Political heavy-hitters in town for last stretch of recall race

MILWAUKEE-- Just four days before the historic Wisconsin governor's recall election, Governor Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett rallied outside support from out-of-state politicians.

While Barrett spend the day with former president Bill Clinton in Milwaukee, Governor Walker was with South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley visiting workers in Appleton and Sussex.

Clinton told the crowd at a downtown riverfront park that Tuesday’s election is about much more than the state of Wisconsin and what’s best for its residents.

Clinton said people nationwide are looking to Wisconsin as an American battleground, and states that are recovering economically have embraced “creative cooperation,” not “constant conflict" -- a reference to Walker’s proposal last year that effectively ended collective bargaining for most state workers. The recall was spurred by anger over that move.

Gov. Haley has called herself a “union buster” and considers her state’s low union membership rate an economic development tool.

Governor Walker says if his recall is rejected by voters, his administration will continue growing businesses.

"The main thing holding small businesses from across the state from adding more jobs is concerns about the recall, and concerns about the idea that we may go backwards,” Walker said.

Governor Haley told workers at Quad Graphics that the eyes of the nation are on Wisconsin.

“They are watching. Are you going to reward the courage that he showed? Are you gonna respond to the results he gave? Are you gonna go back, and let it go back where it was? I have faith in the people of Wisconsin," Gov. Haley said.

Governor Walker says, like him, Governor Haley is a lawmaker who stands up for the taxpayers. He says she balanced South Carolina’s budget without raising taxes -- something the governor is touting as part of his campaign as well.

Clinton is the biggest Democratic name to visit Wisconsin in the truncated recall campaign. President Barack Obama has kept his distance from the union fight as his own re-election efforts near this fall. Wisconsin, with its 10 electoral votes, is a key part of his path to victory.

Walker has been leading in polls released by the Marquette University Law School during the past two weeks. The most recent one released Wednesday, May 30th showed Walker with a seven-point edge. The margin of error is 4.1 percentage points.

The recall election has been unlike anything seen before in Wisconsin, with at least $62 million spent by the candidates and outside groups so far, based on a tally released Thursday, May 31st by the government watchdog group the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Walker was the top spender at $29 million with Democrats including Barrett spending about $4 million. Outside groups have spent $21 million and issue ad groups that don’t have to disclose their spending have put in at least $7.5 million.

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