Tom Barrett Re-Elected As Milwaukee Mayor

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett has cruised to victory in his re-election bid, winning another four-year term.

Unofficial returns showed the Democratic mayor defeated challenger Edward McDonald on Tuesday by about 70 percent to 30 percent. McDonald is a University of Wisconsin Extension faculty member.

Barrett’s win wasn’t all that surprising, given his strong cash advantage. The latest campaign finance filings showed Barrett had nearly $436,000 cash on hand compared with just $424 for McDonald.

Barrett was re-elected despite announcing last week that he plans to run in the recall election of Republican Gov. Scott Walker. Barrett faced off against Walker in 2010 and lost by 5 percentage points.

But for Barrett to get a rematch this year, he’d have to win a likely Democratic primary next month. Three other Democrats have said they’re running.