One week after the Democratic gubernatorial primary, the dust has settled in the U.S. Rep, Tom Barrett, D-Milwaukee, campaign office, and most of the \Make Herstory: Vote Falk"" chalkings have rubbed off from campus sidewalks and stairs. But before history forgets the Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and Barrett campaigns, political science professors and campaign staff members reflected on the election.
Analysts concurred that Jim Doyle won the primary because of his name recognition as the state attorney general.
""He ran a smart campaign, he had more money to spend, and he had the name recognition and broad base around the state,"" UW-Madison political science Professor Don Kettl said.
Doyle's visibility helped him snag second place in his opponents' strongholds.
Doyle came in second in both Dane County, where Falk won 50 percent of the vote, and in Milwaukee, where Barrett carried 46 percent of the vote.
Some pundits expected Barrett to fare even better in Milwaukee, but Professor Dennis Dresang of the LaFollette School of Public Affairs said taint from the Gary George scandal may have hurt Barrett's support among African-American voters. George, an African-American, was booted from the primary ballot after his campaign was found to have falsified nomination signatures.
""Because of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala [a friend of Barrett's] trying to get Gary George off the ballot, there were some charges, although never substantiated, that somehow Tom Barrett was involved in that,"" Dresang said.
However, Brigid O'Brien said the Barrett camp was unsure on how the scandal affected the campaign.
""Whether or not it hurt us is yet to be decided,"" O'Brien said.
She refused to discuss other reasons Barrett may have lost.
Falk's camp also declined to focus on regrets, although spokesperson Scot Ross said Falk does not wish she had campaigned more negatively.
""The Democrats had a great exchange of ideas throughout the campaign; everyone, especially Kathleen, kept it on the high road and people really responded to that,"" Ross said.
Most of the professors agreed that Republican Gov. Scott McCallum would have benefited most from a negative Democratic primary.
""Republicans wish there would have been more infighting among Democrats. The preference on their part would be to have a divisive primary,"" O'Brien said.
Doyle will continue to benefit from his rosy primary stance, according to UW-Madison political science Professor Charles Franklin.
""The usual wisdom in running a negative campaign is that it raises the number of negative things people think about your opponent, but it usually also raises your own negatives,"" he said.
However, in the general election, a candidate's focus shifts from convincing voters why they should vote for him to convincing voters why they shouldn't vote for his opponent, Franklin said. Thus, Doyle could go negative if he needs to counter McCallum's ads, he said.
Analysts also said Doyle's moderate stance in the primary should give him an even bigger boost in the general election.
""There certainly will be some people from the more liberal end of the Democratic party who find Doyle too conservative, but that's his advantage among most voters,"" Franklin said. ""It's not about just winning Democrats now, but also independents and swing voters.\
