Romney stays quiet on Wisconsin recall

Mitt Romney has stayed notably quiet about Tuesday's recall election of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), a curious move considering Walker's lead in the polls.

Romney has not publicly commented on the race since he won Wisconsin's Republican primary in early April, even as some of his top surrogates — including New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) and South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) — visited the state to stump for the Republican governor.

During the primary Romney embraced Walker and his policies, saying he was an "excellent governor" and a "hero." But since then he hasn't come near the race, even though he's kept up his attacks on public-sector unions, accusing President Obama of being "unable to stand up to union bosses."

Romney's campaign did not respond to requests for comment, but part of his reasoning could be because Walker's star power burns brighter in the state than Romney's. Walker received a whopping 627,000 votes in his uncontested primary last month, nearly double the 347,000 votes Romney received when he won Wisconsin's Republican primary.

Some Democrats and union officials have criticized Obama for keeping his distance from the race, while Republicans have had no complaints about Romney's lack of involvement. The two aren't directly comparable, though: Obama could have had more impact by helping turn out minority voters in Milwaukee with a campaign visit, while it's unclear how much Romney could have helped the race.

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