Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett will go up against Gov. Scott Walker in Wisconsin recall election

By Richard K. Barry 

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was the winner in Tuesday's Democratic primary in Wisconsin to determine who will go up against Republican Gov. Scott Walker in the June 5th recall election. 

Kathleen Falk was the choice of the unions but she really wasn't able to make it close, trailing Barrrett 58% to 35% with 94% of precincts reporting.

Barrett was the Democratic candidate in the 2010 governor's race, losing to Walker by 6%. Falk acknowledged that it was always an uphill battle against Barrett with his greater name recognition.

Despite the fact that the unions largely backed Barrett's opponent, it is interesting to see how quickly they have rallied to the side of their duly elected candidate.

As Rick Badger, executive director of AFSCME Council 40 (a public sector union) put it:

Unlike Scott Walker, we believe in democracy. Tonight there was a vote. Tom Barrett won. We are united in our support for Barrett and will do everything we can to make sure he defeats Scott Walker on June 5th.

All indications are that it will be very close on that day with a Marquette poll currently showing Barrett leading Walker by just one point.

Former GOP presidential candidates should be taking notes. When you've gone through a process to pick your standard bearer, best to get very excited about it very quickly, no matter how you may really feel.

(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)