Albert Einstein famously defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. In retrospect, the effort by state Democrats to unseat Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in a recall election by running Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, the same candidate who lost to him in November 2010, might fit this bill.

As the dust settles on Wisconsin’s tumultuous recall elections, let’s acknowledge some of the winners and losers with appropriate commendations.

Here’s an archive of our live blog from election night.
View a collection of election night photos on our Facebook page.
Recall election news sources:
Associated Press county vote results
New York Times lives updates and analysis
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel homepage and All Politics Blog
Wisconsin State Journal and The Capital Times homepage and Live Blog
WisPolitics Election Blog
POLITICO Election Central and Charlie Mahtesian’s blog
WisconsinWatch.org [...]

By Bill Lueders
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Advocates of open government often quiz candidates for public office on their level of support for official transparency. The candidates, when asked, always tout their commitment.
That doesn’t mean they always deliver.
Both Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his Democratic challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, have fielded many requests for public [...]

By Bill Lueders
Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism
Gov. Scott Walker’s decision to drop “the bomb” in February 2011 is continuing to prove lucrative for one party: The private law firm hired by the governor to deal with the fallout.
That arrangement is now worth up to $850,000 in taxpayer dollars for Michael Best & Friedrich, hired [...]

Some say the real target of political television ads — and mailings, emails and robo-calls — is the vanishingly small segment of the population that has yet to decide whether it stands with Republican Gov. Scott Walker or backs Democratic challenger Tom Barrett.

You don’t have to be a campaign donor or corporate executive to get an audience with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker. But it doesn’t hurt. The third installment in a three-part series.

While Tom Barrett’s fundraising will surely spike now that he’s secured the Democratic gubernatorial nomination, it’s instructive to examine how he’s done so far, compared to his opponent.