Republican Wins Open Wisconsin State Senate Seat, Giving GOP Supermajority, Additional Impeachment Power
Republican Wisconsin state Rep. Dan Knodl secured an open state senate seat in a special election on Tuesday, giving the Republicans a supermajority in the state senate.
Knodl won the election against Democrat attorney Jodi Habush Sinykin for Wisconsin’s 8th state senate district, which represents Milwaukee’s northern suburbs. The seat was previously held by Republican Alberta Darling, who retired in December 2021, leaving the seat open after the 2022 election.
Before the 2022 election, Republicans had a 21-12 majority in the state senate, leaving them one seat away from a supermajority. Republicans flipped one seat in the November 2022 election, which would have given them a 22-11 supermajority in the new state session. However, Darling’s retirement delayed those Republican supermajority prospects. With Knodl’s victory on Tuesday, the Republicans will soon be able to exercise supermajority powers in the state Senate.
Supermajority Powers
With a supermajority, Republicans have the power to override a gubernatorial veto in the state Senate. A successful override requires a two-thirds vote in the Senate and State Assembly. Assembly Republicans remain two seats shy of the 66 seats needed for a supermajority in that house.
The Senate supermajority enables Republicans to theoretically convict the state government’s judges and executive branch officers in an impeachment proceeding, including Democrat Gov. Tony Evers and Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez. The State Assembly can vote to impeach elected officials with a simple majority, and the Senate can convict those officials on the impeachment charges with a two-thirds majority which the Wisconsin Republican Party now has.
The Tuesday election also saw Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz win her bid for the
state Supreme Court, tipping the balance of the seven-member judicial panel toward the liberals on the court. The Republican impeachment powers in the state legislature could allow them to impeach Protasiewicz.
Knodl has stated that he is not interested in impeaching Evers, saying he has been able to work with the governor. However, he said he would like to impeach Milwaukee judges for being too lenient on criminal defendants.
Protasiewicz’s opponents criticized her for being too soft on crime in the lead-up to this Wisconsin Supreme Court race.
“Protasiewicz presided over one case in which a father abused his children, ages 5, 8, and 10, by whipping them with a dog leash. He was convicted of a Class I felony with two counts of child abuse. Yet, Protasiewicz sentenced him to only nine months of work-release jail and probation,” the Wisconsin Republican Party said in a February
press release.
As one of her final appeals in the election, Habush Sinykin
tweeted, “Don’t give the GOP the power to impeach. I’m asking for your vote today.”
“We are at a crossroads in Wisconsin,” Habush Sinykin
added in a statement to CBS 58. “And this election is going to decide the future of our state.”
Recent GOP Gains in State Legislatures
Knodl’s victory came in the same week that Democrat North Carolina state Rep. Tricia Cotham
switched party affiliations, becoming a Republican and giving the Republican Party a supermajority of seats in the North Carolina House of Representatives. Republicans in North Carolina now have supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature, allowing them to override vetoes from Democrat Gov. Roy Cooper, who’s vetoed a record number of Republican bills.
North Carolina Democrats
called Cotham’s party switch a betrayal. The party’s chairs said, “If she can no longer represent the values her constituents trusted her to champion, she should resign immediately.”
Republicans also
secured a supermajority in the Louisiana House of Representatives in March after Democrat Rep. Francis Thompson switched party affiliations. Republicans now hold supermajorities in both houses of the Louisiana state legislature, potentially increasing their ability to override vetoes by Democrat Gov. John Bel Edwards.
“While Rep. Thompson’s decision (to switch parties) is disappointing, it is not surprising. He already caucused with Republicans,” House Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Sam Jenkins said in a statement following Thompson’s party switch.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.
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