Wisconsin Recalls

With Recall In Motion, Democrats Consider Candidates To Challenge Walker

Eric Kleefeld | January 18, 2012, 5:57AM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

Now that Wisconsin Democrats made their big move to trigger a recall election against Republican Gov. Scott Walker -- turning in over a million signatures against him on Tuesday -- the next step is now approaching, with potential Democratic challengers starting to make their way out into the open.

The recall drive started last year, in reaction to Walker's very far reaching anti-public employee union legislation, stripping public employee unions of most collective bargaining rights. This triggered waves of protests that filled the state Capitol and other locations, followed by a summer of state Senate recall campaigns that attracted tens of millions of dollars in political spending. The Democrats had to wait longer to target Walker for recall, however, because the state constitution's recall section requires that an elected official have served at least the first year of his term.

In addition to the review process for petitions, the Democrats have another task at hand: Getting a candidate. Recalls in Wisconsin do not feature any direct up-or-down vote on the incumbent, but instead effectively take the form of a special election with the incumbent and a challenger fighting it out to serve the rest of the term.

During the signature collection process, the party's open preference was to keep the political focus on Walker. Therefore, maneuvering by potential candidates remained very much behind the scenes. Originally, the Democrats had openly sought to have an early, united team around a single candidate -- but it is now looking more and more like there will be a genuine primary.

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Wisconsin Recalls

Poll: Barrett Leads Potential Democratic Primary In Walker Recall

Eric Kleefeld | January 17, 2012, 12:56PM

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D)

With Wisconsin Democrats set to turn in a mountain of petitions to trigger a recall against Gov. Scott Walker, a new survey from Public Policy Polling (D) shows that Walker's Democratic opponent in the 2010 election, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, would start out as the favorite in the Democratic primary if he were to seek a rematch.

In a two way-race, Barrett leads former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk by 46%-27%, and he would also lead former Congressman David Obey by 42%-30%. Obey leads Falk by 43%-28%. In a more wide-open race, Barrett has 26%, Falk 22%, Obey 21%, and state Sen. Tim Cullen (who has already said he will run, but is less known) has 11%.

Recalls in Wisconsin do not feature any direct up-or-down vote on the incumbent, but instead effectively take the form of a special election with the incumbent and a challenger fighting it out to serve the rest of the term. In the 2010 Republican wave, Walker defeated Barrett by a 52%-47% margin.

The survey of likely Democratic primary voters was conducted on Monday, January 16, and has a ±4.3% margin of error.

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Wisconsin Recalls

David Obey Would Consider WI-GOV Recall Bid -- But Wants Kohl Or Barrett To Run

Eric Kleefeld | October 20, 2011, 12:02PM

Former longtime Congressman Dave Obey (D-WI) is joining the call among Democrats to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker in 2012. He would also consider running as a candidate himself in such a recall -- but would prefer to see candidacies by either Sen. Herb Kohl, who is retiring in 2012, or Milwaukee Mayor and unsuccessful 2010 Democratic nominee Tom Barrett.

However, Obey also said that when he has talked to the other two men about running for governor, they politely told him to stop "pestering" them about it.

Obey told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board that "there is so much anger out there" against Walker, predicting that Democrats would successfully collect enough signatures for the effort. (The Dems need to collect over 540,000 signatures, plus a significant buffer that campaigns routinely collect in order to protect against signatures being disqualified over one imperfection or another.)

At the same time, Obey touted Kohl and Barrett as alternative candidates to himself:

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Wisconsin

PPP Poll: Wisconsin Wants To Recall Walker -- And Put Dems In The State Senate

Eric Kleefeld | May 25, 2011, 2:15PM

Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI)

A new survey of Wisconsin from Public Policy Polling (D) finds some good news for Democrats in their efforts to take control of the state Senate in the upcoming recall elections, in a backlash against Gov. Scott Walker's (R) anti-public employee union legislation: The state's voters want to recall Walker -- and they would rather have the Democrats in control of the state Senate, too.

The poll finds Walker with an approval rating of only 43%, with 54% disapproval. The poll also asked: "Would you support or oppose recalling Scott Walker from office before his term is up?" The result was support 50%, oppose 47%.

However, recalls in Wisconsin do not take the form of a yes-or-no question on the incumbent, but are effectively special elections pitting the incumbent against an opposing candidate. Thus, Walker was also tested in hypothetical match-ups against two potential Democratic nominees. Former Sen. Russ Feingold, who lost re-election after three terms in the 2010 Republican wave, leads Walker by 52%-42%. And Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the 2010 Democratic gubernatorial nominee whom Walker defeated by a margin of 52%-47%, now leads Walker by 50%-43%.

"The enthusiasm for recalling Scott Walker is still there three months after the height of the protests in Wisconsin," writes PPP president Dean Debnam. "He'd be done if the vote was today, it's just a question of whether that desire to put him out can continue to be sustained in the coming months."

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WI-SEN

PPP Poll: Feingold, Barrett Trailing In Wisconsin

Eric Kleefeld | September 21, 2010, 1:05PM

Russ Feingold

The new Daily Kos/Public Policy Polling (D) survey of Wisconsin has more bad news for Democrats, with Sen. Russ Feingold -- who we've noted is in trouble this fall -- and gubernatorial nominee Tom Barrett both getting dragged down thanks to low enthusiasm from their base.

In the Senate race, Republican Ron Johnson leads Feingold by 52%-41%, compared to a Feingold edge of 45%-43% in the last PPP survey from June. In the gubernatorial race, Republican Scott Walker leads Barrett 50%-41%, compared to a 45%-38% Walker lead back in June. The survey of likely voters has a ±3.8% margin of error.

The TPM Poll Average for the Senate race gives Johnson a lead of 52.0%-42.8% over Feingold. The average for the gubernatorial race gives Walker a lead over Barrett of 50.1%-42.9%.

From the pollster's analysis: "Wisconsin is seeing one of the most severe enthusiasm gaps in the country. If turnout matched 2008 Johnson would be leading Feingold only 47-46 and Barrett would be ahead of Walker 46-44. Right now these races look very difficult but if Democrats wake up between now and November they have the potential to become toss ups."

WI-GOV

Rasmussen Poll: GOPer Walker Leads By 8 In WI-GOV Race

Marc Kilstein | September 20, 2010, 4:08PM

WI Gov candidates Scott Walker (R) and Tom Barrett (D)

The first post-primary poll of the Wisconsin gubernatorial race is out, and finds Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, the Republican nominee, out in front of Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

The Rasmussen survey has Walker ahead of Barrett by eight points, 51%-43%. When Rasmussen last looked at the contest on August 24, the hypothetical Barrett-Walker matchup resulted in a narrower three-point margin, with the Republican favored 47%-44%.

The TPM Poll Average of the contest shows Walker leading Barrett 50.1%-43.5%.

For more on the race, check out TPMDC's full coverage here.

WI-GOV

Dem Barrett's New WI-GOV Ad Highlights 2009 Intervention In Assault (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | September 9, 2010, 6:15PM

Campaign ad for WI-GOV candidate Tom Barrett (D), "Stand Up"

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the presumptive Democratic nominee for governor of Wisconsin, has a new TV ad highlighting an important story from last year: When Barrett was violently assaulted in August 2009, after intervening in an altercation at the state fair.

Barrett stepped in to defend a woman who was trying to protect her 1-year-old granddaughter from the girl's drunk father. The man then attacked Barrett, beating him in the head and hand with a tire iron. (Barrett did not personally know the individuals involved, his campaign confirmed to us.) Barrett was hospitalized and has undergone multiple operations on his hand, which doctors say might never fully recover. The assailant was later sentenced to 12 years in prison.

The ad shows Barrett's wife Kris talking about how she was out of town when the incident happened, and got a phone call telling her about it. The ad then cuts to news clips about the incident -- and also shows a photo of the severely injured face of Barrett in the hospital at the time. "I know, and our kids know, that their dad will always stand up for them," says Kris Barrett. "And he will always stand up for Wisconsin."

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WI-GOV

GOPer Flaunts Boxing Gloves Against Dem -- Who Was A Violent Crime Victim (VIDEO)

Eric Kleefeld | September 1, 2010, 12:48PM

Campaign ad by Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker (R)

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, the likely Republican nominee in the Wisconsin gubernatorial race, has a new ad in which he says that the presumptive Democratic nominee, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, has been "throwing punches" at him -- and Walker shows off his the boxing gloves to fight back. Of course, Barrett was himself a victim of violent crime a year ago.

"You know, Tom Barrett can't sell his record, so he's throwing punches at me," Walker says before attacking Barrett's positions on such issues as taxes, spending and environmental laws. "I'm Scott Walker, and I took on the political machine in Milwaukee," Walker adds, revealing that his hands are in boxing gloves which he then punches together, "and ready to go the distance as your next governor."

A complication in the imagery of this ad: Back in August 2009, Barrett was severely beaten by a man with a tire iron at the Wisconsin State Fair. Barrett intervened to protect a woman who was trying to protect her 1-year-old granddaughter from the girl's drunk father, who in turn then attacked Barrett. Barrett was hospitalized and has undergone multiple operations on his hand, which doctors say might never fully recover. The assailant was later sentenced to 12 years in prison.

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WI-GOV

Poll: GOPers Lead For WI-GOV

Eric Kleefeld | June 30, 2010, 12:40PM

WI Gov candidates Scott Walker (R) and Tom Barrett (D)

The new survey of the Wisconsin gubernatorial race by Public Policy Polling (D) finds the Republican candidates ahead of Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in the open-seat race to succeed retiring Gov. Jim Doyle. The key here is that Democratic voters remain soft and uncommitted to the presumptive nominee -- which could potentially change as the race gets into crunch-time.

The numbers: Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker leads Barrett by 45%-38%. Former Rep. Mark Neumann, who left Congress in 1998 and lost a close Senate race that year against Democratic Sen. Russ Feingold, leads Barrett by 41%-36%. The survey of registered voters has a ±3.9% margin of error.

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