Wisconsin Recall Primary Election Results And Predictions
By Samantha Abernethy in News on May 9, 2012 8:40PM
Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett won the Democratic nomination to take on Gov. Scott Walker in the recall election in June, making for a rematch of the 2010 gubernatorial election in which Walker defeated Barrett by a mere 125,000 votes. That doesn't mean the outcome will be the same, though. "The candidates may be the same, but Wisconsin isn't," writes the AP.
Polls currently show the two in a statistical tie with few undecided voters, so it's likely the next election results will also be tight similarly close. The key to winning the June 5 election will be voter turnout, and looking at yesterday's numbers, the Democrats will need more than 670,000 voters to defeat Walker. Running yesterday with no sizable opposition, Walker still managed to pull a total of 626,538 votes. That's about 280,000 more votes than Mitt Romney got in the April 3 GOP presidential primaries.
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel writes:
“The Democrats should worry about turnout in June. They should put the GOTV machine into full gear,” said political scientist Barry Burden of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.The counter-argument is that Walker is the motivating force for Democrats as much as he is for Republicans, and that voting against him next month will be far more mobilizing for them than Tuesday’s primary was.
Total voter turnout yesterday varied county-by-county, with Ozaukee and Waukesha counties pulling 39.4 and 38.8 percent, respectively. Oddly enough, there was no local contest in those counties that was also attracting voters.
It may have been union issues that brought Walker to a recall, but Barrett wasn't the unions' favorite candidate. Unions endorsed Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, who took 34 percent of the vote in Tuesday's primary. The unions didn't hold a grudge, though, and quickly endorsed Barrett last night. Falk threw her support behind Barrett in her concession speech.
The full results of the May 8 special primary elections:
Governor - Dem Special Primary
Barrett, Tom - 390,109, 58%
Falk, Kathleen - 228,940, 34%
Vinehout, Kathleen - 26,926, 4%
La Follette, Doug - 19,461, 3%
Huber, Gladys - 4,842, 1%
Governor - GOP Special Primary
Walker, Scott - 626,538, 97% (incumbent)
Kohl-Riggs, Arthur - 19,920, 3%
Lieutenant Governor - Dem Special Primary
Mitchell, Mahlon - 395,944, 52%
Weix, Isaac -197,052, 26%
Robins, Ira - 165,074, 22%
State Senate District 13 (Appleton) Dem Special Primary
Incumbent: Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R)
Compas, Lori - 21,246, 72%
Ellerman, Gary - 8,212, 28%
State Senate District 21 (Racine) Dem Special Primary
Incumbent: Sen. Van Wanggaard (R)
Lehman, John - 20,273, 68%
Varebrook, Tamra - 9,507, 32% ("fake" Democrat)
State Senate District 23 (Eau Claire) Dem Special Primary
Incumbent: Sen. Terry Moulton (R)
Dexter, Kristen - 17,638, 64%
Engel, James - 9,725, 36% ("fake" Democrat)
State Senate District 29 (Wausau) Dem Special Primary
Incumbent: Sen. Pam Galloway resigned, replaced by Rep. Jerry Petrowski (R)
Seidel, Donna - 17,920, 64%
Buckley, Jim - 9,992, 36% ("fake" Democrat)