With the labor movement reeling from the result of Tuesday's recall election in Wisconsin, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka sought to downplay the significance of Gov. Scott Walker's victory over a union-driven effort to unseat him. 

Trumka, the leader of one of the nation's largest labor groups, dismissed the notion that unions might look back upon their unsuccessful campaign against Walker with regret.

"We didn't decide on this recall. It was the workers in Wisconsin and the voters in Wisconsin who did," he said on a conference call with reporters. "Hell, I don't know if we'd do anything differently."

First Thoughts: Walker wins and labor loses

The AFL-CIO president highlighted instead two mitigating factors from Tuesday's recall, in which Walker beat out Democratic opponent Tom Barrett by 7 percentage points. 

Trumka pointed to Walker's sizable advantage in spending between his own campaign and allies who flooded the airwaves in Wisconsin. Trumka also stressed the recall of a Republican state senator, which flipped control of that chamber from Republicans to Democrats. 

"This isn't the crystal ball that predicts the future; this is a very unique circumstance," he said.

The AFL-CIO also circulated a poll of union members who voted on Tuesday that reflected strong support for collective bargaining rights and generally stingy opposition to Walker. 

Trumka noted — to his chagrin — that much of the debate during the closing weeks of the Walker-Barrett campaign had shifted away from the initial debate over organized labor.

The whole effort to recall Walker was prompted by the governor's pursuit of a controversial state law stripping public sector workers of that privilege. 

Walker emerges victorious in Wisconsin recall

Wednesday's call was just the opening wave of postmortems associated with the recall, and the effort by groups with a stake in the race to spin (favorably or unfavorably) the outcome. 

One of the biggest open questions for proponents of the recall will be whether President Barack Obama could have done more to aid the Barrett campaign. 

"I think there's probably some mixed feelings," Trumka acknowledged of Obama's distance from the race, noting also that he wasn't interested in second-guessing the president's participation.

Updated 12:11 a.m. — WAUKESHA, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) survived a furious campaign seeking his recall on Tuesday, emerging as the victor in a bitter fight over state budgets and collective bargaining rights. 

Walker prevailed over Democratic challenger Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee, in the closely-watched campaign that stemmed from a fight in early 2011, when Walker drove a controversial bill stripping public employee unions of their collective bargaining rights through Wisconsin's legislature. Walker won with 53 percent of the vote while Barrett received 46 percent, a slightly larger margin than when the two ran against one another in 2010.

Walker told a raucous crowd at his election night party that his survival was an affirmation of political "courage."

"Tonight, we tell Wisconsin, we tell our country and we tell people all across the globe that voters really do want leaders who stand up and make the tough decisions," he said.

Walker's win served as a symbolic victory for a generation of reform-minded conservatives; the crowd at Walker's Waukesha election night party let out a large cheer when a local NBC affiliate showed the projection of Walker's victory. 

Conversely, the outcome in Wisconsin was a galling disappointments to Democrats and labor groups that had vowed to seek the Republican governor's ouster over the collective bargaining law. Tens of millions of dollars flowed into the state both in support and opposition of Walker, reflecting the high stakes in the race.

Wis. recall may offer some closure, but divisions remain

Barrett pleaded for unity from his supporters, who bemoaned his concession to Walker.

"We are a state that has been deeply divided and it is up to all of us, our side and their side, to listen. To listen to each other and to try to do what is right for everyone in this state," Barrett told incredulous backers gathered in Milwaukee. "The state remains divided and it is my hope that while we have lively debates, a lively discourse which is healthy in any democracy, that those who are victorious tonight, as well as those of us who are not victorious tonight, can at the end of the day do what is right for Wisconsin families."

The fallout from the recall campaign was hardly isolated to Wisconsin, however. Though presumptive Republican nominee Mitt Romney didn't involve himself in the campaign, he hailed Walker's victory for its reverberations. 

"Governor Walker has demonstrated over the past year what sound fiscal policies can do to turn an economy around, and I believe that in November voters across the country will demonstrate that they want the same in Washington, D.C.," Romney said in a statement. "Tonight’s results will echo beyond the borders of Wisconsin."

President Obama didn't campaign in Wisconsin, either, a decision that prompted grumbling from state Democrats. Obama led Romney by a 9 percent margin in the final exit polling — a note of encouragement for Democrats looking ahead toward November — and the president's campaign director in Wisconsin said the outcome was "a testament to all of those individuals who talked to their friends, neighbors, and colleagues about the stakes in this election of how close this contest was."

Exit poll: Obama leads Romney in Wisconsin

The election results might have brought the political battles in Wisconsin to a climax, but exit poll data suggested that the state's voters remain sharply divided 15 months after the initial legislative fight that had prompted weeks of protests in Madison, and intense national media attention.

The data showed that the passions either for or against Walker ran high in Tuesday's vote. The vast majority of voters made up their minds before May, and few voters who identified either as a Democrat or Republican crossed party lines to support a different candidate.

Walker, making a pivot toward healing his state's raw wounds, acknowledged that he might have "rushed" his pursuit of reforms early in his terms before consulting with political opponents. 

Darren Hauck / Reuters

Republican Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, who survived a recall election, casts his vote on election day in Wauwatosa on June 5, 2012.

"Tomorrow is the day after the election. Tomorrow, we are no longer opponents; tomorrow, we are one as Wisconsinites," he said. 

But Walker's star power within the GOP hit an apex with his relatively commanding victory on Tuesday night.

He closed his campaign by touching little on the initial battle over collective bargaining, instead emphasizing positive job reports since he took office, and the improved state budget situation. He argued that voters had tired of the recall efforts, which resulted in the ouster of several state senators last summer. 

Walker's saving grace might have involved voters who might have disagreed with Walker's approach to collective bargaining law, but felt it did not warrant his removal from office. The governor made a direct appeal to those voters in the closing weeks of the campaign. Had Walker been recalled, he would have been just the third governor in U.S. history to earn such an ignominious distinction.

The Walker-Barrett race has been watched closely by party leaders in Washington for signs of its implications for the general election this fall. Unions and business groups have also invested heavily in the race, helping fuel a price tag that will total in the tens of millions.

Organized labor stares down specter of possible recall loss

"Big public labor created this mess, and you know what? They lost in the process," Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus, a Wisconsin native, told reporters at Walker's event. "It starts here in Wisconsin, and it's going to finish at the White House in November."

For organized labor groups, the outcome in Wisconsin stood as an especially disheartening setback that left leaders searching for silver linings. 

"We wanted a different outcome, but Wisconsin forced the governor to answer for his efforts to divide the state and punish hard-working people," said Richard Trumka, the president of the AFL-CIO. "We hope Scott Walker heard Wisconsin: Nobody wants divisive policies."

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) enjoys a 7-point advantage over Democratic challenger Tom Barrett among likely voters in Tuesday's recall election.

Darren Hauck / Reuters

Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker debates with Democratic challenger and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett before the start of the debate in Milwaukee.

Fifty-two percent of likely voters said they would vote to retain Walker, according to a Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday; 45 percent of likely voters said they would support Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee.

The poll suggests that Walker is heading toward victory on Tuesday, which would deliver a stinging rebuke to Democrats and members of the labor community who had sought the first-term governor's removal after he pushed a controversial bill curbing collective bargaining rights for many public employees through the Wisconsin state legislature.

The Marquette poll has been tracking the trajectory of the recall election for the better part of this spring. The survey found Walker and Barrett locked in a virtual tie ahead of the Democratic primary in early May, though a May 16 poll reflected Walker opening an advantageover his Democratic opponent.

Labor groups and Democrats supportive of Barrett have been circulating a number of internal polls over the past week showing a closer race than many outside observers have expected.

In the meanwhile, Walker and Barrett have debated, and the campaign has evolved into a rather pointed battle between the two candidates, who squared off in the initial 2010 gubernatorial contest.

Barrett has demanded that Walker release records associated with a criminal investigation into former aides, while Walker has barnstormed the state to brag of positive economic indicators that, he contends, were made possible in part by his initial collective bargaining reforms.

Thousands of dollars in outside spending have also flooded Wisconsin airwaves in this high-stakes contest. Republicans are hoping an organization forged in Walker's 2010 election and last year's state Senate recalls carries the day; Democrats are meanwhile enjoying the assistance of organized labor.

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz was in Wisconsin on Wednesday to help with fundraising, and Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley, who heads Democratic gubernatorial campaign efforts, will be in the state this weekend.

A series of Republican heavyweights, including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, have also campaigned in support of Walker, and Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus will be in his native Wisconsin this weekend, too.

The poll, conducted May 23-36, has a 4 percent margin of error.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has opened up a 6-point lead over Democratic challenger Tom Barrett ahead of a closely-watched June 5 recall election.

Fifty percent of Wisconsin's likely voters said in a Marquette Law School Poll that they would support retaining Walker versus 44 percent of likely voters who said they would instead elect Barrett, Walker's challenger in the 2010 general election who will again face Walker after having won last week's Democratic primary.

The poll would seem to reflect what had been an anecdotal sense that Walker has opened up an advantage in the few weeks before the recall election.

A target of Democrats and organized labor since pushing a dramatic reform of collective bargaining rights for public employees through the Wisconsin state legislature, Walker has raised millions more than his challengers in order to fend off the recall effort.

If Walker were to win, it would be a symbolic victory not only for his efforts to curb labor rights, but also for a series of other Republican governors who have embarked upon the same path. It would also be a disappointing setback for organized labor.

It could also help put Wisconsin in play for this fall's general election between Mitt Romney and President Obama.

Among likely Wisconsin voters, Obama and Romney were tied at 46 percent in a hypothetical November matchup.

A poll preceding the Democratic primary in Wisconsin had showed Barrett and Walker virtually tied in the gubernatorial recall, suggesting that the tide might have turned back toward Walker in the weeks since then.

The Republican governor had a 50 percent approval rating, according to the most recent Marquette poll, versus 46 percent of Wisconsinites who disapporove of the way he is handling his job.

The remainder of the recall campaign is still expected to be a hard-fought campaign, with millions in ads sponsored by outside groups on both sides. But reflecting the stakes of the race, and prevailing sentiment in Washington, state Democrats had to complain publicly about a lack of support from the Democratic National Committee before eliciting a promise to help raise funds.

The Marquette Law School poll, conducted May 9-12, has a 4.1 percent margin of error for the sample of likely voters.

Wisconsin Democrats nominated Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett as their candidate versus incumbent Gov. Scott Walker (R) in the June 5 election seeking Walker's recall. 

The Associated Press projected Tuesday evening that Barrett had won the Democratic nomination over rival Kathleen Falk, a who had enjoyed the support of organized labor and the state's progressives. 

Barrett's victory sets off a June 5 election versus Walker, a national Republican figure since his controversial effort to overhaul Wisconsin's collective bargaining laws for public employees shortly after assuming office in 2011. 

The contest will mean a rematch between Walker and Barrett; they fought each other in the 2010 general election, and Walker won the governorship with just above 52 percent of the vote. 

A Marquette University Law School poll last week pegged the early June recall election as a veritable dead heat between Barrett and Walker.