The Recall Vote on Wisconsin's Governor Looks Certain

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's opponents will file nearly twice as many signatures as they needed Tuesday in support of a recall election, making it nearly impossible for Walker to avoid an early vote on his term. Democrats and supporters of union bargaining rights have been gearing up to oust Walker since he got legislation outlawing most collective bargaining passed last year. Walker's been expecting them to meet their threshold of just over 540,000 signatures, and he's already fundraising in expectation of an election, but in a bit of showmanship, opponents gathered 1 million signatures. (Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate had earlier said they were shooting for over 720,000 so this is more than anyone expected, but then, maybe he was playing a little "beat the expectations" game.) In addition to being a clean, headline grabbing number, according to the Associated Press, it means Walker's going to have a lot of trouble contesting enough signatures to avoid the election. A recall is "nearly impossible" to stop says the AP, and "virtually ensur[ed]" says Politico. Of course, voting for a recall does not a new governor make. Democrats still have to get over half the state's voters behind their effort to oust him, and, oh, they've got to find a candidate who can beat him, too.