in both the House and the Senate. Indeed, the GOP has controlled the reins of power since the mass turnover in 2011.
Some are hoping that the Democrat win in Wisconsin is a sign of a coming wave of Democrat wins in the 2018 midterm elections. As The Hill noted, left-wing U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D, CA) jumped to Twitter to celebrate the win in America’s Dairyland.
After racking up wins in post-Trump election races for governor in Virginia and New Jersey — both solidly liberal states — and a win in a hotly contested Alabama special election for the U.S. Senate, Democrats feel they on the verge of massive gains in this year’s election. And this win in Wisconsin is more evidence that Democrats are on the path to victory, they say.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.