James Smith (Wisconsin)
James Smith (b. 1985) was a Democratic candidate for District 32 of the Wisconsin State Senate in the recall election against current incumbent Sen. Dan Kapanke.
Smith, a recent member of the La Crosse County Republican Committee, ran as a protest candidate in order to necessitate a Democratic primary between himself and Jennifer Shilling.
Shilling easily defeated Smith.
Elections
2011
Smith explained his candidacy - "I consider myself more of a protest candidate than a spoiler candidate. I think light really needs to be shed onto the recall process.”[1]
He has also said, “I want to bring light on the issue that 22,000 signatures can pretty much overturn an election where even the loser got 40,000 votes.” Shilling’s campaign declined to comment on his candidacy.[2]
In response to Smith's candidacy, Jennifer Shilling said, "Running this fake Democrat in the primary is the latest attempt by Dan Kapanke and his supporters to hide from the people of the 32nd Senate District and manipulate the electoral process.”[1]
July 12 Democratic Primary
Shilling easily defeated Smith in the primary.
| July 12 Democratic primary[3] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Jennifer Shilling 
|
25,340 | 70.19% | ||
| James Smith | 10,664 | 29.54% | ||
| Scattering | 98 | 0.27% | ||
Campaign contributions
| James Smith Campaign Finance Reports (GAB ID No. 0105116) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions | (Expenditures) | Cash on Hand | ||||
| July Continuing[4] | July 7, 2011 | $0.00 | $750.00 | $(750.00) | $0 | ||||
Official reports
External links
- Facebook page Note: It has been reported that this is a "fake" page Smith set up himself "for the fun of it."[5]
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 WEAU, "Former Republican leader to run as Democrat in recall race," June 8, 2011
- ↑ ‘’La Crosse Tribune, “Former GOP officer to challenge Shilling as Democrat,” June 7, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "July 12 Primary Results District 32," accessed August 11, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT: STATE OF WISCONSIN: GAB-2: Friends of James Smith," July 7, 2011
- ↑ The AWL, "Wisconsin, Inc.: New Republican Politics in the Age of the Recall," June 16, 2011
