Reaction Rolls in on Walker Recall Win

As the evening - and the recall efforts that have held the state's attention for nearly a year and a half - came to a close, various groups offered their opinions on why the results fell so heavily in Scott Walker's favor. And as usual, they fell along party lines.

State Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate told WisPolitics that despite his party's loss, they had no regrets over the recall effort, and chalked it up in part to funding of each campaign.

“They have millionaires and billionaires that can write checks and take out TV ads,” Tate said. “This should not have even been a contest considering how much they spent.

Rob Zerban, who is running against Republican Congressman Paul Ryan, was a bit more blunt.

“Today we saw the buying of an election by out-of-state interest groups, propping up a corrupt Governor who seeks to only do the bidding of the extreme right-wing," Zerban said in a release.

“While Governor Walker and his Tea Party band may have been successful today, the entire recall process brought together people from every corner of Wisconsin who truly love this state and were willing to stand in the cold of a Wisconsin winter to fight for their state. They were not defeated for lack of will or lack of purpose; Scott Walker won because his network of shady partners flooded our state with lies about the hard-working people of our state.

However, the conservative Americans for Prosperity issued their own statement, citing the policies of the Governor as key in garnering a victory.

“Scott Walker’s name was on the ballot tonight but it was his policies that were decided on. We started our efforts last year to educate the people of Wisconsin on what the budget reforms mean for them. We showed them what is possible when a state turns a $3.6 billion deficit into a $154.5 million surplus, when $1 billion is saved at the state and local levels and when property taxes are reduced for the first time in 12 years," stated Wisconsin State Director Luke Hilgemann.

An official release from the Walker campaign cited the taxpayer's interests as being on the ballot, giving the governor an unprecedented recall victory.

“This is such a tremendous victory for Wisconsin taxpayers,” said Ciara Matthews, Walker campaign communications director. “Today, Wisconsin voters have told the nation they stand with Governor Walker because he stands with them.”

The Wisconsin Obama-Biden campaign also weighed in with their own assessment of the results.

"While tonight’s outcome was not what we had hoped for – no one can dispute the strong message sent to Governor Walker.  Hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites from all walks of life took a stand against the politics of division and against the flood of secret and corporate money spent on behalf of Scott Walker, which amounted to a massive spending gap of more than $31 million to $4 million," said Tripp Wellde, state director for the campaign.

"It is a testament to all of those individuals who talked to their friends, neighbors, and colleagues about the stakes in this election of how close this contest was.  The power of Wisconsin’s progressive, grassroots tradition was clearly on display throughout the run up to this election and we will continue to work together to ensure a brighter future for Wisconsin’s middle class."