'Fake' Democrat Wins Lieutenant Governor Primary in Falls

All the focus is on the prize in the state's recall landscape: Who will be governor?

But in the less-scrutinized lieutenant governor race, a "fake" Democratic candidate put up by the state Republican Party out-polled the two actual Democratic candidates.

Isaac Weix took home 2,025 votes, or 39.8 percent of the votes cast for the Democratic Lieutenant Governor candidate.

Mahlon Mitchell — who and will take on Republican incumbent Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch on June 5 — won 35 percent of the Falls vote, with Ira Robins earning 26 percent.

It was actually Weix's second time serving as a Republican Party protest candidate. in the recall against state Sen. Shelly Moore (D-River Falls). Weix lost to Moore but got 45 percent, and Moore went on to lose her seat to Republican Sheila Harsdorf.

On Tuesday, 10,888 voters in Falls went to the polls, which equated to an overall turnout of 48.4 percent.

Although it appeared Gov. Scott Walker would easily coast through his primary, voters in Falls didn't just sit on their couches at home at watch it happen. Walker received 7,233 votes, or 66.4 percent of the overall vote between both primaries. Arthur Kohl-Riggs mustered just 70 votes.

On the Democratic ticket, Tom Barrett coasted to an easy victory of Kathleen Falk earning 69 percent of votes cast just in the Democratic primary. Falk earned 26 percent of the Democratic vote.

Overall, Barrett earned 22 percent of all votes cast between both the Republican and Democratic primary, which illustrates support for Walker remains high in the village.

Barrett and Walker will now meet in a rematch of 2010, and the drama that is the recall will conclude on June 5 when voters head to the polls again.