The 2012 Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial recall election was held on June 5, 2012 to decide whether to retain or recall the

lieutenant governor of Wisconsin The lieutenant governor of Wisconsin is the first person in the Gubernatorial lines of succession in the United States#Wisconsin, line of succession of Wisconsin's executive branch, thus serving as governor in the event of the death, resignation, ...

. Voters decided to retain incumbent Republican lieutenant governor

Rebecca Kleefisch Rebecca Ann Kleefisch (née Reed; born August 7, 1975) is an American politician and former television reporter who served as the 44th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin from 2011 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republica ...

over recalling her in favor of the Democratic candidate

Mahlon Mitchell Mahlon Mitchell (born February 24, 1977) is an American firefighter and current President of the Professional Fire fighters, Fire Fighters of Wisconsin. Assuming the office on January 12, 2011, he became the youngest and first African American pr ...

. Kleefisch's retention made her the first lieutenant governor in U.S. history to run in and survive a recall. Primary elections took place on May 8, 2012.

Background

Gubernatorial succession

The lieutenant governor is established within Article V of the Wisconsin Constitution as the first person in the

line of succession An order, line or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated, such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility.Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

executive branch The executive branch is the part of government which executes or enforces the law. Function The scope of executive power varies greatly depending on the political context in which it emerges, and it can change over time in a given country. In ...

, and serves as governor in the event of the death, resignation, removal, impeachment, absence from the state, or incapacity due to illness of the

governor of Wisconsin The governor of Wisconsin is the head of government of Wisconsin and the commander-in-chief of the state's Wisconsin Army National Guard, army and Wisconsin Air National Guard, air forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, and the ...

. Gubernatorial succession came into focus during the recall, as under Wisconsin law, the lieutenant governor is "acting governor" whenever the governor leaves the state. This arrangement, paired with the recall election, could have led to a scenario where the governor was of one party, and the lieutenant governor was of another party. While acting as governor, the lieutenant governor has all the powers of the governor, though the impacts would be limited as the governor, upon their return, can immediately reverse any actions taken in their absence. Despite speculation, such a scenario never came to pass as Kleefisch won re-election by 5.9%.

2012 Wisconsin gubernatorial recall election

Despite holding an office with little to no actual power, serving an almost entirely ceremonial purpose, Kleefisch faced similar anger from Wisconsinites regarding her role in Walker's efforts to weaken collective bargaining rights. Similar to Walker, Kleefisch had low favorability ratings, with one Marquette poll leaving her around 25% favorability, compared with 31% unfavorability.

Republican primary

* As Kleefisch was the incumbent being recalled, the Republican Party did not hold a primary for this race.

Democratic primary

Campaign

Similarly to Gladys Huber in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, in this primary, the Republican Party supported a "placeholder" candidate, Isaac Weix, a perennial candidate who had previously ran in the 10th Senate district's Democratic recall election primary. The purpose of Weix running was to force Democrats to hold a recall primary for lieutenant governor and give Republicans more time to campaign for the general election. Democrats also opposed candidates such as Weix because they felt that such candidates would only confuse voters.

Candidates

Nominee

, firefighter, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin

Eliminated in primary

* Ira Robins, private investigator * Isaac Weix, candidate for the 10th senate district in the 2011 recalls

Declined

Cory Mason Cory H. Mason IV (born January 25, 1973) is a Democratic Party politician and the mayor of Racine, Wisconsin. From 2007 to 2018, Mason served as a member of the Wisconsin State Assembly representing the city of Racine and eastern Racine County. ...

State Representative A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United St ...

from the 62nd district (2007–2013)

Results

General election

Campaign

Results

References

{{2012 United States elections Lieutenant gubernatorial Wisconsin special elections Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial recall election Wisconsin lieutenant gubernatorial elections