Wisconsin recall wrap-up

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.

Wisconsin: Governor recall election shenanigans

Voters across Wisconsin are relaying stories via Twitter, Facebook and online message boards about anonymous “robocalls” from allies of Scott Walker, telling them–incorrectly–that if they signed petitions to recall Governor Walker, their vote in today’s crucial election has been recorded.

An NBC reporter tweeted that a family friend was one recipient of the call:

Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee and the Democratic nominee to unseat Governor Scott Walker, told MSNBC host Ed Schultz last night that his campaign began receiving complaints yesterday that voters had been contacted with the misinformation. This morning, Salon reported on the robocalls too, and included comments from Carol Gibbons, a Wisconsin resident who got the call herself. And a local CBS affiliate is even reporting that the caller sounds eerily similar to Tom Barrett, suggesting the group behind the call may have hired a Barrett impersonator.

So far no recording of the call has surfaced, but the reports from voters was enough to prompt the Barrett campaign to make calls of its own, warning voters not to listen to the first call. For its part, the Walker campaign denied any involvement in or knowledge of the robocall or who was behind it.

Election day antics were a near certainty in Wisconsin. In the last week, reports of other campaign antics surfaced, including an attempt by Walker supporters to disable the Barrett campaign’s phone lines by flooding their call centers with spam phone calls.
(source)

WI: Multi-Platinum Recording Artists Headline ‘Get Out the Vote’ Rally in Madison

Via press release: Grammy Award-winning guitarist Tom Morello of “Rage Against The Machine,” singer-songwriter Jackson Browne, Tim McIlrath of the punk rock band “Rise Against,” international touring hip-hop artist Brother Ali and Mike McColgan, the original lead singer of “Dropkick Murphys” and the lead singer of the “Street Dogs,” are all hitting the stage in Madison to turn out the vote in a Wisconsin recall election that looks too close to call.

The “Get Out The Vote’ Rally, sponsored by We Are Wisconsin, will provide a massive boost to canvassing efforts days before the recall election on June 5.

The event, which will be held at the Madison Labor Temple at 1602 S. Park St., is free to the public with a sign up to volunteer to help get out the vote. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.

“Gov. Scott Walker messed with Wisconsin workers and now it’s time to pay the piper,” said Morello. “I’m headed back to Madison with some friends to help yank that right-wing extremist out of office like a bad tooth. We are ready, willing and able to use our music to help rally the troops to do the hard work of knocking on doors and getting out the vote during the last critical hours of this recall election.”

Three different polls released in the past week have shown a dead heat with challenger Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett having clear momentum and a superior field operation. Both sides have consistently said the election will come down to whom has the better ground game and turns out its base.