State Senate now evenly split following Galloway's resignation

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State Senate Republican Pam Galloway of Wausau has told the Senate’s chief clerk that she’ll resign effective at midnight tonight.

She’s leaving after just 14-and-a-half months in office, before she could face a recall election a couple months from now. Galloway said her family has had quote, “multiple, sudden, and serious health issues.” And she needs to deal with them. Starting tomorrow, the Senate will be evenly split with 16 Republicans and 16 Democrats. That will change after four Senate recall elections in May and June. Senate G-O-P Majority Scott Fitzgerald, who first announced Galloway’s resignation, said he’s convinced she would have won her recall vote. Officials say the election’s still on. And the only announced Democratic candidate, Wausau Representative Donna Seidel, says she’ll continue to run. Governor Scott Walker told Appleton radio station W-H-B-Y that he hopes Assembly Republican Jerry Petrowski of Marathon would run. He says he’ll consider it, but he needs time. Fitzgerald said Petrowski and Assembly Republican Mary Williams of Medford would be possible candidates. A spokesman for Williams says she’ll need to talk to her family about it. Marathon County Democratic Party chair Jeff Johnson is already in attack mode. He told the Wausau Daily Herald that both Petrowski and Williams quote, “voted lock-step with Senator Galloway and Governor Scott Walker.”

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