Prosser says he has won Wis. court race

MADISON, Wis., April 19 (UPI) -- Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser said Monday he is the clear winner in a race seen as a test of Gov. Scott Walker's strength.

Prosser suggested at a news conference in Madison that a recount would be a waste of money, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The official results give Prosser a margin of 7,316 votes over JoAnne Kloppenburg.

"Admittedly the election was uncomfortably close," Prosser said. "My opponent ran a very effective campaign. But now that all 72 counties have completed their canvasses, the result of the election is not in doubt."

While Prosser and Kloppenburg ran non-partisan campaigns and promised to be impartial judges on the state's high court, Kloppenburg was backed by unions and opponents of Walker's policy of stripping public employees of collective bargaining rights.

Kloppenburg must decide by Wednesday whether to ask for a recount. State law allows them when the candidates are separated by less than .05 percent of the vote.