Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) today said Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s successful defense of his Republican administration in a recall election could set the gold standard for GOP campaigns nationwide.

“I think it was an extraordinary victory,” McConnell told Roll Call. “The message out of there is that you can take courageous and difficult positions, and the American people understand it. It’s a good message, not only inside this Conference, but across the country, to state and local governments and in particular, the federal government.”

When asked whether Tuesday’s recall election makes Wisconsin competitive for either Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney or the eventual GOP nominee for the open Senate seat, McConnell sounded confident.

“I think [the state] was already in play,” the Minority Leader said.

McConnell recently discussed the Senate playing field in an in-depth interview with Roll Call. The GOP must gain a net of four seats Nov. 6 to win control of the Senate and promote McConnell to Majority Leader. The Kentuckian has been especially amenable to conservative Republicans who have bested more established candidates as long as it helps toward his goal of winning back the chamber from the Democrats, who won their majority in 2006.