Will Wisconsin Governor Survive Recall Election?

Posted on Jun 4, 2012

Mark's Postcards from Beloit

Gov. Scott Walker is fighting for his political life.

Scott Walker is looking to do what no other U.S. governor has ever done: keep his office after a recall election. Walker is just the third governor to face a recall ballot in U.S. history. The first was North Dakota Gov. Lynn Frazier in 1921. He lost. The second was California’s Gray Davis in 2003. He lost. Arnold Schwarzenegger won.

With less than 24 hours to go until Wisconsin voters head to the polls, it appears Walker has a good chance at becoming the first to survive a recall. According to a Real Clear Politics average of polls, the Republican governor has a nearly 6.5 point edge against his challenger, Democrat Tom Barrett.

The stakes are high in Tuesday’s election, and the battle is especially crucial given that this is also a presidential election year. What happens Tuesday in the Badger State could have major implications throughout the country.—TEB

The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza:

The recall election has drawn massive amounts of national attention and money — $63.5 million and counting, to be exact. Walker enters Election Day as a slight favorite, with even Democrats acknowledging privately that a Barrett win at this point would be an upset. Of course, upsets happen.

With the national spotlight so firmly fixed on Tuesday’s election — the Fix believes Tuesday’s vote is the second most important and influential race of 2012 aside from the presidential — the stakes for a number of players on both sides are absolutely massive.

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