Baldwin makes history with win over Thompson

Wisconsin residents made history Tuesday whether they, or the winning candidate, intended to do so. U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin defeated former Gov. Tommy Thompson by taking 51 percent of the vote.

”Now, I’m well aware that I will have the honor to be the first woman senator from Wisconsin. And I’m well aware that I will be the first openly gay member of the United States Senate,” she said in her acceptance speech released by campaign headquarters.

“I didn’t run to make history. I ran to make a difference – a difference in the lives of families struggling to find work and pay the bills, a difference in the lives of students worried about debt and seniors worried about their retirement security, a difference in the lives of veterans … a difference in the lives of entrepreneurs trying to build a business and working people trying to build some economic security.”

Baldwin had 1.3 million votes to Thompson’s 1.1 million with 85 percent of the precincts reporting. The race was called at midnight.

The win keeps the seat Democratic: Baldwin succeeds Herb Kohl, who retires in December. No Republican has held that seat since 1957, but the GOP captured Wisconsin's other Senate seat from Russ Feingold in 2010.

Baldwin praised Kohl as well as Thompson. She and the 70-year-old Republican didn’t agree on much in the bruising campaign.

“There can be no doubt that he shares my love for Wisconsin. And even at the end of a long and sometimes bitter campaign, I’m still grateful for his service to our state,” she said.

Baldwin claimed victory in the name of the middle class. She pledged to “wake up every morning and fight” for the many people who told her they want an economy in which everybody plays by the same rules, and everybody does their fair share.

She also acknowledged that her win is one for the record.

“But in choosing me to tackle those challenges, the people of Wisconsin have made history,” Baldwin said, “and I can’t tell you how grateful I am for the trust you have placed in me. All I can do is work as hard as I can to keep that trust.”

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