Attorney General Jim Doyle will face Gov. Scott McCallum in the November election after winning the Democratic party nomination in the primary election last night.

Doyle beat both U.S. Rep. Tom Barrett and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk in a close race. Doyle carried 38 percent of the vote. Barrett was behind him with 34 percent, and Falk trailed slightly behind with 27 percent.

At his Milwaukee party at the Astor Hotel, Doyle thanked voters for their support.

“[The primary election)] has left us well prepared for the general election that starts tomorrow morning,” Doyle said. “Instead of being divided, we’re united. Instead of being bruised, we’re strengthened. The loser tonight was not Tom Barrett, not Kathleen Falk.”

Doyle will face McCallum in the November election.

“Come November, Jim Doyle will put an end to Scott McCallum’s reign of error,” he said.

Falk was the last person to join the race and would have been the first female candidate for governor. At the Madison Concourse Hotel Tuesday evening, Falk thanked supporters for their help and wished Doyle well in the Nov. 5 general election.

“To my supporters, from my heart, a big thank you,” Falk said. “Wisconsin has decided Jim Doyle is the best candidate, and I congratulate him on running an effective campaign and support Jim strongly in the election.”

Falk said she was proud of the way her campaign was run and of her competition.

“You ran the race the way Wisconsin deserved to have a race run the way,” Falk said. “We listened to people.”

“In the minds of many, we have won a great victory even if we didn’t win the primary today,” she said, “Together we couldn’t have worked harder or better.”

Falk spent the past week campaigning hard around Dane County and did well in the county.

Barrett appeared at his Milwaukee party with his wife and four children.

“I just called Jim Doyle to congratulate him,” Barrett said. “And I also just talked to Falk and congratulated her for a great race as well. I think that we can be proud that we ran a positive race for governor of Wisconsin . . . This has been just a tremendous experience in my life.”

Barrett said he was proud that he had won in Milwaukee, Stevens Point and Superior.

“I am convinced that the best days for the state of Wisconsin are still ahead of us,” he added.

Barrett, whose state office was eliminated because of redistricting this year, said his future plans do not go beyond sleeping in tomorrow and spending time with his family.

Lieutenant governor race

Barbara Lawton defeated state Sen. Kevin Shibilski Tuesday, taking the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor.
Lawton is known as a civic activist and will go onto the ticket with Democratic gubernatorial nominee Jim Doyle. Lawton thinks she and Doyle will be able to craft a balanced budget, and she said she hopes to turn the office of lieutenant governor into a policy-making partner in the Capitol.
“I’m not going to disappear and won’t have to mint a coin to let you know who I am,” Lawton told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.