MADISON, Wis. (KMSP) -
This Tuesday, Wisconsin voters will decide whether or not to remove Gov. Scott Walker from office.
Only two times in U.S. history has a governor been successfully recalled: North Dakota back in 1921 and in California in 2003.
The Wisconsin recall election could have long implications for unions and the right for them to collectively bargain.
If Walker wins, how big a blow is it to unions, not only in Wisconsin, but will the "vibrations" from the elections be heard across the nation and have a real effect? If Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett wins, is this a broader sign to those trying to get rid of unions -- that the voters won't stand by if certain rights are stripped away?
Political and interest groups on the right and left are reading a lot into Wisconsin as a barometer for the mood of the nation just five months before the U.S. chooses whether to stick with President Obama or turn to Mitt Romney.
Gov. Walker says tens of millions of dollars have been saved by the state since his measure went into place. But, those on the left, and some on the right, say he's gone too far to the right and has become a "darling of the Tea Party," which isn't the same guy they elected to office 18 months ago.
A victory for Walker could have repercussions in other states as well, including perennial general-election battleground Ohio. There, voters last November overwhelmingly rejected a Republican-sponsored law that stripped collective-bargaining rights from state and local workers. Romney supported the law.
