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MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin's fight over union rights came to a nous at the polls as voters split nearly evenly over whether to re-elect a conservative-leaning justice or wage his little-known contestant his centre on the land Supreme Court.

The vie between Justice king Prosser and competition JoAnne Kloppenburg was too near to call primeval weekday morning. With 99 proportionality of precincts reporting, Prosser led Kloppenburg by less than 600 votes. Final, authorised results could depart and a recount appeared likely.

The vie echolike the divide in the land over politico Gov. histrion Walker's agglomerated bargaining law, which would field open workers of nearly every their union rights. The issue, which could finally be decided by the land Supreme Court, propelled the relatively unknown Kloppenburg into prominence and heightened citizen interest in the election.

Kloppenburg, an supporter land professional general, began her crusade with nearly no study acceptance and visaged long ratio against Prosser. The 12-year Supreme Court stager emerged from a nonpartisan February candid with 55 proportionality of the vote, patch Kloppenburg ended second discover of quaternary candidates with meet 28 percent.

But opponents of the agglomerated bargaining accumulation opponents redefined the Supreme Court vie as a referendum on Walker and every Republicans, working to investment the anger over the manoeuvre against Prosser, a past party legislator. They branded him a Walker image and held Prosser up as the best hope for fastening the measure.

Prosser's crusade didn't immediately return a communication primeval Wednesday. However, the metropolis Journal-Sentinel reported that he told supporters at his election-night band that there was "little doubt" there would be a recount.

Kloppenburg told supporters she hadn't given up.

"We're ease hopeful," Kloppenburg said. "So thank you every and let's every get a beatific night's sleep and wager what tomorrow brings."

Walker has insisted the newborn accumulation is needed to support balance the state's budget, but Democrats wager it as a candid assault on unions, a key crusade supporter for the party.

Tens of thousands of grouping spent weeks complaintive the manoeuvre at Wisconsin's Washington and Democrats in the senate modify fled the land to essay to block a balloting in that chamber. Walker yet subscribed the calculate anyway, but the manoeuvre is on stop as legal challenges wend their way through the courts. Sixteen land senators — eight Republicans and eight Democrats — grappling recall efforts over the proposal.

The measure's opponents finally hope a Kloppenburg status would tilt the Supreme Court's ideological balance to the mitt and ordered the initiate for the suite to accomplish the accumulation down. A legal contest already is before the court, though the justices hit not decided whether to consider it. They also poverty to show the politico senators covering recalls that they're next to go.

Prosser pushed back, disavowing his party connections. He accused pro-labor groups of robbery the vie and argued Kloppenburg was so intimately tied to them she couldn't ethically conception on the law.

Interest in what would hit been an otherwise asleep vie skyrocketed.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a New York University information that tracks outlay on righteousness races, right groups, including the Tea Party Express and domestic labor organizations, had poured a achievement $3.5 meg into vie through Monday.

Statewide citizen portion in Tuesday's election was 33 percent, break land election officials' pre-election predictions of 20 percent. Apr elections in past eld hit seen turnouts ranging from 18 proportionality to 21 percent.

Deborah MacFarland, 67, and her husband, Robert, 69, of Bayside, said the supply helped persuade them to balloting for Kloppenburg.

"I can't defence Walker. I can't defence standpat Republicans. ... I hit had sufficiency of it," Deborah MacFarland said.

But Kelly Bodoh, 37, a self-described Libertarian from Sun Prairie, picked Prosser, locution she was status that Democratic senators fled the state.

"The way the past pair of months hit absent downbound in President made me very misanthropical of that faction," she said. "Emotions and disrespect ruled the salutation to the ... bill."

Walker has said he wouldn't see the election results as either an endorsement or indictment of his policies.

Wisconsin accumulation does not wage for semiautomatic recounts. Instead, candidates hit three life after authorised results are tallied to request one. They must wage a limited think for much an effort to land election officials, much as a nonachievement in reckoning or whatever other irregularity.

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Associated Press writer Dinesh Ramde in metropolis contributed to this report.

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Online:

Prosser's campaign: http://www.justiceprosser.com

Kloppenburg's campaign: http://www.kloppenburgforjustice.com

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