Dems: GOP must pay primary costs

Associated Press

Updated: Jul 13, 2011 12:42 PM

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin wants state Republicans to reimburse taxpayers for the cost of six primary elections this week.

Democratic party chair Mike Tate told reporters Wednesday the GOP "abused the electoral process" by forcing Tuesday's primaries. He says Republicans can no longer claim to be responsible stewards of taxpayer money.

A message left with the state Republican party wasn't immediately returned.

The elections were part of recall efforts against six Republican state senators who supported Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union proposal. Six Democratic challengers stepped forward, but Republicans ran "fake" Democrats to force primaries and give the incumbents more time to prepare.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel calculates the primaries cost at least $475,000.

Three Democratic state senators are also being targeted for leaving the state to stall Walker's measure.

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