Very soon my home state of Wisconsin may be well known for more than just its all-star NFL quarterbacks and fine dairy products.

Wisconsin Democrats recently won an astonishing victory in the battle against conservative Republican Governor Scott Walker. On January 17^th Democrats seeking to recall Gov. Walker collected more than one million signatures in the petition to recall the governor, nearly twice the 540,208 minimum, practically guaranteeing a recall election later this year.

Organizers submitted more than 1.9 million signatures to the state’s Government Accountability Board to be used for the recall elections of Gov. Walker, Lt. Governor Rebecca Kleefisch and four Republican state senators. This is the most recent development in the bitter fight between angry Wisconsinites and Gov. Walker that has been raging since February of last year went Walker introduced his controversial “budget repair bill”.

“There was definitely a sense of outrage and momentum, yet we were not quite sure whether we could turn this outrage into votes,” said Allin Walker, chairman of the Democratic Party of Door County, which collected 5,000 signatures for the recall.

The recall effort against the governor is the first in the state and only the third in the nation’s history. The signatures represent nearly half of Wisconsin’s electorate and only a few thousand shy of the total number of votes Walker received in the 2010 election. The recall effort was the most participated in per capita ever.

“Our model was excruciatingly grassroots; find 200 people to collect 20 signatures each,” Walker told the Port Side. “The negative criticisms of the petition were absolutely outweighed by the number of Republicans who voted for Gov. Walker in the last election and came into our office pledging their support.”

While the Democrats have won today’s battle, it is still not clear the outcome of the war. Despite popular support, Democrats still face many hurtles such as fielding a viable opponent to run against Gov. Walker and the nearly unlimited campaign funds Gov. Walker has been able to raise due to a loophole in state law. Walker points out, however, that the focus of the recall efforts were not to campaign for a Democratic candidate but rather to focus on Gov. Walker’s record.

In a statement issued a few hours after the signatures were turned in, Gov. Walker said, “I look forward to talking to the people of Wisconsin about my continued promised to control government spending, balance the budget and hold the line of taxes.” Walk also added that he “expects Wisconsin voters to stand with me and keep moving Wisconsin forward.”

Yet, many remain critical of the Governor’s efforts to balance the budget and create jobs in the state. During the past six months has Wisconsin lost more jobs than any other state. In December alone, the state lost an estimated 3900 jobs in the private sector while the US as a whole gained an estimated 212,000 jobs.

“[Gov. Walker’s reforms] have been an assault on Wisconsin’s progressive history, which many people took pride in. He came into office with a hidden agenda and lied to the people of Wisconsin.” explained Walker.  “People were willing to make concessions in order to protect jobs but that just wasn’t Gov. Walker’s agenda. To support Gov. Walker is to wage war on progressives everywhere. We are ground zero. ”

Hailing from the great state of Wisconsin (he has never met a brat he didn't like), Sam is this year's Campus Editor. He enjoys cheese curds that squeak, his Pandora disco and 80's pop radio stations and anyone who can recite the exact depth of Lake Baikal from memory. His is a dual major in chemistry and international relations.