Union-Backed Candidate Badly Loses Wisconsin Dem Primary

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Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett, the Democrat who lost Wisconsin’s 2010 gubernatorial election to Scott Walker by 5.7 points, will get another shot at Walker in the June 5 recall election. With 40% of precincts reporting, the AP has called the Democratic primary for Barrett, as he leads union-backed candidate Kathleen Falk 55% to 37%. Falk’s loss is a stinging rebuke to labor unions, which spent more than $4 million on Falk’s behalf and (correctly) accused Barrett of rank hypocrisy on collective bargaining rights–the issue that sparked the recall. Barrett was widely seen as the more electable candidate in a match-up with Walker–polls show the two in a dead heat.

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