More than six months after recall efforts officially started last November, opponents of Gov. Scott Walker will have the chance to recall him June 5 in an election against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.
On Tuesday, the race for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination came to an end when Barrett won the Democratic gubernatorial primary, defeating former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk; Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, and Secretary of State Doug La Follette. President of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin Mahlon Mitchell received the nomination for lieutenant governor.
The race for the nomination started Jan. 18, when Falk announced her plans to run in the race, a day after petition signature collectors turned in almost one million signatures to the Government Accountability Board to trigger the recall. Throughout the next few months, Falk was joined by Vinehout and La Follette.
On March 30, GAB ordered recall elections for Walker, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch and four state senators including Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau. Barrett joined the race the day the elections were certified.
Throughout the months leading up to the election, money has poured into the candidates’ campaigns. More than $42 million was spent by campaigns before the primary, and estimates for the amount of money spent on the election round off anywhere from $60 to $80 million, doubling the previous campaign spending record in 2010.
Barrett ran against Walker in 2010 for governor and lost.
