There will be a special election for two open seats in the Legislature, including one in northeast Wisconsin.
Governor Walker followed a court order by calling for the races later this spring, and Republicans are dropping a bill to try to stop them from happening.
Two Dane County judges and a state appeals court ruled that the elections should take place. They gave Walker until noon today to officially schedule them.
Walker complied with that decision, by setting the date for the special election for June 12. If necessary, there would be a primary on May 15.
One of the elections will be in the 1st Senate District. The district covers parts of Calumet, Brown, Manitowoc, Kewaunee and Door counties. Republican Sen. Frank Lasee of De Pere resigned last December to take a job with the Walker administration.
The second open seat is in the 42nd Assembly District, north of the Madison area.
Republicans in the Legislature were trying to fast-track a proposal to change the law for special elections, so they wouldn’t have to be held. A Senate committee held a hearing on the bill yesterday, but leaders scrapped the idea today.
