Walker takes Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. – Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker won re-election over Democratic challenger Mary Burke Tuesday, overcoming fierce opposition from organized labor for his third election victory in four years – and clearing the way for a potential presidential campaign in 2016.

Walker’s victory in Wisconsin was part of a larger Republican sweep in governor’s races across the country. With a notable exception in Pennsylvania, GOP candidates dominated presidential swing states, holding Florida, Ohio and Michigan and flipping Democratic-leaning Illinois and Maryland.

While Walker downplayed talk of a White House bid during the campaign, his victory in a state that voted for a Democratic president and U.S. senator in 2012 will immediately shift the focus to his future intentions.

But the governor told the Associated Press that any decision “will have to wait” while he pursues his agenda in Wisconsin.

Walker became a hero to conservatives for taking on public sector unions, stripping them of nearly all collective-bargaining authority. Opponents responded by trying to boot him from office, and he became the first governor in U.S. history to survive a recall election the following year.

Walker’s victory Tuesday was a blow to national Democrats and labor unions, which dumped millions of dollars into the race in an effort to derail the governor’s national ambitions.

The economy loomed large for two other Midwestern governors. In resurgent Ohio, Republican Gov. John Kasich cruised to a second term in a key battleground state. In Michigan, GOP Gov. Rick Snyder bested Democratic challenger Mark Schauer.

Democratic struggles extended to reliably liberal states: In a significant upset in Maryland, Republican businessman Larry Hogan beat the state’s Democratic lieutenant governor, Anthony Brown. In Vermont, the state’s Democratically controlled Legislature appeared likely to pick its next governor, after the chairman of the Democratic Governors Association, Gov. Peter Shumlin, led Republican Scott Milne but failed to receive more than 50 percent of the vote. State law requires governor’s races to go to the Legislature if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote.

A look at some of the other contests in the country:

Kansas

Republican Gov. Sam Brownback’s conservative revolution triumphed Tuesday when he defeated Democratic upstart Paul Davis, becoming only the second Republican governor in Kansas to win re-election in 50 years.

Even with an approval rating hovering under 50 percent, Brownback prevailed over Davis, the House minority leader from Lawrence. With 82 percent of precincts reporting, Brownback led by more than 17,000 votes, with 49 percent of the vote. Davis was at 47 percent. Libertarian Keen Umbehr had 4 percent.

Florida

Republican Gov. Rick Scott edged Democrat Charlie Crist in the nation’s largest swing state. The campaign was among the most expensive and nasty in the country, with both sides and their allies spending more than $100 million on television ads.

Massachusetts

Republican Charlie Baker defeated Democrat Martha Coakley in the race to replace Gov. Deval Patrick. Baker becomes the state’s first Republican governor since Mitt Romney left office in 2007.

Illinois

Wealthy GOP businessman and first-time candidate Bruce Rauner ousted Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn, reclaiming the governor’s office for Republicans for the first time in more than a decade.

Rauner poured $26 million of his fortune into the race, criticizing the incumbent Quinn as a “failure.” Quinn had pushed to raise the minimum wage while blasting Rauner as an out-of-touch “billionaire.”

Pennsylvania

Democrat Tom Wolf easily dispatched GOP Gov. Tom Corbett, making the Republican the first incumbent to lose in the four decades since Pennsylvania’s chief executive was allowed to seek re-election.