Despite persistent rumors to the contrary, Wisconsin state Assembly Speaker John Gard, R-Peshtigo, announced Wednesday he will not be running for governor in 2006.
\I have thought long and hard about it, and now is not the time,"" Gard said in a statement.
Gard's decision to not run means the April 2006 Republican primary will likely be a showdown between Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay. The winner will challenge Gov. Jim Doyle in the November 2006 election.
Gard spokesperson Steve Baas said the speaker's friendship with both Walker and Green made the decision to drop out easier.
""Because John knows both Congressman Green and County Executive Walker so well, I think it made him more comfortable with the fact that even if he wasn't in the race, we would have a strong alternative to [Doyle],"" Baas said.
While Green has not yet formally declared his candidacy, he filed paperwork Tuesday that allows him to begin raising funds for a campaign for governor, a campaign that Green has said is ""very likely."" Green campaign spokesperson Mark Graul told The Daily Cardinal Wednesday there is no formal timetable for when Green will officially declare his candidacy.
Meanwhile, Green's campaign fund took a hit Wednesday evening when the State Elections Board voted Green cannot use up to $1 million of $1.3 million he transferred from federal campaign cash into a state campaign fund.
Wisconsin election law limits how money not raised in the state can be spent on elections.
No matter when Green formally makes a decision, his chances of winning the nomination have improved now that he no longer has to face his close friend Gard in the primary.
""He did not relish the thought of running in a campaign against him,"" Graul said.
For now, Gard, 41, will continue his duties as Assembly speaker. However, he is viewed as a rising star in the Wisconsin GOP, and his name is likely to come up every time there is an open seat in a higher position. Already rumors are circulating that Gard, who represents a state district that lies within Green's congressional district, would run for Congress if Green goes on to challenge Doyle. But Baas downplayed those rumors, saying Gard's focus remains in the Wisconsin Legislature.
""Those [rumors] are hypotheticals that will all take care of themselves,"" he said. ""If a senate seat of a congressional seat in John's area in northeastern Wisconsin comes open, that's something we'll have to think about then.\
