Last year, Wisconsin voters recalled two state senators who had backed Gov. Scott Walker’s attacks on working families. This year, Wisconsinites have put the governor himself up for recall, along with four of his anti-worker allies in the state legislature.
More than a million Wisconsinites signed a petition to get Gov. Walker’s recall on the ballot. If the recall succeeds, it will be the first major victory of 2012 against the Tea Party-controlled GOP.
Polls show that the recall elections, which will likely take place on June 5, are going to be close. Already, right-wing groups are pouring money into the state in an effort to protect Walker: the Republican Governor’s Association released an ad this week attacking two possible Democratic challengers to Walker. And we can expect to see much more where this came from – last year, out of state conservative groups spent millions of dollars to defend Walker’s friends in the legislature.
But the energy behind the recall effort is even stronger. Last year, tens of thousands of Wisconsinites took to the streets to protest Gov. Walkers anti-worker policies and showed up at the polls to vote out two of his supporters.
People For the American Way will be helping to mobilize support for the recalls in Wisconsin in the coming months, through staff on the ground, targeted advertising, and direct voter contact. You can read more about our efforts here.
We’ll be closely following the news out of Wisconsin and posting weekly updates on the PFAW blog.
For information on some of the power players behind Gov. Walker's war on working families and labor rights, check out these clips from the new Robert Greenwald movie, Koch Brothers Exposed.