Chuck Todd, Mark Murray and Carrie Dann at NBC:
Last April, Wisconsin Democrats trounced Republicans in a statewide race for state Supreme Court, foreshadowing Dem wins seven months later in the Badger State (for governor and Senate).
After last night, almost exactly a year later in another Wisconsin state Supreme Court race, Dem-backed Lisa Neubauer trails GOP-backed Brian Hagedorn by more than 5,000 votes, 601,007 to 595,206 – with the contest likely headed to a [recount].
“Liberals had hoped to have Neubauer win this year so they could be on a path to taking control of the court next year, when conservative Justice Daniel Kelly's term is up,” the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes.
Last night’s results hammer home two points:
Wisconsin, which could be the state that ultimately decides the 2020 election, remains closely divided. (Even in last year’s favorable midterm environment for Democrats, Tony Evers beat Scott Walker by just 1 point in the race for governor.)
The energy from the Democratic resistance of 2017-2018 seems to have petered out so far in 2019. (Dem performance in Milwaukee County was down from a year ago.)
Rebecca Falconer at Axios
Democrat Pam Iovino, who served in then-President George W. Bush's Department of Veterans Affairs, has triumphed in a state Senate special election in a Pittsburgh district President Trump won in 2016.
Why it matters: Pennsylvania is a swing state and Navy veteran Iovino claimed victory in the seat left vacant by Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R)."The district is being watched because it voted overwhelmingly for the president in 2016, so we'll see how strong that foothold is," Iovino told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Monday.
