HIGH NOON IN WISCONSIN – AT 8:18 A.M. ET:  Politically sensitive eyes will be on Wisconsin on June 5th, for the recall election to decide the fate of incumbent Republican Governor Scott Walker.  Walker has saved Wisconsin from economic ruin, but has upset powerful interests, especially public-service unions, to do it.  Thus the recall election.

Now we know who Walker will be running against in an election that takes place in less than a month.  From The Politico:

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett won the Democratic primary in Wisconsin’s gubernatorial recall election Tuesday, dealing a blow to organized labor and setting up the June 5 race against Republican Gov. Scott Walker.

Barrett defeated former Dane County executive Kathleen Falk, the unions’ preferred candidate, by a wide margin. With 94 percent of precincts reporting, Barrett had 58 percent to Falk’s 35 percent. Two other Democratic candidates, Secretary of State Doug La Follette and state Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, received 3 percent and 4 percent, respectively.

COMMENT:   Despite Walker's remarkable success as governor, saving a winking financial ship, polling shows the recall election will be very close.   There is no sure thing here.  Unions say they will now unite around Barrett to defeat Walker, who eliminated collective bargaining for state employees. 

Barrett ran against Walker for governor at the last election and lost.  He is well known in the state and has the capacity to attract moderates, as he's no bomb thrower.  This is one to watch.

May 9,  2012