[media-credit name=’TOM SCHALMO/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]With most of the votes counted from the primary election, Kathleen Falk and J.B. Van Hollen were announced the Democratic and Republican nominees for attorney general late Tuesday night.

Both candidates immediately focused on their new opponent and the general election, now eight weeks away.

"The marathon ends today, and the sprint just begins … and I'm ready," Falk said at her victory party at Fyfe's Corner Bistro on East Washington Avenue. "I know the Department of Justice better than J.B. Van Hollen, and I know how the law and government work together to help people to create hope."

Falk, currently Dane County executive, defeated incumbent Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager for the Democratic nomination. But Falk recognized the difficult battle each candidate had and called for Democrats to unite.

Republicans, also, are attempting to create a unified front, noting a continuous struggle against their opponent party.

"I will continue the same campaign I had all along against the Democrats," Van Hollen said in an interview with The Badger Herald following his victory. "The clear difference between [Falk] and myself is that I am focused on law enforcement interests rather than special interests. And that is what the people of Wisconsin expect."

Van Hollen, a former U.S. attorney from western Wisconsin, defeated Paul Bucher to gain the Republican nomination. But Van Hollen hopes to work with Bucher, the district attorney for Waukesha County, in becoming the next Wisconsin attorney general.

Though the primaries have ended, the mudslinging that had been prevalent throughout the campaigns to this point has not. With Van Hollen's comments on Democrats favoring special interests, Falk said Van Hollen has proven to be out of touch with Wisconsin values.

Yet each candidate addressed the benefit of their grassroots campaigns and outlined their campaign platforms.

"My basic platform is to change the focus on the [DOJ] crime lab and focus on law enforcement for crimes involved with gangs and drugs and cyber predators," Van Hollen said.

Falk said she would continue to fight gang violence but also addressed a number of other problems facing Wisconsin communities.

"Together we fight for safer communities, a cleaner environment and the fundamental rights that provide equal opportunities for all of us in Wisconsin," she said.

Behind the election of newly nominated candidates, election officials were dealing with newly implemented voting procedures.

In Milwaukee, a number of ballots were incorrectly distributed, as new ballots were created to work with an automated AutoMARK machine for disabled voters. To correct this — along with the problem of voting across party lines — voters were given new ballots to vote properly.

"It is normal that people get confused how to vote in a partisan primary," Kyle Richmond, public information officer for the State Elections Board, said. "But if people used ballots for wrong machines, that's a training problem for the poll workers."

Richmond added he hopes to have all of the problems addressed and solved by the November elections, in which voter turnout will increase compared to the primaries. He said other problems around the state included reports of a lack of functioning AutoMARK machines — required for all polling places — and voter registration information not being inputted in the computerized Statewide Voter Registration System.

Other statewide primary nominations decided Tuesday include Jean Hundertmark for Republican lieutenant governor, Douglas La Follette for secretary of state and Herb Kohl for U.S. Senate.

The nominees advancing from the primaries will face their opponents in the general election Nov. 7.