United Liberty

If you listen to Big Labor, they say that they have Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker cornered. After some needed reforms to the state’s collective bargaining laws, they launched a successful recall effort against him as payback. But the reality is that they are struggling mightly.

On Tuesday, Big Labor’s favored candidate, Kathleen Falk, lost to Tom Barrett, a former Mayor of Milwaukee who lost to Walker in 2010. To make matters worse for them, Walker managed the biggest turnout in Wisconsin in 60 years. And this, folks, is a special election, not a general primary.

Moreover, Rasmussen Reports shows that Walker is leading Barrett, who Big Labor will no doubt get behind, just a few weeks against of the recall matchup:

A new Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey shows that 50% of the state’s Likely Voters prefer Walker while 45% choose Barrett. Two percent (2%) prefer some other candidate and another two percent (2%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee, won the Democratic nomination Tuesday. The June 5 recall election will be a rematch of the 2010 race, which Walker won with 52% of the vote.  Walker’s successful effort to limit collective bargaining rights for some unionized public employees as a deficit-cutting measure prompted the recall effort by unions and Democrats.

According to the survey, Walker is viewed in favorable light by a majority of Wisconsin voters. But his negatives are also very high. He’s polarizing, there is no doubt about it. But can Wisconsin Democrats mount a successful enough campaign to oust him? It’s too early to say, but using a retread candidate that Big Labor had reservations about isn’t a good start.