Turnout looks high in both the Republican burbs and the Democratic cities of Milwaukee and Madison. Some places may see turnout higher than in 2008. That’s kind of crazy for a Tuesday in June. It will be interesting if the polls were right because I don’t think they anticipated really high interest in the race. What I read suggested that Republicans were more motivated than Democrats, and that is probably true. But it’s a Democratic state, so we can afford a little differential there and still eke out a victory. In general, the higher the turnout, the more likely that Gov. Walker will be ousted, but it still matters where the turnout is high.
Expectations have been really low on the Democratic side, which would make a victory all that more satisfying. And, of course, there are many partial victories tonight. We can lose the recall of the governor but still take over the Senate. And we could win the Lieutenant Governor’s office and/or the Senate without recalling Walker. Or vice-versa. Still, the big prize is the governor’s mansion.
We need to keep pushing friends and colleagues in Wisconsin to go out and vote.