In the first decade of the 21st century, Wisconsin was fairly evenly divided between Republican and Democratic parties, as both parties held statewide offices and at various times held control of one or both houses of the Legislature. This changed with the 2010 election when a national Republican wave helped elect a Republican Governor and Republican majorities in the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly. With full control of state government, one of the Republicans' first acts was the controversial 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, the "budget repair bill" which stripped collective bargaining rights from public employee unions. Following mass protests in the state capital, Democratic senators fled the state in an attempt to deny a quorum and slow down the passage of the bill. The attempt ultimately failed, but the controversy led to two years (2011 &amp; 2012) of senate recall elections, and a gubernatorial recall election. The recalls gave the Democrats a brief senate majority in 2012, but it was lost to new senate maps in 2012.