Scott Walker lead narrows in polls before recall election
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker speaks to workers at Quad Graphics while South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley (R) listens during a campaign stop for Walker on June 1, 2012 in Sussex, Wisconsin. Haley was in town to campaign for Walker who will face Democratic contender Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in a recall election on June 5.
Governor Scott Walker's lead in the Wisconsin recall election is narrowing, according to a Public Policy Polling survey released on Monday, reported USA Today.
Walker's lead over Democratic challenger Tom Barrett narrowed from seven points in a poll conducted last week by Marquette University Law School to only three percentage points over Barrett's 47 percent.
According to PPP, Walker is winning among men, whites, seniors and suburban residents of Milwaukee and Barrett leads among women, minorities, younger voters and the residents of Milwaukee county and greater Madison, said ABC News.
Polls also suggest that Republicans are more engaged and excited about the June 5 election than Democrats, which means turn out may be a key factor in deciding the winner.
Walker's attempts to end collective bargaining and cut workers' health benefits and pensions were what spurred months of protests and petitions triggering a recall election, according to the Guardian.
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The campaign was thought to "augur a nationwide fight-back by progressives after Tea Party-led Republican overreach," said the Guardian, but might end with Walker keeping his job, dealing a blow to the highly symbolic movement.
According to The Los Angeles Times, political and interest groups on both ends of the spectrum are looking to the recall election as a gauge for the mood of the nation, five months before the presidential election.
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Walker has drawn national support from the tea party movement and Republicans like New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, according to ABC News. Former president Bill Clinton made a stop in Wisconsin to campaign for Barrett on Friday, but that only drew attention to President Obama's silence and avoidance on the recall election.
At least $61 million has been spent by the candidates and interest groups in the election so far, heavily tipped in Walker's favor, according to The LA Times.
The Guardian said the Walker campaign has spent $31 million, at least seven times that spent by Barrett's campaign.
This is the third time in US history that a recall election of a governor has been held, according to the Associated Press. The other two succeeded in throwing the incumbent out of office.
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