Political pundits are spending the day trying to read the tea leaves to see what Governor Scott Walker’s win means for President Obama in November. At the moment, the narrative has as many holes as Swiss cheese.
Based on some of the NBC News exit polls it appears that the President still has the backing of the Badger state. When asked Tuesday who they would support in November, Wisconsin voters chose President Obama, 51% to 44%. Even 17% of Walker supporters said they planned to back Obama. Part of the reason Walker may have won is that voters were annoyed by the recall process, with a majority saying that recalls should only be used when there are allegations of “official misconduct,” an indication that the election was more about Walker vs. Tom Barrett than Obama vs. Romney.
That’s the good news for team Obama. The bad news is for organization. Scott Walker’s huge money advantage, made possible by the donations of billionaires like Sheldon Adelson, allowed him to build up a formidable get-out-the-vote operation of paid staff members and volunteers. In an age of super PACs, which are raising hundreds of millions of dollars to take down President Obama, Democrats must be concerned about the implications that could have for November. And as a result the Obama campaign may have to spend more time campaigning in Wisconsin, a state the President won by 14 points in 2008 and is now viewed by his campaign as a toss-up.
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