Red, White and Blue
Election officials confirm Lehman wins recall; Wanggaard not conceding
RACINE- Racine County officials say their vote canvass shows that Democrat John Lehman picked up 55 votes in his recall challenge against state Sen. Van Wanggaard.
The canvass Tuesday found that Lehman extended his unofficial lead over the Republican incumbent to 834 votes.
Lehman had 36,351 votes, or 50.6 percent, while Wanggaard received 35,517 votes, or 49.4 percent.
The canvass isn't official until the state Government Accountability Board certifies the results. That's expected to happen next week.
Dan Romportl is with the Committee to Elect a Republican Senate. He says Wanggaard will decide by the end of the week whether to request a recount.
According to unofficial results, Lehman has a 1.09 percent lead.
"If the difference is less 0.5 percent in the total number of votes cast, then the candidate can ask for a recount with no cost to the candidate," said Racine County Clerk Wendy Christensen. "But this (election) falls within the 0.5 -2 percent range where they would have to pay $5 a ward for a recount."
So if Wanggaard wanted to have a recount, he would have to pay around $675 -- since there are approximately 135 voting wards in the 21st Senate District.
Brad Wojciechowski is a spokesman for the State Senate Democratic Committee. He says Wanggaard should take the high road and concede the election immediately.
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