So the long and short of it is: after out spending challenger Tom Barrett on a scale of 8 to 1, Gov. Scott Walker remains the governor in Wisconsin. With 99% of the vote in, Walker beat Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (D) by
seven percentage points, 53%-46%, which was almost identical to the
margin in their 2010 contest.
What apparently helped Walker – besides 75% of his campaign money coming from out of state – was 60% in exit polls said that recalls are legitimate only for official misconduct, which they didn’t feel was the case here.
However, a couple of bright spots for Democrats from the evening:
1. The Obama White House and Chicago campaign headquarters can take
comfort that the exit poll shows Obama beating Romney by seven points,
51%-44%, and it even shows him slightly ahead of Romney on improving the
economy, 42%-38%.
2. Wisconsin Democrats appeared to have assumed control of the state Senate with
results posted early Wednesday showing former Sen. John Lehman
(D-Racine) defeating incumbent Van Wanggaard in a tight race.