Just one day after the Republicans retook control of the statehouse Tuesday night, state Senate Majority Leader Mark Miller, D-Monona, said he will step down as the Democratic leader at the end of the legislative session.
Miller joined state Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, as co-majority leaders of the state Senate after then-state Sen. Pam Galloway, R-Wausau, announced her resignation last May, causing a 16-16 party split.
Miller became the sole majority leader after the June recalls provided Democrats with a one-seat advantage in the state Senate.
“The last two years have been historic,” Miller said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Republicans and Democrats in the upcoming session.”
As the state Senate Minority Leader, Miller was at the forefront of the movement against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget repair bill in spring 2011. He was one of the 14 state Senate Democrats who fled to Illinois during the collective bargaining debate in order to avoid voting on the controversial legislation.
Miller’s decision to leave the state made him the target of a recall effort, but organizers were unable to collect enough signatures to force an election. Three of his Democratic colleagues also survived recall elections that summer.
State Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Madison, is considered one of the top candidates to take over Miller’s post, but his office could not be reached for comment. Erpenbach served as a primary surrogate for President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in Madison during the closing weeks of the race.
