Wisconsin Election Recount Likely In Race Between JoAnne Kloppenburg, David Prosser

The Wisconsin Supreme Court race between Justice David Prosser and JoAnne Kloppenburg was still too close to call on Wednesday morning. One day after voters took to the polls in the Badger State to decide the match-up, it seemed that a recount vote would be likely to occur.

The Milwaukee-Journal Sentinel reports:

As of 10:40 a.m., the Associated Press had results for all but 3 of the state's 3,630 precincts and Kloppenburg had taken a 224 vote lead after Prosser had been ahead most of the night by less than 1,000 votes.

That close margin had political insiders from both sides talking about the possibility of a recount, which Wisconsin has avoided in statewide races in recent decades. Any recount could be followed by lawsuits -- litigation that potentially would be decided by the high court.

Prosser's campaign didn't immediately return a message early Wednesday. However, the Journal-Sentinel reported that he told supporters at his election-night party that there was "little doubt" there would be a recount.

When the numbers showed her behind, Kloppenburg told supporters she hadn't given up.
"We're still hopeful," Kloppenburg said. "So thank you all and let's all get a good night's sleep and see what tomorrow brings."

Labor groups and conservative activists turned the match-up into an intense and expensive contest that offered the public their first formal opportunity to weigh in on the national fight over union rights.According to the AP, the race was the most expensive of its kind in state history.

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Troops Won't Receive Paycheck if Government Shuts Down

Soldiers deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan will not receive paychecks next week if the government fails to come together on a resolution to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown, senior government officials said today.

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WATCH: Chuck Schumer: Tea Party Wants Shutdown

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WATCH: Barack Obama Demands Progress on Budget

Military personnel will be paid eventually but not until Congress appropriates money to the Department of Defense. Whether civilians at the Pentagon get paid is another story. Since "non-essential" staff is furloughed during a government shutdown, Congress must decide once it reaches a resolution whether to give backpay to dismissed employees.

"We expect a significant number of civilian DOD employees will unfortunately be furloughed if the government shuts down," a senior administration official said today.

Louis Bornman, a DOD employee who has spent 12 years of active duty in the Army, says getting furloughed could jeopardize his entire retirement savings. He says it will also adversely impact the federal government and taxpayers.

"It is very demoralizing to think you're going to be laid off and not paid," said Bornman, based in Ft. Leavenworth, Kan. "People will have to work overtime in the near future, which ultimately will cost the government more money. ... It's very disconcerting that you're looked upon as disposable when you're providing that backup service that the nation depends upon."

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, has introduced a bipartisan bill with seven other members that would allow military personnel to receive paychecks in the case of a government shutdown.

Defense Department contractors will also be impacted. During the last shutdown, contractors did not receive back pay, which some Democrats say could put small companies out of business.

"It is going to be very severe," said Rep. Jim Moran, D-Va. "Large contractors are going to be ok. They have a sufficient cash reserve. Small contractors are not... They are hanging on by their finger nails."

At least 800,000 federal employees are expected to be furloughed, the same as the 1995 shutdown. But unlike then, it's unclear whether they would receive back pay for the lost time.

Republicans and Democrats sounded more optimistic today that agovernment shutdown can be avoided, but federal agencies and members of Congress are moving ahead with contingency plans if a deal can't be hatched soon."I have a very strong conclusion after talking with some of these guys there will be no reimbursement," Moran said today. If the shutdown is prolonged, "it is going to have a very severe impact upon federal employees ability to make their mortgage payments, car payments etc. etc. ... This is very very serious."

The clock is quickly running out for lawmakers. Per House rules, legislation has to be posted 48 hours before a vote, which means the GOP leadership has until Thursday morning to post the bill.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., huddled once again on Tuesday evening in a meeting that aides say was "productive."

A seemingly frustrated President Obama, who took to the cameras Tuesday to urge lawmakers to act swiftly, said he would host the leaders again today if needed. The three parties met Tuesday at the White House but couldn't find a resolution. The White House says the president may still call a meeting for later today, but as of he is scheduled to make trips to Pennsylvania and New York.

Obama pushed Boehner to sell the $33 billion in cuts Democrats say they originally negotiated with him. The speaker, they say, backed out because of pressure from Tea Party members and conservatives in his own caucus. Boehner said the two sides never agreed to that number, and he pushed for at least $40 billion in cuts Tuesday.

Tea Party-backed members of Congress want to stick to the $61 billion in cuts proposed in the original continuing resolution that passed on Feb. 19. The two short-term extensions that the House has passed in recent weeks cut a total of $10 billion.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Election Morphs Into Intense, Expensive Contest

MILWAUKEE (AP) – Labor groups and conservative activists have turned Tuesday's Wisconsin Supreme Court election into an intense and expensive contest that offers the public their first formal opportunity to weigh in on the national fight over union rights.

Election officials in the Democratic strongholds of Madison and Milwaukee have noted remarkably high voter interest in a race Democrats have tried to turn into a referendum on a polarizing union-rights law pushed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

The seven-member high court is officially nonpartisan. But incumbent Justice David Prosser, who is seeking a second 10-year term, is seen as part of a conservative four-justice majority. His challenger, Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg, has been presented as an alternative that would tilt the court's ideological balance to the left.

Democrats supporting Kloppenburg, who typically would be at a large disadvantage facing an incumbent, have tried to tap into the anger that prompted tens of thousands of protesters to flood Madison as Walker pushed his plan to strip most public workers of nearly all their collective bargaining rights.

The law eventually passed, but is on hold as legal challenges make their way through the courts — and many expect the state Supreme Court ultimately could decide the issue.

Prosser has told The Associated Press he doesn't necessarily agree with the law. Still, bitter Democrats have portrayed him as a Walker clone and Kloppenburg's campaign surged during the weeks of protests.

Pat Heiser, 76, said the union struggles weighed heavily on her decision to vote for Kloppenburg.