UPDATE: As of mid-day Wednesday, a very small margin fueled by a late count of absentee ballots from Milwaukee County may have ultimately sealed the election victory for Democrat Governor candidate Tony Evers.
Ironically, any call for a recount by defeated Gov. Scott Walker will be stifled by changes in state law that make it more difficult to call for votes to be recounted.
In a race that can only be framed as a nailbiter, State Superintendent Tony Evers is projected to be the next Governor of Wisconsin.
Governor Scott Walker faced Evers in the race in the general election on Tuesday. But the race was very close at just two percentage points difference, according to CBS 58.
At 1 a.m., he had 1,312,948 votes while Walker had 1,284,310 votes.
“Was this close enough? Was this close enough for you?” Evers asked his supporters in his acceptance speech in Madison.
He underscored the need to work with state Republicans.
“I’ll be focused on solving problems, not picking political fights,” he said. “It’s time for a change, the voters from Wisconsin spoke.”
But Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch addressed supporters early Wednesday morning and told them they would likely be headed for a recount of ballots in the race between Walker and Evers. Still, state law requires less than a 1 percent difference for a recount to be triggered.
“The fight is not over,” she said.
Kleefisch told supporters a recall would be a long and drawn out fight.
Here’s how Racine County voted with 69 of 69 wards counted:
- Scott Walker/Rebecca Kleefisch (R): 44,770
- Tony Evers: 40,498
We’ll have more information Wednesday morning.
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