Wisconsin state Sen. Pam Galloway (R) is resigning from the chamber today, citing a family health situation. Galloway was one of the targeted incumbents in upcoming recall elections. This also means that as of now, the Republicans have officially lost their Senate majority, leaving the chamber split 16-16. The recall elections to come will determine who takes the majority. … The recall for her seat, however, is still going ahead as scheduled, though Republicans will have to find a new candidate in what is now the special election for an open seat. The recall rules do provide, however, that her name will not be on the ballot if she resigns this soon.
… After a career as a surgeon specializing in the treatment of breast cancer, Galloway won her Senate seat by a five-point margin in the 2010 Republican wave, defeating the incumbent state Senate Majority Leader in the traditionally Democratic Wausau district. This time around, she was being challenged in the recall by Assistant state Assembly Minority Leader Donna Seidel. This past Monday the state Government Accountability Board, which oversees elections in the state, officially approved the recall petitions against Galloway and three other Republican state senators, in the Democrats’ second effort to recall their way to a majority.
Under the finalized timeline, the primaries will be May 8, and the general election on June 5 — the same timeline as the banner recall elections against Gov. Scott Walker and Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch. Also, if there are no primaries for any particular seat, then the May 8 date will in fact be the general election for that district. In the immediate term, this means the state Senate will change from a narrow 17-16 Republican majority — in which moderate Republican Dale Schultz has held a de facto balance of power — to a temporarily 16-16 chamber.
Full Article: Wisconsin GOP Loses Senate Majority, After Recall-Targeted GOPer Resigns | TPM2012.