MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin Republicans won back their supermajority in the state Senate Tuesday night, after State Rep. Dan Knodl came out on top in a special election to fill the seat of longtime State Sen. Alberta Darling, who announced her retirement late last year.
Republicans now have 22 votes in the Wisconsin Senate, which gives the party a two-thirds supermajority. While that meets the threshold to override vetoes by Gov. Tony Evers in the Senate, the GOP is still two seats short of the needed votes in the Assembly.
Though a two-thirds vote from both chambers is needed to override the governor, Republicans can still do a lot with the power they will have in the Senate, including the ability to impeach the governor and other officeholders, such as judges.
Republicans already had a supermajority in the Senate post-election last fall. However, Darling’s retirement made the party just one vote shy of a supermajority. With Knodl’s victory Tuesday night, the GOP has regained their supermajority.
“It does have people referring to Article 7 of the Wisconsin Constitution, which is an impeachment clause,” Knodl said. “So, that’s authority that could be exercised. It could be exercised now without two-thirds being from one party or the other, but it has just come to light as something that could be used. It’s an accountability measure that’s built into our constitution.”
As far as the odds of this power being used, chances seem slim. Historically, it has only been used once hundreds of years ago, and it was a failure.
Knodl, who helped Republicans get their supermajority back, had been criticized during the campaign for saying he would “certainly consider” supporting impeachment proceedings for then-Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz, who won a seat on the state Supreme Court Tuesday night.
"That may have been taken out of context somewhat,” Knodl explained. “That's as a circuit court judge, I referred to that. I do feel that she failed and was derelict in her duties as a circuit court judge, releasing criminals and soft sentences who came out into the community and created great harm. Well, she's not going to be there anymore as a circuit judge, and Supreme Court justice is a whole different story. They're elected by statewide voters."
Back in December, Republican Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu told Spectrum News 1, in the wake of Darling’s retirement, a bigger GOP caucus is better. However, he didn’t feel as though regaining a supermajority in the Senate would provide a huge advantage without one in the Assembly.