The next major test for Republican presidential candidates is April 3 in Wisconsin, where GOP voters are not accustomed to having much of a voice in the presidential primary process. But even with Wisconsin looking like an important state – in some ways maybe a decisive one – voters there are more concerned about local politics than the presidential election.

The reason: Governor Scott Walker, who is immensely popular among the state’s Republicans, is up for recall in early June. Walker’s reforms to the state budget process, particularly the elimination of most collective bargaining for public employees, has made him a top target of public employee unions, who are bankrolling an effort to unseat him for doing, in effect, what he promised to do when he ran. Their job has been made more difficult because Walker’s reforms have worked. (Go to the many websites pushing for defeat of Walker and you’ll find precious little analysis of the actual impact of the reforms, the ostensible reason for the recall, but plenty about voter ID laws and an investigation targeting some former Walker employees.)