After months of nasty campaign tactics between the four attorney general candidates, Democrat Kathleen Falk and Republican J.B. Van Hollen will go head-to-head in the Nov. 7 election.
Dane County Executive Falk triumphed over incumbent Peg Lautenschlager with 53 percent of the vote. Van Hollen secured the Republican ticket over Paul Bucher with 60 percent. As of press time, 90 percent of precincts reported statistics.
Despite the trash-talk exchanged between Falk and Lautenschlager during the months leading up to the primary, Falk thanked Lautenschlager for ""her years of service and spirited campaign"" in her victory speech.
Minutes before Falk spoke, the two Democratic candidates were in contact, and Falk said their party will ""prevail this November"" and are ""seasoned and steady"" to take on Van Hollen.
Though Lautenschlager was in a vulnerable position after her 2004 drunk driving conviction, Jay Heck, executive director for the non-partisan group Common Cause Wisconsin, said Falk's campaigning experience ultimately was a major factor in overthrowing the incumbent.
Falk has run several statewide campaigns, serving as assistant attorney general for 14 years, and was the first woman in Wisconsin from a major party to make a run for governor in 2002.
""[Falk] is clearly a rising politician with statewide ambitions,"" UW-Madison political science professor David Canon said.
Heck said he attributes Van Hollen ‘s success in the primary to Bucher's failed attempts to reach out across the state while campaigning.
""Van Hollen won the election by statewide grassroots support. J.B. has run a statewide race since day one. He focused on all 72 counties and I think it paid off,"" said Van Hollen's campaign manager, Juston Johnson.
Bucher's campaign manager, Gavin Fischer, disagreed with Johnson about the primary results and said campaign finances played a big role in determining the outcome of the winner.
According to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, Bucher raised just over $422,000 compared to Van Hollen's $1,000,000 campaign. Fischer said Van Hollen put in a lot of personal money to his campaign during the last two weeks.
Along with the contested attorney general race, current Secretary of State Doug La Follette beat out Scot Ross, who put on the most challenging effort La Follette has seen in his 28 years holding office. La Follette won with 71 percent of the vote.
Current U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, beat his challenger, Ben Masel in a landslide victory, receiving 85 percent of the vote.
—Cardinal reporters Bob Spoerl and Allison Ludwig contributed
to this report.
