FILE - The Wisconsin state Capitol in Madison, Wis. in 2012. (AP Photo/Scott Bauer, File)

(4/6: Updated with a response from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin)

Wisconsin Republicans secured a supermajority in the State Senate on Tuesday, when Dan Knodl (R) won a special election for the Badger State’s 8th Senate District.

Knodl defeated his opponent Jodi Habush Sinykin (D) by a narrow margin of 50.9% to 49.1%, or a difference of 1,296 votes. The win increases the Republican majority to 22 of the 33 seats in the state Senate, giving them a 2/3rds majority. This is significant because it gives the Republicans in Wisconsin the ability to impeach elected state officials accused of “corrupt conduct in office, or for crimes and misdemeanors,” according to Wisconsin’s constitution.

Articles of impeachment can only be introduced by a majority vote in the State Assembly, which the Republicans control 64-35. After a successful majority vote, the impeachment moves to the Senate, where the members act as a court, try the elected official and review evidence. If 2/3rds of the Senate votes to convict the official, they can be forcibly removed from office.

Knodl’s win came on the same night liberals regained control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court for the first time in 15 years after Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Janet Protasiewicz defeated Dan Kelly. With the new super majority in place, Republicans are in a position to remove Protasiewicz from office immediately, and Knodl has expressed interest in pursuing this path.

Every Republican in the Senate would have to be willing to vote for impeachment, however, which could prove tricky especially because of the lack of precedent. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the only impeachment in Wisconsin history occurred in 1853, when the Assembly unsuccessfully sought to remove a circuit court judge named Levi Hubbell. The state legislature accused Hubbell of bribery, conflicts of interest and sexual harassment.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu was also reportedly asked if the Senate would consider impeaching Protasiewicz, to which he simply replied “No,” according to CBS 58 reporter A.J. Bayatpour.

The Democratic Party of Wisconsin responded by daring Knodl and the state GOP to try and impeach Protasiewicz.

““If Republican politicians like Dan Knodl want to use their gerrymandered supermajority to overturn the will of Wisconsin voters, they will be consumed by a political firestorm of their own making,” said Joseph Oslund, the communications director for Wisconsin Democrats. “In handing Dan Kelly yet another double-digit defeat, Wisconsinites have made clear they are sick and tired of MAGA Republicans attempting to seize power at any cost.”

Liberal efforts to reverse much of the GOP agenda through the court could be in jeopardy with the new Senate supermajority. Abortion restriction, suppression of voting rights and gerrymandering have been staples of the controversial Republican agenda in Wisconsin.

Knodl has served in the Wisconsin State Assembly since 2008, and he was part of a group of lawmakers that urged then-Vice President Mike Pence to delay the certification of the 2020 election results. He will fill the seat vacated by Alberta Darling (R), who retired in December, prompting a special election by Gov. Tony Evers (D) to fill her seat.