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Nancy Nusbaum
Nancy Nusbaum was a Democratic candidate for District 2 of the Wisconsin State Senate in the recall election against incumbent Sen. Robert Cowles. She defeated Otto Junkermann in the Democratic primary on July 12, losing Cowles in the recall on August 9.
Nusbaum previously served as Mayor of De Pere from 1988 to 1995, on the Brown County board from 1995-2003, and[1][2] served in the attorney general's office from 2003 to 2005. She ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. House as a Republican in 1994 and as a Democrat in 2006.[3]
Elections
2011
Nusbaum announced on May 16 that she would run against incumbent senator Cowles if a recall was approved. About 26,000 signatures to recall Cowles were filed on April 28, 2011. Signatures were filed against nine different state senators in Wisconsin, while a total of sixteen were originally targeted for recall.[4]
Rich Langan was slated to challenge Cowles in the recall, but just days after announcing his bid, he withdrew, citing "an unexpected family situation."[5] Langan is serving as Treasurer for Nusbaum's campaign.
On her campaign website Nusbaum states why she joined the race:[6]
I'm running to be the next State Senator for the 2nd Senate District because I believe we can do better in Wisconsin. We need to bring change to Madison now before they do anymore damage to the values we know are so important. And we need a state senator who will always put the people first. Please join me as I campaign throughout the 2nd District and check back often for ways that you can get involved.
Former Republican state Rep. Otto Junkermann ran as a Democrat against Nusbaum. Junkermann, when asked if he was a "spoiler candidate," replied, “I don’t know how I could avoid being considered that.” Nusbaum called the move "a mockery of the democratic process," and "a sign of desperation."[7]
Mert Summers also filed to run as a "placeholder" Democrat. Following the news that all six "fake" Democrats had turned in their final paperwork to get on the ballot to the GAB, the Democratic Party of Wisconsin announced that it would not be running their placeholder candidates in the recalls as they were no longer necessary. Party Chair Mike Tate explained, "The goal of the placeholder candidacies was to create an insurance policy against further Republican attempts to exploit the recall election schedule through dirty tricks and cynical plots."[8]
All three had filed nomination papers with a sufficient number of verified signatures.
Debates
Nusbaum accused Cowles on July 26 of avoiding a debate on the issues. Nusbaum stated, "The people of the 2nd Senate District deserve to hear from their Senator, rather than face an empty podium. Whether Senator Cowles chooses to join me or not, I will hold forums around the state to ensure voters have the opportunity to hear directly from me, despite his cowardly actions."[9] Cowles said that Nusbaum never responded to a letter about debates he sent her over a month prior, and that she purposely accepted a debate on August 1 when he would be in a special legislative session and unable to attend.[10]
Following weeks of accusations over why they were not debating, incumbent Cowles and Nusbaum finally scheduled one debate to take place August 8, one day before the recall. It was to be hosted by the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups and moderated by the League of Women Voters of Greater Green Bay.[11] However, Nusbaum canceled the debate following the death of her mother.
July 12 Democratic Primary
Nusbaum easily defeated Junkermann in the primary
| July 12 Democratic primary[12] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Nancy Nusbaum 
|
14,197 | 65.04% | ||
| Otto Junkermann | 7,578 | 34.72% | ||
| Scattering | 54 | 0.25% | ||
- Mert Summers Note: Summers filed nomination papers with sufficient signatures but did not file final papers to be on the ballot.[13]
August 9 recall
| August 9 Recall - District 2[14] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
Robert Cowles (R) 
|
27,037 | 57.44% | ||
| Nancy Nusbaum (D) | 19,974 | 42.43% | ||
| Scattering | 62 | .13% | ||
Polling
Conducted July 21-24
| August 9, 2011 Recall - District 2 - Daily Kos/PPP Poll | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | Percent | |
| Robert Cowles |  Republican
|
51% | |
| Nancy Nusbaum |  Democratic
|
47% | |
| Undecided | 2% | ||
Ads relating to the campaign
2006
Nusbaum ran for the 8th District of the U.S. House of Representatives. She came in third in the primary, losing to Steven Kagen and Jamie Wall.[15] Nusbaum raised $1,100,090 for the campaign. This included 827,740 in individual contributions, $205,541 in candidate self-financing, and $60,721 from PAC contributions.[16]
| U.S. House of Representatives District 8 Primary Election (2006) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | Percent | ||
| Steven Kagen
|
25,623 | 47.63% | ||
| Jamie Wall | 15,427 | 28.68% | ||
| Nancy Nusbaum | 12,731 | 23.66% | ||
Campaign contributions
| Nancy Nusbaum Campaign Finance Reports (GAB ID No. 0103963) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions | (Expenditures) | Cash on Hand | ||||
| Special Pre-Election[17] | August 1, 2011 | $134,182.05 | $61,808.47 | $(91,657.52) | $104,333.00 | ||||
| July Continuing[18] | July 7, 2011 | $0.00 | $177,800.09 | $(43,618.04) | $134,182.05 | ||||
Official reports
External links
- Nancy for Senate - official campaign website
- Nancy Nusbaum for State Senate Facebook page
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Nancy Nusbaum on ActBlue
- Nancy Nusbaum on Twitter
- Nancy Nusbaum on Flickr
- Campaign contributions: 2011
Footnotes
- ↑ FOX 11, "Nusbaum to challenge Cowles in recall," May 16, 2011
- ↑ Post Crescent, "Nancy Nusbaum to challenge Rob Cowles in Wisconsin state senate recall election," May 17, 2011
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "First round in Senate recall elections draws near," July 2, 2011
- ↑ ABC 2 WBAY, "Democrats Turn in 26,000 Signatures to Recall Senator Cowles," April 28, 2011
- ↑ WBAY, "Rich Langan Out for Recall Bid Against Sen. Cowles... Nancy Nusbaum In?" May 16, 2011
- ↑ Nancy for Senate, "Homepage," accessed May 17, 2011
- ↑ Green Bay Press Gazette, "Former GOP lawmaker to run as Democrat in Cowles' recall race," June 8, 2011
- ↑ WisPolitics, "WisDems: Dems to end placeholder candidacies in recall elections," June 17, 2011
- ↑ WisPolitics, “Nusbaum Campaign: Nusbaum demands Senator Cowles explain refusal to address issues facing northeast Wisconsin residents,” July 26, 2011
- ↑ WBAY, “Nusbaum Accuses Sen. Cowles of Dodging Debate,” July 26, 2011
- ↑ Green Bay Press Gazette, "Cowles, Nusbaum agree to debate day before Senate recall election," August 2, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board "July 12 primary election results District 2," accessed August 11, 2011
- ↑ WisPolitics, "WisDems: Dems to end placeholder candidacies in recall elections," June 17, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "District 2 Recall Election Results," accessed August 19, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "2006 Primary Results," accessed May 19, 2011
- ↑ Open Secrets, "Nancy Jean Nusbaum," accessed May 19, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT: STATE OF WISCONSIN: GAB-2: Nusbaum for Senate," August 1, 2011
- ↑ Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, "CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT: STATE OF WISCONSIN: GAB-2: Nusbaum for Senate," July 7, 2011
