History is in the making in Wisconsin, as the state vies to be the third one ever to recall a governor.

Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee, won a decisive victory in the Democratic primary in Wisconsin on May 8, setting up a colossal rematch against incumbent Gov. Scott Walker on June 5.

It’s been a historic 15 months in Wisconsin already, as the state saw the longest sustained mass protests for public sector workers in the nation’s history. The two-week occupation of the Capitol was also historic, as was the recall of two state senators last summer. In the 100 years prior to this, only six state legislators around the country had been recalled.

The effort to recall Walker has been historic already, with 1 million Wisconsin citizens signing the petitions, a higher percentage of voters than in California during the recall of Gov. Gray Davis. (The only other governor successfully to be recalled was Lynn Frazier of North Dakota in 1921.)

History is being set in another, less democratic way in Wisconsin. The total amount spent on this gubernatorial race already exceeds the $37 million that what was spent last time by the candidates, parties and outside groups. Walker himself raised $25 million over the last year from individuals. And at the end of April, he had on hand more than 10 times the amount of money that Barrett had. Even on the primary election night, Walker was saturating the airwaves with negative ads against Barrett.

This is a classic matchup of people power versus money power. Barrett is making an issue of the fact that about two-thirds of Walker’s money, in his last filing, was raised out of state.

Over the last year, Walker has raised a huge amount from conservative funders. Bob Perry of Swift Boat infamy has given $500,000. Sheldon Adelson, who funded Newt Gingrich, has given $250,000. Foster Friess, who backed Rick Santorum, has given $100,000. And Richard DeVos of Amway has given $250,000. Other assorted roofers, oilmen and financiers have also contributed six figures. And the Koch brothers have funneled more than $1 million into the Republican Governors Association and Americans for Prosperity, two groups that are advertising heavily for Walker.

If their money enables Walker to prevail, it would be a devastating blow to the 1 million people who signed those recall petitions and to the hundreds of thousands who protested in the streets. And nationally, Walker would be lionized by conservatives. He’d help Mitt Romney in Wisconsin, and he’d signal that it’s open season not only on labor but also on every other item on the progressive agenda.

By contrast, if Barrett wins, it would be a boon to Democrats in November, who recognize that Wisconsin is a swing state. And it should dampen the chances that Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan, who is joined at the hip with Walker, will be Romney’s vice-presidential pick.

Most important, it would invigorate progressive forces in Wisconsin and around the country and reaffirm the power of grassroots activism.

There is a lot at stake on June 5 in Wisconsin.

Matthew Rothschild is the editor of The Progressive magazine, based in Madison, Wis. Email: [email protected]. This article was distributed by MCT Information Services.