More bad news today for the unions:

Two Republican state senators lost their seats in recall elections around Wisconsin on Tuesday, but Republicans maintained their control of the State Senate, ultimately handing a defeat to union groups and Democrats who had spent months and millions of dollars trying to wrestle away at least some of the state's political power.

The outcome was seen as a victory for Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican whose move to curtail collective bargaining rights for public workers this year set off a firestorm of protests, then counterprotests and finally a summer of unprecedented recall efforts.

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Republicans Hold On to Wisconsin Senate After Recall Vote

By MONICA DAVEY

Published: August 9, 2011

www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/us/politics/10wisconsin.html