A vote Thursday to approve a plan that would cut nearly $12 billion in student aid funding could cost U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, the Repubican gubernatorial ticket, according to a statement from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
A January poll by Strategic Vision, LLC, a nationally accredited polling firm, revealed Green trailed Gov. Jim Doyle by one percentage point in the 2006 gubernatorial race.
However, state Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, said the poll results may not be representative of Wisconsin voters.
'Many people don't know about Mark Green, and the more they learn about his votes in Congress, the less likely they will be to vote for him,' Black said.
The DPW said students will be affected by Green's vote and called it a 'draconian budget bill' in a statement Thursday.
Black said Green is more interested in multi-billion dollar handouts to large corporations than he is in education.
'As people learn that Mark Green cares more about oil companies than he does about students, then the race might get a lot much closer,' he said.
But in an e-mail, Green spokesperson Rob Vernon said the DPW release was full of misleading facts.
'In their release, DPW says that the Deficit Reduction Act 'increases the interest-rate cap on college loans from 7.9 percent to 8.5 percent.' What they don't say is that this rate increase applies only to PLUS loans, which are for parents, not students,' Vernon said.
Green has amassed nearly $2.7 million for his campaign, which is more than any challenger has ever had at this point in a governor's race, according to a Jan. 29 statement.
However, UW-Madison political science professor Charles Franklin said over $1 million of that money comes from Green's Congressional campaign chest, not contributions earned through gubernatorial campaigning.
Regardless of the monetary distinction, Franklin said Green's cash on hand is enough to keep him in the race.
Vernon said as Green continues to raise money, he will focus his attention on running against Doyle. In particular, Vernon said the Green campaign will turn its attention to Doyle's approval-rating poll, which in late January stood at 46 percent.
'An incumbent that's polling below 50 percent is probably in some trouble. When they fall below 50 [percent], politicians start to smell blood in the water,' Franklin said. 'There's enough unhappiness with him that he could be beaten by a good campaign. This is a guy that may win re-election, but is not unbeatable at all.'
