Scott Walker, the Republican governor of Wisconsin addressed some sharp differences in a heated debate with Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett before an upcoming election to recall the governor on June 5.

Walker will face a special election after he angered Democrats as well as labor unions by pushing through the state legislature that will remove public sector labor unions of much of their power. If he loses he will become the third governor in United States history to ever be recalled.

In the debate that lasted for a full hour, Walker talked about his efforts to found states budget fight trying to curb the power of public sector labor unions while Barrett tried to paint a picture of the governor as untrustworthy.

Barrett said, “This election is not a rematch or do over because we can’t do over the decisions of Scott Walker to start a political civil war.”

The two candidates are definitely both familiar with each other as Walker defeated Barrett by five points during the 2010 gubernatorial race. A recent poll that was conducted by Wisconsin Public radio also showed Barrett following behind Walker at a similar margin of 50 – 45%.

The polls are showing a small number of undecided voters and as a result of this both candidates will need to do their best to try to motivate their supporters in their favor.

Tim Dale, a political scientist for the University of Wisconsin said, “What Barrett did tonight for himself is he came out very assertive. Walker also did what needed to do, appear strong and almost nonresponsive to Barrett.”

Walker made changes to organize labor during the past year which also affected state and local government workers such as teachers to be responsible for a portion of the cost of health insurance and pensions as well as wage increases and required unions to be recertified every year. While Walker claims that these reforms will close the budget caps, Democrats and unions refer to them as union busting.

Walker defended himself saying, “We balanced the budget without raising taxes, without massive layoffs and cuts in the program. The good news is that our reforms are working and that is why our opponents don’t talk about them anymore.”