Wisconsin gubernatorial recall candidate Tom Barrett, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl rally Oshkosh Democrats at New Moon Cafe
U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl joined Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett on Sunday for a campaign stop at downtown Oshkosh’s New Moon Cafe, in a final drive to energize voters before Tuesday’s recall election in which Barrett will challenge Gov. Scott Walker.
Kohl called Barrett a “unifier” and said his ability to find common ground among competing interests is what Wisconsin needs.
“It’s a very important election,” Kohl told the Northwestern. “It will determine the course of our state for years to come.”
Both Kohl’s and Barrett’s messages focused heavily on the division the state has seen in the wake of Walker’s polarizing budget reforms, framing Barrett as the candidate who can bring Wisconsinites back together.
“We can have a healthy disagreement, but at the end of the day, we have to do things right and get things done,” Barrett said. “My approach has never been, ‘It’s my way or the highway.’ That’s the approach that he’s taken.”
Walker contends the moves were necessary to help balance what had been a $3.6 billion state budget shortfall. Democrats counter that the law’s primary purpose was to eviscerate the unions, which tend to back their party.
