In a rare unseating of an incumbent opponent, Kathleen Falk defeated current attorney general Peg Lautenschlager to secure the Democratic spot on the ballot for the Nov. 7 election.
Peg Lautenschlager's 2004 DUI arrest has been a major issue underpinning the campaign. Falk ran ads mentioning Lautenschlager's arrest and questioning whether she would be a strong enough candidate to defeat the Republican contender.
""Falk saw a weakness in the incumbent with her DUI and felt she could use it against her,"" said Jay Heck, executive director for Common Cause, a non-partisan government reform group. ""I'm quite sure she would not have run if Lautenschlager didn't have the DUI.""
In her victory speech Tuesday night, Falk thanked Lautenschlager and urged the incumbent's supporters to join Falk's side. ""The marathon ends today, but the sprint is just beginning,"" Falk said.
With the end of the primaries, Falk said the first step she is going to take is to attempt to unite state Democrats.
""I plan on working with the good Democrats from Kenosha to Superior and everywhere in between,"" Falk said.
J.B. Van Hollen defeated Paul Bucher in the Republican primary. Juston Johnson, campaign manager for Van Hollen said he plans on using Falk's lack of prosecution experiences against her.
""The fact that Kathleen Falk has never prosecuted a criminal case in her professional career is a huge downfall,"" Johnson said. ""How can we expect our top cop, our top law enforcement officer in the state, to be someone who's never prosecuted a criminal case?""
Johnson said Lautenschlager's main weakness was the mismanagement of the crime lab DNA backlog.
""She ran four years ago on making the crime lab a priority and she didn't do it,"" he said.
With the primaries finished, clear ideological differences will separate the Democrat Falk and Republican Van Hollen.
Heck emphasized that Democrats do not have a lock on the position of attorney general.
""Wisconsin is such a closely divided state,"" Heck said. ""We can't know who will win in November.""
According to Heck, in a statewide election with vigorous campaigning, the results will always be close due to the state's partisan division.
Whether Lautenschlager would have been a liability for the Democratic Party remains unknown. According to UW-Madison political science professor David Cannon, if Lautenschlager would have made it through the primaries, she would have been able to largely put her DUI behind her.
Falk's campaign manager Adam Collins said that ethics and leadership would be key issues in the general race.
""There is a contrast in value between the two leaders. [Falk] wants to make Wisconsin citizens feel like they have an attorney general who understands their thoughts and problems.""
An inter-party challenge an incumbent attorney general is rare. In fact, Falk is the first candidate in 58 years to knock off a current attorney general in a primary.
