Enough Wisconsin voters turned out for Tuesday night's election to show they think Democrat Jim Doyle is the right man for the state's top job.
\It's a new day for Wisconsin,"" Doyle said in his gubernatorial election speech at the Mariott Hotel in Middleton Tuesday night. The crowd chanted, ""Doyle, Doyle, Doyle!"" as the new governor thanked his family and supporters and shook hands in the crowd.
State Sen. John Erpenbach, D-Middleton, echoed the crowd's enthusiasm.
""Sixteen years is way too long to have a Republican governor,"" he said.
Doyle won 45 percent of the vote, beating Republican incumbent gov. Scott McCallum by 3 percent. Libertarian Ed Thompson received 10 percent, while Green Party candidate Jim Young got 2 percent. Not many people at the election party said they'd want to be in his shoes come January.
""Clearly the first and biggest challenge facing the state for the next governor is getting the fiscal house in order,"" said John Kraus, Doyle's campaign manager. ""There's a huge budget deficit that continues to grow. That's job number one.""
Kraus added that Doyle will begin his term in office by trying to bring people together and change the tone of Wisconsin politics, referring to the volley of negative attack ads between Doyle and McCallum in the past two months.
""I wish it would have been a more positive campaign,"" said Doyle who served as state attorney general for three terms, ""But if we had not fought back and defended ourselves we would not be here this day.""
Several hundred Doyle supporters participated in Tuesday night's election party, including labor and education representatives, environmental groups and dozens of students.
Amy Terzynski, UW-Madison senior and Doyle volunteer, explained why she supported Doyle in the election.
""He's for higher education, and he's an independent candidate who will stand on his own regardless of what other people are telling him to do,"" she said.
McCallum, flanked by his wife, conceded the election around 11:30 p.m.
""This has been a hard-fought campaign. The battle has left some scars in the Wisconsin political landscape,, but the election is over and it is time to heal and move Wisconsin forward,"" he said.
In his concession speech, McCallum thanked the people who worked on his campaign and the people of Wisconsin.
""Jim Doyle will see that the strength of this state is the people, who go to church, help coach, get involved,"" he said.
McCallum supporters gathered at the Madison Concourse Hotel, 1 W. Dayton St., and remained optimistic up until McCallum conceded the election. Less than 150 people attended the election party.
Former U.S. Rep. Scott Klug said he had doubts about Doyle.
""The real challenge has to be the ugly budget picture,"" he said. ""You have two choices, cut spending or raise taxes. If you look at Jim Doyle's promises, I don't know if he can't raise taxes.
After McCallum's concession, Tim Rash, UW-Madison chairman of College Republicans, also said he was worried Doyle could not keep his campaign promises.
McCallum encouraged his supporters to continue to work to improve the state.
""This race is about the future direction of the state. I know Jim Doyle shares that belief. I wish him the best of luck and godspeed,"" he said.
