Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill may be in jeopardy as rumors swirl around seven Republican state senators said to be on the fence about supporting the legislation.
Among those reportedly wavering is state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau.
State Sens. Dan Kapanke, R-La Crosse, Luther Olsen, R-Ripon, Randy Hopper, R-Fon Du Lac, Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, and Mike Ellis, R-Neenah, are reportedly undecided on the bill.
Several of the legislators' offices stayed out of touch Monday, including the Ellis office, which disconnected its phone, and Olsen's office, which had a full mailbox.
There has been public outcry across the state, especially from union workers since Walker announced the bill. About 100 union workers protested Walker's plan outside of Fitzgerald's home Sunday. Other rallies are scheduled to take place throughout the week at the capitol.
Walker's proposal calls for removing almost all public employee collective bargaining rights to help make up for a two-year, $3.6 billion budget shortfall.
UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said it is ""too early to tell"" whether the bill will pass the legislature or not. But Franklin pointed out the senate is fairly evenly divided, so Republicans could only afford to lose two votes to pass the bill.
He also said the governor is staking a ""tremendous amount"" on this issue and Republican representatives will face great pressure to back Walker.
""For GOP senators to fail to back him on this would be a gigantic setback to what has been so far an unimpeded administration and legislature,"" Franklin said.
Franklin said Wisconsin could see ""the political fight of, I think, the last century over this going forward.""
