Grain of salt: It's a Republican polling firm, but this data is mighty tasty. Panic button time in Madison?
Participants: 1,219 Likely voters - Margin of Error: ± 2.81%
Walker 52 / Barrett 43 / Undecided 5
While other polls also show Walker in the lead, no one is suggesting that this race is anywhere near over. Walker only leads among self-described Independent voters by 47.6%-44.6%, and the underlying numbers seem fluid. Still, some of Walker’s detractors have been vocal about the fact that Walker was duly elected in 2010 and in most states would not be able to be challenged with a recall without greater cause. And a whopping 95% of those called said they plan to vote in the June 5th election which will have the national spotlight on it.
Other recent polls have placed Walker's lead somewhere in the one-to-five point range, so this set of numbers looks like an outlier -- for now, at least. But there are more dispirting smoke signals wafting above DNC headquarters. Behold, blue on blue violence (via Powerline):
Top Wisconsin Democrats are furious with the national party — and the Democratic National Committee in particular — for refusing their request for a major investment in the battle to recall Scott Walker, I’m told. The failure to put up the money Wisconsin Dems need to execute their recall plan comes at a time when the national Republican Party is sinking big money into defending Walker, raising fears that the DNC’s reluctance could help tip the race his way. “We are frustrated by the lack of support from the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Governors Association,” a top Wisconsin Democratic Party official tells me. “Scott Walker has the full support and backing of the Republican Party and all its tentacles. We are not getting similar support.”
I might understand if the DNC was hesitant to get involved -- hell, they could very well be under strict orders to help nobody but The One -- but why not the DGA? Isn't winning races like this one the very purpose of their existence? Perhaps national Democrats have their own internal polling that mirrors the We Ask America figures, and therefore don't want to pour precious election year dollars down Wisconsin's vendetta-driven sinkhole. Lefty blogger Greg Sargent tweeted that he's getting "radio silence" from the DC Democrats he's asked about this dispute. Good times. Pedal to the metal, Badger State conservatives. Complacency is the enemy.