What interests groups, to include political parties, were involved in the success or failure of this recall election and why? What was the result of the recall election?

The political parties involved with Governor Scott Walkers recall election were the Democratic opposition and the GOP which he is part of, during the recall. the GOP outraised and outmaneuvered Democrats in the state. Walker raised $30.5 million, while his opposition Tom Barrett raised only about $4 million. A major interest group that was involved and that was the main group to cause the recall was the states Union for public workers, they rallied together with state Democrats to gather over a million signatures to begin the process of a recall election due to the fact that their collective bargaining was being taken away.

Were there any unintended consequences of this recall election?

There were no specific unintended consequences of this recall election because Governor Scott Walker ultimately kept his position but this was another that shows a rise in the trend of recall elections nationally and these sorts of recalls that are high-profile are more likely to accelerate that trend.

Do you believe recall elections are good or bad for democracies and why?

In my opinion, recall elections are good for democracies, they represent another checks and balance that is put into place to keep elected officials from wielding too much power and becoming untouchable. With a recall election, some of that power to oust an official that can no longer be trusted or that has acted irresponsibly lies with the people.

Peralta, E. (2012). Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Survives Recall. Retrieved October 2, 2018 from https://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2012/06/05/154384654/live-blog-wisconsin-decides-governors-fate-in-recall-vote (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.