By Toby Harnden  and Thomas Durante PUBLISHED: 21:59 EST, 5 June 2012 | UPDATED: 07:43 EST, 6 June 2012 Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin increased his majority in a recall election victory that delivered a warning shot to President Obama and showed that Republican politicians can face down unions and survive in office. Walker finished with a 7 per cent lead, confounding the exit poll results that had indicated a 50:50 split with Walker's Democratic rival Tom Barrett, mayor of Milwaukee. Turnout was very heavy and gave Republicans hope that Mitt Romney could prevail in the Democratic-leaning swing state that Obama won comfortably in 2008.
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Republican fights off recall challenge from Mayor Tom Barrett
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First governor in U.S. history to keep his job in the face of recall challenge
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Overwhelming voter turnout giving GOP hope that Romney will prevail in Wisconsin in presidential election
The vote came after a bitter 15-month battle that divided @placeholder, traditionally a centrist state, with union members and Democrats demonstrating against Walker's signing of a March 2011 law throwing out most collective-bargaining rights from public employees.