FORT ATKINSON, Wis. – On the eve of Wisconsin’s recall election, many voters here are getting a flash of déjà vu.
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The two candidates on the ticket Tuesday – Gov. Scott Walker, a first-term Republican, and Tom Barrett, the Democratic mayor of Milwaukee – faced off in a 2010 race for governor that Mr. Walker won with 52 percent of the vote. But this time, with less than 24 hours before Wisconsin decides whether Mr. Walker will keep his job, there is one significant difference: the whole nation is watching.
“It’s a little overwhelming,” Earl Peterson, 79, said of the attention his state is getting. “You hear about it so much. It’s too much.”
Unrest in Wisconsin and the effort to remove Mr. Walker from office evolved after the governor stripped collective bargaining rights from most of Wisconsin’s public workers last year, drawing tens of thousands of protesters to the State Capitol in Madison.
Mr. Walker’s fight to stay in office has since become about a much larger national battle over labor unions and whether voters are likely to punish politicians who cut collective bargaining rights. There is also a lingering sense that the outcome of Tuesday’s vote could have an impact on President Obama’s chances in November of winning Wisconsin, a much-needed state.
As a result, the recall contest has attracted millions of dollars from out-of-state donors, a revolving door of high-profile politicians on the campaign trail and the scrutiny of political pundits and news outlets nationwide.
“Everybody is looking at us,” said Jennifer James, 37, who works as a nurse’s aid in a town nearby and said she would support Mr. Barrett on Tuesday. “But it really doesn’t bother me. I just do my thing and hope it encourages people to stand up for what they believe in.”
Her mother, Barbara, a Walker supporter, seemed more concerned with the state’s reputation. “I think we look stupid,” she said, calling the recall effort unnecessary.
Residents of Fort Atkinson, a small town sandwiched between Madison and Milwaukee, say they have seen fewer yard signs and candidate appearances here than in other places around the state. Drive less than an hour east or west, and it is more Democrat-leaning territory, yet Mr. Walker won this rural county easily with 61 percent in 2010.
That has not stopped a barrage of campaign telephone calls and canvassers from coming to town. And a flood of television and radio ads has annoyed many.
Still, there is also a sense of pride when some talk about Wisconsin’s role at the center of this national fight.
“People know tomorrow’s election is a pretty big deal, with implications going beyond just our state,” said Shari Jensen, 45, an occupational therapist at a local hospital who favors Mr. Barrett. “People are more fired up than usual.”
But Linda Sherratt, 58, a supporter of Mr. Walker, was concerned that the political volatility in Wisconsin and the national spotlight it has resulted in may hurt the state’s economy. “Would you bring a business to Wisconsin right now?” she asked, adding that she doubted things would return to normal any time soon.
Others have already started talking about what will happen next, regardless of who wins, and whether a divided state will begin to heal or will remain polarized for years to come.
“I think the whole process has been a lot of wasted time and energy and funds that could have been used much better,” said John Hedrick, 69, a Roman Catholic priest from Beloit who declined to say how he would vote.
“People want it to be over,” Father Hedrick added. “They want to move on.”