Poll: Dead heat in Wisconsin recall election
(CBS News) Embattled Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker is locked in a dead heat with Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett ahead of the state's June 5 recall election, according to a new poll from Marquette University Law School.
The poll shows Barrett leading Walker among registered voters by one percentage point, 47 percent to 46 percent. Among likely voters Walker bests Barrett 48 percent to 47 percent. Both leads are the within the margin of error.
Barrett will compete against former Dane County executive Kathleen Falk for the Democratic nomination next week. According to the Marquette poll, Barrett leads Falk in that contest 38 percent to 21 percent. Two other candidate are in the single digits.
Walker became embroiled in controversy last spring after passing a controversial law that would essentially eliminate public workers' collective bargaining rights. Debate over the legislation sparked weeks of protests in the state, as well as a national conversation about the merits of collective bargaining rights for public sector workers.
According to the Marquette survey, Democratic primary voters prioritized job creation -- not labor rights -- as the top consideration in choosing a nominee. Forty-six percent of Democratic primary voters ranked creating new jobs as their top consideration. Twenty-five percent prioritized "defeating Scott Walker," and 14 percent said "reducing political divisions in the state." Twelve percent said "restoring collective bargaining rights for public employees" was their number one consideration.
Walker is mounting a major effort to hold on to his seat.
In the first three months of this year, Walker raised more than $13 million, the Associated Press reported Monday, surpassing his fundraising totals for all of last year.
