It’s election time! Today will mark the third time in history that a US state heads to the polls to with the potential of firing a sitting governor. The saga began with Governor Scott Walker’s controversial budget repair bill in 2011, and will come to an end today (well, at least symbolically). In case you’re rusty on who’s running and why, here’s the skinny on the two major-party candidates.
- The ChallengerDemocrat Tom Barrett, a former attorney, served in the Wisconsin state legislature, the US House of Representatives, and is currently Mayor of Milwaukee. He’s a member of the multi-party Mayors Against Illegal Guns coalition and was once beaten and permanently injured while responding to a woman’s cries for help (this was when he was mayor, mind you). Barrett lost to Scott Walker two years ago in the governor’s race; the day that the state of Wisconsin approved the recall elections, Barrett declared his candidacy.
- The IncumbentRepublican Scott Walker entered the state legislature the year Barrett left, and served as Milwaukee County Executive before winning the governorship in 2010. He’s most well-known for having championed controversial legislation last year that restricted collective bargaining rights for state employees. Wisconsin Democrats hated the bill so much, they fled the state, and there were nationwide protests against it. Walker’s vocal support for that bill, which eventually passed, was the impetus for the recall election. source
» So who’s gonna win? It’s extremely close right now. Public Policy Polling’s most recent poll shows Walker ahead by three points, but Barrett closing the gap and within the margin of error. So it could go either way; it all depends on voter turnout. (So vote!) We’ll be covering it tonight, folks — we’ll keep you posted. (photo via WisPolitics.com, from last week’s debate)
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