How Walker beat the Wisconsin recall

Liberals all over the country are asking how unpopular Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker not only beat a recall but did so in a landslide. E.J. Dionne Jr., of the Washington Post, has the overriding answer:  Walker's well-funded backers were firstest with the the mostest. Interestingly,

...the pre-election polls suggested that Barrett was closing in on Walker in the final days, and he clearly was. The exit poll found that eight percent of the voters said they decided how to vote in the last few days, and they went overwhelmingly for Barrett, 69 percent to 27 percent. The rest of the electorate that decided earlier went for Walker, 55 percent to 44 percent. It’s intriguing to imagine what Barrett might have done with more money that he could have spent earlier. Money matters

     Reuters reported a $31-4.2 million edge by Walker over Barrett as of May 21; 70% of Walker's 2012 donations from outside Wisconsin.
     Walker had raised $31 million to Barrett's $4.2 million by May 21, with about 70 percent of Walker's 2012 donations coming from out-of-state donors, including millions of dollars' worth of anti-Barrett Americans for Prosperity attack ads paid for by the billionaire Koch Brothers, Charles and David.

A late push by Democrat-aligned groups helped close the gap. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign estimated Republican groups spent $18 million in the state and Democratic groups, mostly union-backed, spent $15.5 million.

     The final recall price tag is estimated to be $70 million to $80 million.