Otto Junkermann
Otto Junkermann (b. February 7, 1929) was a Democratic candidate for District 2 of the Wisconsin State Senate in the recall election against current incumbent Sen. Robert Cowles. He lost to Nancy Nusbaum in the Democratic primary on July 12.
Junkermann, a former Republican member of the Wisconsin State Assembly from 1987-1988, is running as a protest candidate in order to necessitate a Democratic primary between himself and Nancy Nusbaum. If both of their candidacies are approved the primary took place on July 12, with the winner going on to the recall election to be held August 9. "I know I'm going to get some raised eyebrows from people, but I'm doing what I believe is needed," he said.[1]
Junkermann served as Brown County supervisor from 1982-1987 as a nonpartisan official. He also lost three regular nonpartisan elections for the position in the early 1990s.[2]
Elections
2011
Junkermann lost to Nancy Nusbaum in the Democratic primary on July 12.
Nusbaum called Junkermann's entry into the race "a mockery of the democratic process," and "a sign of desperation."[3]
When asked if he was a "spoiler candidate," Junkermann replied, “I don’t know how I could avoid being considered that.”[3]
Mert Summers 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 are 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."[4]
All three had filed nomination papers with a sufficient number of verified signatures.
July 12 Democratic Primary
Nusbaum easily defeated Junkermann in the primary.
| July 12 Democratic primary[5] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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.[6]
Campaign contributions
| Otto Junkermann Campaign Finance Reports (GAB ID No. 0102255) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions | (Expenditures) | Cash on Hand | ||||
| July Continuing[7] | July 20, 2011 | $0.00 | $750.00 | $(750.00) | $0 | ||||
Official reports
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Expense of fake Democrats in primaries will top $400,000," June 13, 2011
- ↑ Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "First round in Senate recall elections draws near," July 2, 2011
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 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
- ↑ 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, "CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT: STATE OF WISCONSIN: GAB-2: Taxpayers for Junkermann," July 20, 2011
