'The national unions, for them, this is all about the money,' Walker said. | John Shinkle/POLITICO Walker on recall: This is 'Waterloo'

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says his upcoming recall election is a “Waterloo” moment for national unions that will “invest everything possible to try and take me out to send a message.”

Walker told Fox News’s Greta Van Susteren on Monday night in Milwaukee he believes the vast majority of money that will pour into the June recall will come from out of state. And the unions, the Republican governor said, will be leading the charge against him in the new few months.


“The national unions, for them, this is all about the money,” Walker said. “It’s not just about the budget or collective bargaining. We gave nearly every, well, we gave every public employee in the state the freedom to choose whether or not they want to be in a union or not and I think that’s really why this is a Waterloo for them.”

Walker said his recall election is about more than just the future of Wisconsin for the national unions — it’s a message to any other elected official who would try to tackle collective bargaining and other controversial reforms.

“They’re going to invest everything possible to try and take me out to send a message not only to other Republican governors, but I think to a number of discerning Democrat governors and mayors who look at this and say, you know what? Maybe we can rein in our cost here and be able to balance our budget in a way that’s responsible if we do some of the same things that they’ve done in Wisconsin,” Walker said.

As a swing state, the recall election also offers a preview to the November presidential race, Walker said.

“But I think it’s even more important,” Walker told Van Susteren. “I think long term it sets the table for whether me and other governors or even people like my friend Paul Ryan and the courageous things he’s tried to do in Washington. When we prevail, it will send a powerful, powerful message that when people complain about politicians who don’t have the courage to stand up, the guts to take on the tough issues. Our election will show, when we win, that you know what? Voters do want people to take on the tough issues, they do want people to stand up for the taxpayer.”

Walker noted that former Dane County executive Kathleen Falk is currently his biggest Democratic challenger. Falk has “by far has the support of the big government unions out there fully behind her,” Walker said. And he predicted if Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, who ran against Walker for governor in 2010, enters the race, “the two of them will be fighting it out in the primary.”