The Wisconsin recall race hasn’t been the cakewalk that many Democrats thought it would be because the party has been divided and polls suggest that Gov. Scott Walker is on track to keep his seat on Tuesday.
As of the end of May, Republican-leaning groups had outraised the Democrats by a 25-to-1 margin, and The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel endorsed Walker.
Criticism from Wisconsin Democrats and others for the national Democratic Party’s lack of involvement seems to have been heard by national party leaders at the last minute. Former President Bill Clinton held a rally Friday and Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Democratic Governors Association Chairman Gov. Martin O’Malley, D-Md., made campaign stops earlier in the week.
Although unions were responsible for bringing about the recall election, they have been at odds with Democratic nominee Tom Barrett, who has endorsed many of the same union reforms that Walker implemented in the past. Barrett has steered away from focusing on the union question that triggered the recall and has instead chosen to hit the incumbent on economic and other issues.
According to Politico, Clinton warned that “wealthy Republican donors would be surveying the country for other targets if Walker survives.”
Wasserman Schultz called the race a “dry run” for November, but one person has been noticeably absent – Barack Obama.
“What’s more obvious is that the president himself – the current president – is not in town,” Wisconsin Lt.Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch told CNN. “And that, to me, speaks volumes, his absence.”
