Democrats win special election for Wisconsin state Senate seat held by Republicans for past 17 years

A Democrat has won a special election for a state senate seat which had been held by Republicans for the past 17 years.

Patty Schachtner beat Republican Adam Jarchow by nine points in Wisconsin’s rural 10th Senate District - yet another victory for Democrats in a district Donald Trump won by 17 points in the presidential election just over a year ago.

In 2016, former Republican incumbent Sheila Harsdorf took the seat with 63.2 per cent of the vote. She had held the post since 2001, but left in November to become Republican Governor Scott Walker’s agriculture secretary, paving the way for Tuesday night’s upset.

It is the 34th state district to flip from Republican red to Democrat blue since Mr Trump’s election victory, according to the Democrat Legislative Campaign Committee.

Mr Walker warned the result was a “wake up call for Republicans in Wisconsin", ahead of national midterm elections in November that will see all 435 seats in the House of Representatives contested, as well as 33 of the 100 seats in the Senate, including those in Wisconsin. It will also see the governor’s office up for grabs.

Ms Schachtner, who is the chief medical examiner for St Croix County, said in a statement: “This campaign was about investing in people and revitalizing our area, whether that is making sure that every Wisconsinite has access to affordable health care, funding our public schools, technical colleges and University of Wisconsin campuses, or investing in good-paying jobs.”

She added: “Tonight, voters showed that they share those priorities, and I am deeply grateful for their support.”

Republican supporters appeared to fear the district was vulnerable. According to USA Today, a group backed by the billionaire conservative Koch brothers, Americans for Prosperity, spent at least $50,000 (£36,268) on adverts for Mr Jarchow, the first time it backed a specific candidate.

Despite the victory, Republicans still control the state legislature with an 18-14 majority.

Even in other special elections - held to fill a vacancy when a senator dies or resigns - that went against them, Democrats tended to fare better than in previous years.

Democrat Dennis Degenhardt won 43 per cent of the vote in Wisconsin’s 58th Assembly District – a seat the party failed to even contest in 2016.

In South Carolina, Cindy Boatwright also gained 43 per cent of the vote in a seat the party had not contested in a decade.

The fresh election blow to conservatives comes just a month after Democrat Doug Jones scored a stunning victory over Republican firebrand Roy Moore to win the vacant Senate seat in deep red Alabama.

Mr Trump ultimately endorsed Mr Moore, despite a series of women alleging he had made advances on them when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers, including multiple women who accused him of assault. Mr Moore denied the allegations and dismissed them as an attempt to undermine his campaign.