Although four states will be holding primaries Tuesday, most national political eyes will be on Wisconsin. The reason, as usual, is its ever-controversial Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
Six years after he pushed through an end to collective bargaining for many public employees through the legislature and survived a recall movement that drew worldwide attention, Walker still remains a hated figure by the left.
Walker and his supporters got a jolt in July when a Marist College poll showed the governor losing to Democrat and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers by a strong 54 to 41 percent.
"When you're running for your third term, nobody loves you that much anymore," Van Mobley, president of the board of trustees for the Village of Thiensville, Wisconsin, and a strong backer of both Walker and President Donald Trump, said. "They vote for you out of loyalty, desire to retain the stability, and positives that remain as long as you are there, and suspicion and distrust of the alternative."
Mobley also pointed out, in contrast to Walker's past three trips to the polls (his initial election as governor in 2010, his triumph in the recall of 2012, and his re-election two years later), Badger State Democrats have not united behind a single candidate against the governor.
No less than eight Democrats, in fact, are vying for nomination against Walker.
Having won statewide office twice, Evers is considered the front-runner for nomination. A Walker-Evers contest would almost surely provide rich debate over the issue of vouchers permitting lower income parents to send their children to private schools. Walker is a stalwart champion of vouchers, Evers a vigorous opponent.
Mahlon Mitchell, head of the state Professional Firefighters Association, is a well-liked figure in organized labor for his work mobilizing the recall movement against Walker. Whether Mitchell, who is black, can parlay that into a primary victory is questionable.
Also in the primary are two women from the far-left: State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout and former State Assemblywoman Kelda Roys of Madison, the favorite of EMILY's List.
All have made clear they will scrap the school choice program and all would most certainly raise taxes to pay for infrastructure. The Democratic Governors Association has vowed $4 million for the eventual Democratic nominee against Walker.
Walker has been written off before and Democratic pickups in key special elections over the past year — for two state assembly seats, a senate seat, and a spot on the State Supreme Court — have been interpreted as signs voters are fed up with their governor.
About one thing is certain about the Wisconsin race for governor as it moves into its final phase: Because of who the incumbent is, the race will be closely watched by the rest of the country.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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