Republican Who Survived Recall Faces Bus Driver In Central Wisconsin Senate Race

In western Wisconsin’s 23rd State Senate District, an incumbent who survived a recall election is now facing off against a relatively unknown city bus driver.

Republican state Sen. Terry Moulton of the Town of Seymour won his recall election by a bigger margin than when he first won the seat in 2010. The recall was initiated after he voted for Act 10, the law that scaled back collective bargaining for most public workers.

Moulton says he’s proud of his vote and other laws he passed with his Republican colleagues to help Wisconsin’s economy. One thing Republicans are resisting, though, are calls to increase the state’s minimum wage. Moulton said that raising the rate will hurt the economy.

“Minimum wage is a well-meaning attempt to help certain workers,” said Moulton. “Economic studies have shown over and over again that somebody has to pay for that increase, and unfortunately what happens is the least-skilled and the least fortunate among us are the ones that are going to pay for it.”

Moulton said that raising the minimum wage could cost Wisconsin 16,000 jobs.

His Democratic challenger is Phil Swanhorst, a city bus driver from the Town of Lafayette. Swanhorst said he sees people making minimum wage every day and that it has to be raised.

“It not only helps the person not live in poverty, but that person who isn’t getting enough money gets government subsidies because of that low minimum wage. We are affecting all taxpayers when we don’t pay a livable wage,” said Swanhorst.

Swanhorst won’t say what the minimum wage should be. He said that’s something legislators should agree on in a bipartisan manner.