In low-turnout special primary election, Dora Drake clears way to win open Milwaukee state Senate seat

Democratic state Rep. Dora Drake won a special primary election for an open Milwaukee state Senate seat Tuesday night in what poll workers described as a very low-turnout election.

Drake took about 66% of the vote, compared to Rep. LaKeshia Myers' 34%, according to unofficial results. Voters will again go to the polls on July 30, but only Drake's name will appear on the ballot, meaning she has effectively won the seat. No Republicans are running in the district.

"I’m proud of the work we did and humbled by the support the community showed today. People believed in the vision of addressing reckless driving and prioritizing mental health," Drake said in a statement.

This election is only to complete former state Sen. Lena Taylor's term, who left the state Legislature when she became a Milwaukee County circuit judge. That term concludes at the end of 2024.

Both candidates will run again for the seat on Aug. 13 and Nov. 5 — the same dates as other state lawmakers up for election. The winner of that election will serve a full, four-year term, beginning in 2025.

In a statement, Myers said the Aug. 13 election "is and has always been my campaign's primary focus."

"The people of the fourth (district) have made their voices heard for the special election," Myers said. "We will continue to advocate for and engage with voters as we move toward the Aug. 13 primary."

Drake said Tuesday's results are "step one towards the August 13th election and we’ll be back to work tomorrow.”

Poll workers describe very low turnout, even for a special election

About 7,149 ballots were cast in the election, compared to 89,396 registered voters in wards that make up the district, not counting people who may have registered Tuesday. That puts turnout at 8%.

Poll workers interviewed by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel early Tuesday evening said it was one of the slowest elections they've seen, even compared to other special elections. The off-and-on rain might have been a deterrent for some voters, they noted.

At Gordon Park Pavilion in Milwaukee's Riverwest neighborhood, about 20 people had voted as of 4:30 p.m., compared to 955 registered voters in the ward. At Green Bay Avenue Public School, only four people had come into vote by 5 p.m., out of at least 200 registered voters.

"It's been very low turnout," said chief inspector Craig Steffen at the Gordon Park polling place. "It's just been really slow. It's not a regular election, it's a special election to replace Lena Taylor. From my point of view, it probably wasn't publicized as much to the public."

The Village of Shorewood consolidated its wards into one polling place because it expected a low-turnout election. About 400 people had voted as of 5 p.m., out of nearly 10,000 registered voters.

"The mantra in Shorewood is 'Shorewood votes.' In the last general election we had, I believe, above a 90% turnout," co-chief inspector Jeannee Sacken said. "We've had fewer than 1,000 (for) this election. So it's a small election."

For Ben Iberle, it was still important to get out and vote at Gordon Park.

"I knew that the campaigns were going to find it important, even though it's the special election," Iberle said. "Just wanting to have a say in what's happening in Milwaukee, because there's so many things that need to be worked on."

Two election observers removed by police after becoming confrontational

While neither the Gordon Park, Green Bay Avenue Public School or Shorewood polling locations had disruptive election observers, two observers at the Bavarian Bierhaus and Good Hope Elementary School polling locations were removed by police for getting confrontational with poll workers.

More: Police in Glendale remove election observers for being disruptive and objecting to ballots

Before Glendale police arrived, poll workers had issued multiple warnings against hovering too closely and disrupting typical procedures, Glendale Mayor Bryan Kennedy said. The rest of the observers were allowed to stay at polling locations in Glendale, Shorewood and the City of Milwaukee.

Most of the observers challenging the ballots were from outside of Milwaukee County and registered as either as a "concerned citizen," with the Republican Party or an associated group, according to election observer logs at each of the locations.

Among those on the logs included Harry Wait, a Racine County resident who was charged in 2022 for fraudulently requesting absentee ballots to prove fraud existed, and Peter Bernegger, a New London resident who has engaged in relentless legal efforts to prove fraud in the 2020 election.

Kennedy called it a precursor to "what we're going to see in November."

"We've seen the election denial people, and this is exactly what they're going to try and do," he said. "They're going to say that every single absentee ballot is fraudulent and should not be counted if it's likely a liberal voter."

Claudia Levens contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Dora Drake wins special primary election for Milwaukee Senate seat