Five democratic gubernatorial candidates will challenge incumbent Gov. Scott McCallum for the seat next November. Meanwhile, candidates are entering the campaigning season and making campaign financing public information.

Gov. Scott McCallum

McCallum may receive a boost in popularity tonight when President Bush formally endorses McCallum at a fundraising event in Milwaukee.

“We’re very excited about the importance of Wisconsin in the Midwest and in the country as far as electing Republican Scott McCallum,” campaign consultant Brian Christianson said.

Financially, McCallum holds an advantage over the competition, raising $2.95 million from nearly 20,000 individual donors. Wisconsin residents are currently the third-highest taxed in the country. McCallum’s focus is on moving the state out of the top five and subsequently, the top ten.

Attorney General James Doyle

Attorney General James Doyle’s campaign has raised more than $2 million from donors, significantly more than all of his Democratic opponents. The success of the fundraising can be attributed to Wisconsin residents’ already knowing Doyle and seeing him as a candidate they trust, Doyle campaign consultant Thad Nation said.

“He already represents the entire state [as Attorney General],” Nation said. “He has been in every media market for ten years.”

Nation said Doyle will pose a strong challenge to the Republicans in the GOP race. However, balancing his current duties with a full campaign schedule is difficult. Doyle is campaigning a few days a week and has spent a considerable amount of time recently in Milwaukee.

Doyle’s platform includes halting destruction of the environment, investing in public education, creating jobs and holding down taxes.

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk

Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk continues her campaign throughout Wisconsin and due to early poll numbers, her supporters are confident she will win the Democratic Party’s nomination and unseat McCallum.

In the past week she campaigned in Racine, Kenosha and Milwaukee and will take part in a welcome home rally when she visits Waukesha, her place of former residence.

The Falk campaign has raised nearly $440,000 since joining the race in August. Campaign consultant Scot Ross said 1,300 individual donors make up the majority of her campaign funds and only $3,000 came from Political Action Committees.

“It’s not about the money,” Ross said. “It’s about the experience. [Kathleen benefits] as a Democrat with the experience of being an executive.”

Falk’s message calls for correctional reform, a new economic plan and protecting the environment.

U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett

U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett, D-Wisc., campaigned in all of the state’s 15 major media markets, and he has made it a priority to expand his support base to outside his Congressional district in southeastern Wisconsin.

Although Barrett is frequently in Washington D.C., campaign manager Joel Brennan said Barrett is balancing his campaign in Wisconsin with his Congressional duties. “What he brings is a breadth of knowledge of issues important at any stage,” Brennan said. “For nine years he has had the opportunity to work on issues at both the state and federal levels.”

Barrett reported raising $337,000 from individual donors in a grassroots campaign. Brennan said Barrett has concentrated on education and health care.

State Sen. Gary George

State Sen. Gary George, D-Milwaukee, is campaigning aggressively in both large and small markets of Wisconsin. George emphasized a “Wisconsin government for Wisconsin people.”

Other issues on George’s platform include protecting environmental resources, farmers, senior citizens, encouraging economic development and improving education.

The George campaign has not disclosed details of campaign finances as of yet.

Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson

Tomah Mayor Ed Thompson may not have a problem with name recognition in this race. However, the brother of former Gov. Tommy Thompson will not rely on the public support from his older sibling. In fact, Tommy will be on hand this evening along with Bush to endorse McCallum.

Thompson will run as a Libertarian and will attempt to win the election as a third party candidate on a much smaller budget than his competition. He raised $105,000 so far and campaign consultant Josh Morby said Thompson is already a serious contender. He pointed to Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura winning his election with only $600,000.

“We’ve already broken records with money raised by an Independent [in Wisconsin],” Morby said. “We are also not accepting Political Action Committee money.”

Thompson’s platform includes lower taxes, the elimination of shared revenue, reforming the prison system and providing students a quality education at a lower cost.

Morby said he supported the “Students for Ed Thompson” group and offered a challenge to students supporting other candidates.

“I’d be happy to challenge all other student groups to a debate,” he said. “Name the place and we’ll show up.”