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Following a brief but bruising campaign, both sides of the recallelection targeting Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker are prepared for arazor-thin margin Tuesday as the Republican tries to become thefirst U.S. governor to successfully fend off a recall effort. The vote will bring to a conclusion more than a year of turmoil inWisconsin after Walker pushed through a bill stripping workers ofcollective bargaining rights in an effort to fix a hole in thestate budget. Polls have shown Walker, just 17 months into histerm, with a small lead over Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrettafter a campaign that's shattered state spending records andfurther divided an already polarized state. Both candidates workedin a flurry of last-minute stops in the campaign's final days, alltoo aware turnout will be critical. "I've been villainized for a year and a half. We've faced a yearand a half of assaults on us. My opponent has no plans other thanto attack us," Walker said at a campaign stop Monday, claiming thathis agenda has put the state on the right economic track. Walker said he was focused on capturing voters who have supportedhim in taking on public employee unions, while Barrett sought tocapitalize on the anger over Walker's conservative agenda thatbegan almost as soon as he took office in January 2011. "Gov. Walker has divided the state but we will never allow him toconquer the middle class," Barrett said at an afternoon appearance.He added: "This started out as a grassroots movement and it's goingto end as one." The recall effort against Walker began bubbling last year, shortlyafter the rising Republican star took office. Just a month into hisfirst term, Walker took the state by surprise with a proposal toeffectively end collective bargaining rights for most state workersand pay more for health insurance and pension benefits as a tacticto deal with the state's budget shortfall. The proposal created afirestorm of opposition, and protests drew tens of thousands to thestate capitol. It didn't take long for opponents to begin calling for a recall. The recall petition drive couldn't officially start until November,months after Walker signed the union changes into the books,because Wisconsin law requires that someone must be in office forat least a year before facing recall. Organizers hit the streets inthe middle of November and spent two months gathering more than900,000 signatures about 360,000 more than were needed totrigger the election. Barrett was chosen as Walker's opponent in aprimary last month. 3rd governor to face recall vote Now, Walker stands in unique company: He is only the third governorin U.S. history to face a recall vote. The other two lost, mostrecently California Gov. Gray Davis in 2003. Wisconsin's recall election is a rematch of the 2010 governor'srace in which Walker defeated Barrett by 5 percentage points. A keyquestion will be whether or not Democrats can turn out voters inforce, as the unions did during the protests last year. Polls showthere are few undecided voters; if it's close, it could come downto how well both do in swing counties in the western part of thestate. Walker, the 44-year-old son of a minister, has remained unflappablethroughout the campaign just as he was during the massive proteststhat raged at the Statehouse for weeks as lawmakers debated hisproposal. Along the way, he's become a star among Republicans andthe most successful fundraiser in Wisconsin politics, collecting atleast $31 million US from around the country since taking office.That obliterated his fundraising record of $11 million from 2010. Much of the money for the race has come from out of state. About$63 million has been spent on the race so far, including $16million from conservative groups such as the Republican GovernorsAssociation, Americans for Prosperity and the National RifleAssociation. The majority of Walker's donations are from peopleoutside Wisconsin. Democratic groups including those funded by unions, theDemocratic Governors Association and the Democratic NationalCommittee have poured in about $14 million, based on a tallyfrom the government watchdog group the Wisconsin DemocracyCampaign. Barrett's $4.2 million in donations, meanwhile, weremostly from inside Wisconsin. We are high quality suppliers, our products such as China DPF Substrate , Honeycomb Ceramic Substrate for oversee buyer. To know more, please visits Catalytic Converter Substrate.
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