Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who is facing a recall election, casts his vote on election day in Wauwatosa on June 5, 2012.
By Michael O'Brien, msnbc.com
WAUKESHA, Wis. — An impassioned electorate flooded Wisconsin polls on Tuesday in a closely-watched vote to decide the political fate of Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
As polls closed, NBC News declared the race too close to call.
The stark divisions that took hold in Wisconsin after Walker drove a bill stripping public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights through his state's legislature showed little signs of abating, according to exit polls.
Wis. recall may offer some closure, but divisions remain
Reports of record turnout throughout the state made it difficult to decipher whether voters had conferred on Walker the ignominious distinction of being the third governor in U.S. history to be removed from office by way of a popular recall. Exit polling suggested that Walker and his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, were locked in a tight battle.
Data also suggested that the passions either for or against Walker ran high in Tuesday's vote. The vast majority of voters made up their minds before May, and few voters who identified either as a Democrat or Republican crossed party lines to support a different candidate.
Exit poll: Obama leads Romney in Wisconsin
The Walker-Barrett race has been watched closely by party leaders in Washington for signs of its implications for the general election this fall. Unions and business groups have also invested heavily in the race, helping fuel a price tag that will total in the tens of millions.
While the fight over budgets and union rights in WIsconsin reached a political climax on Tuesday, the ultimate outcome was unlikely to do little to heal the deep political rift that has plagued the state since the initial legislative fight in early 2011.
More Wisconsin recall coverage:
- Organized labor stares down specter of possible recall loss
- More from the exit poll: A divided electorate
