The Pew Charitable Trusts

Democrats won some battles, but Republicans won the war. That is the most common narrative emerging from historic recall elections in Wisconsin on Tuesday (August 10). While Democrats were able to capture two seats from the GOP in the Wisconsin state Senate, they were unable to wrest away control of the entire chamber, as they had sought.

A day later, both sides are working hard to frame the debate on their terms.

Democrats say their gain of two seats was a shot across the bow for Republican Governor Scott Walker, whose crackdown on public-sector workers triggered the massive recall drive in the first place. " Mr. Walker's opponents did not succeed in turning over the Senate, but it was still an impressive response to the governor's arrogant overreach," the liberal editorial page of The New York Times argues .

Republicans counter that they fended off a highly motivated and well-financed opposition and that, by maintaining control of the Senate, they proved that the voters are actually on their side. "Unions across the country threw everything they had to defeat Wisconsin state senators who voted for collective bargaining reforms for government workers," the conservative editorial page of The Wall Street Journal says , "and on Tuesday the unions lost."

In Wisconsin, Walker interpreted the election results to mean that voters want bipartisanship, The Journal-Sentinel of Milwaukee reports , and the governor promised to pursue a policy agenda that Democrats and Republicans alike could embrace. But Walker has good reason to walk a moderate line going forward: The governor himself is the target of a recall drive, one that Democrats promised to continue in spite of their losses this week.

"The historic gains made tonight to restore balance and accountability to our state and restore Wisconsin values, will continue when the entire state weighs in on the November 2012 elections," the chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party said on Tuesday, "and with the recall of Scott Walker himself."