Trend of recall recount favors Democratic challenger

Wanggaard faces Lehman in race

RACINE, Wis. — The recount in a Racine County recall race shows marginal progress so far for state Sen. Van Wanggaard.

However, the Republican incumbent is nowhere near the pace he’d need to overcome an 834-vote deficit.

The latest results were released Tuesday. With more than half the ballots counted through Monday, Wanggaard had closed the gap with Democratic challenger John Lehman by eight votes.

At that pace, Wanggaard will fall well short. An official canvass showed him trailing Lehman by 834 votes out of nearly 72,000 ballots cast.

If Lehman wins, Democrats will have scored their lone victory out of six recall elections earlier this month. The win would also give Democrats at least temporary control of the state Senate, which currently has 16 Democrats and 16 Republicans.