2012 Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial recall election

none February 2026 May 2024 2012 Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial recall election Wisconsin presidential No June 5, 2012 File:Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch (alt crop).jpg Rebecca Kleefisch Republican Party (United States) 1,301,739 52.89% File:Clinton rally for Barrett DSC 1619sqcrop (7315806444) (cropped).jpg Mahlon Mitchell Democratic Party (United States) 1,156,520 46.99% 2012 Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial recall election results map by county.svg County resultsKleefisch: #E27F7F 50–60% #D75D5D 60–70% #D72F30 70–80%Mitchell: #7996e2 50–60% #6674de 60–70% #584cde 70–80% Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch Republican Party (United States) Rebecca Kleefisch Republican Party (United States) 260px 2010 (combined)1968 (separate) 2014 (combined) The 2012 Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial recall election was held on June 5, 2012 to decide whether to retain or recall the lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. Voters decided to retain incumbent Republican lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch over recalling her in favor of 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.2012-06-05 Wisconsin Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch survives recall election http://www.news8000.com/news/Wisconsin-Lieutenant-Governor-Kleefisch-survives-recall-election/-/326/14637616/-/13r7tifz/-/index.html 2012-07-23 News8000.com January 30, 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20130130180853/http://www.news8000.com/news/Wisconsin-Lieutenant-Governor-Kleefisch-survives-recall-election/-/326/14637616/-/13r7tifz/-/index.html dead Primary elections took place on May 8, 2012.Hall Dee J. March 15, 2012 Judge OKs petition review extension, June 5 recall election http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/judge-oks-petition-review-extension-june-recall-election/article_67963f84-6de3-11e1-9969-0019bb2963f4.html March 20, 2012 Wisconsin State Journal Background Gubernatorial succession Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin#Succession to the governorship The 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.https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lrb/blue_book/2007_2008 State of Wisconsin 2007–2008 Blue Book Wisconsin Legislature Joint Committee on Legislative Organization 2007 Wisconsin Legislative Reference Bureau Madison 213–215 Chapter 3: Wisconsin Constitution (Article V) PDF December 22, 2017 https://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/misc/lrb/blue_book/2007_2008/400_constitution.pdf 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.Ramde Dinesh June 5, 2012 Wis. Lt. Gov. Kleefisch survives recall election https://apnews.com/article/elections-wisconsin-scott-walker-rebecca-kleefisch-recall-elections-5a183cdbcbbc429583e7aaae96d80f51 May 18, 2024 Associated Press 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.Ramde Dinesh May 29, 2012 Wisconsin recall: Vote could put opposing parties in top two offices https://www.twincities.com/2012/05/29/wisconsin-recall-vote-could-put-opposing-parties-in-top-two-offices/ May 18, 2024 St. Paul Pioneer Press Despite speculation, such a scenario never came to pass as Kleefisch won re-election by 5.9%. 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election 2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election#Background Despite 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.Charles Franklin May 16, 2012 Marquette Law School Poll shows Walker, Kleefisch lead in recall https://law.marquette.edu/poll/2012/05/16/marquette-law-school-poll-shows-walker-kleefisch-lead-in-recall/ May 18, 2024 Marquette University Law School Republican primary As Kleefisch was the incumbent being recalled, the Republican Party did not hold a primary for this race.County Vote for Lieutenant Governor https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AG7XVTVCTRFN4V8J/full/AOWNLNP7JBNRBY8O May 18, 2024 University of Wisconsin-Madison Libraries 913 Democratic primary Campaign Similarly 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.Henzl Ann-Elise April 4, 2012 GOP to Run "Fake Democrats" in all Six Republican Recall Elections https://www.wuwm.com/politics-government/2012-04-04/gop-to-run-fake-democrats-in-all-six-republican-recall-elections May 18, 2024 WUWM Democrats also opposed Weix on the grounds they felt that such candidates would only confuse voters. Candidates Nominee Mahlon Mitchell, firefighter, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of WisconsinFrank Steve March 19, 2012 Wisconsin firefighters union head enters lt. governor's race https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/wisconsin-firefighters-union-head-enters-lt-governors-race-flna486160 May 18, 2024 NBC News Eliminated in primary Ira Robins, private investigatorKonkol Denise March 6, 2012 Ira Robins Will Challenge Rebecca Kleefisch for Lt. Governor https://patch.com/wisconsin/muskego/ira-robins-will-challenge-rebecca-kleefisch-for-lt-governor May 18, 2024 Muskego Patch Isaac Weix, candidate for the 10th senate district in the 2011 recallsIsaac Weix - person https://www.wpr.org/person/isaac-weix May 18, 2024 Wisconsin Public RadioApril 16, 2012 6 fake Democrats allowed on Wis. recall ballot https://www.twincities.com/2012/04/16/6-fake-democrats-allowed-on-wis-recall-ballot/ May 18, 2024 St. Paul Pioneer Press Declined Cory Mason, State Representative from the 62nd district (2007–2013)Jones Stephanie December 9, 2011 Mason considering a run for Lt. Gov., Lehman mulling another run for state Senate https://journaltimes.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/mason-considering-a-run-for-lt-gov-lehman-mulling-another-run-for-state-senate/article_8357189a-2263-11e1-81da-0019bb2963f4.html subscription May 18, 2024 The Journal Times Results thumb|Primary results by county: #7996E2 Mitchell #A5B0FF 40–50% #7996E2 50–60% #6674DE 60–70% #7DDDDD Weix #ACF2F2 30–40% #7DDDDD 40–50% Democratic primary results Democratic Party (United States) Mahlon Mitchell 396,302 52.23%Democratic Party (United States) Isaac Weix 197,148 25.98%Democratic Party (United States) Ira Robins 165,325 21.79%758,775 100.0 General election Campaign Results 2012 Wisconsin lieutenant governor recall election resultsCounty Vote For Lieutenant Governor https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/AG7XVTVCTRFN4V8J/full/AYQ35OF6BPCYBP8N May 18, 2024 University of Wisconsin Madison-Libraries 14px "text-align:left;" Rebecca Kleefisch (incumbent) Republican Party (United States) 1,301,739 52.9 Mahlon Mitchell Democratic Party (United States) 1,156,520 47.1 2,458,259 100.0 Republican Party (United States) Democratic Party (United States) References Lieutenant gubernatorial Category:Special elections in Wisconsin Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial recall election Category:Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial elections