As the November elections approach, there is no doubt that big changes could be on the horizon for Wisconsin's government. One of the most drastic changes could come with the election of a new governor, current U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, whose right-wing politics would be a huge contrast to current Gov. Jim Doyle's liberal policies.
Since Doyle was elected in 2002, he has used his veto power to block many pieces of legislation introduced by the Republican- dominated legislature.
According to Jay Heck of Common Cause Wisconsin, Doyle exercised his veto on a concealed weapons law, a taxpayer bill of rights and bills placing funding restrictions on family planning and stem cell research.
Republicans currently maintain control of the Wisconsin state Assembly by a margin of 20 seats, while they control the State Senate by a smaller difference of five seats.
According to Heck, the Republican majority will likely maintain control in both the Assembly and the Senate. Though Heck said ""Democrats think they have a shot at taking [the Senate] over,"" actually winning the contested seats would be difficult.
If Green is elected and the legislature remains under Republican control, the Republican Party would control both branches of government.
Along with campaign promises to lower taxes and tuition at Wisconsin universities and to create new jobs for residents, Green has different plans than Doyle for laws pertaining to carrying concealed weapons.
""Forty-eight states trust their citizens with the right to carry a firearm to protect themselves and the people they love from harm,"" Green said in a statement. ""Jim Doyle doesn't believe law-abiding Wisconsinites can handle this responsibility. I disagree.""
State Rep. Spencer Black, D-Madison, is an outspoken opponent of the concealed weapons law that passed through the legislature last year, but failed to become law after Doyle's veto.
""Mark Green has said he will sign the bill,"" Black said. ""It will probably pass in a stricter form because some compromises were made to get votes to override the veto.""
The race for governor will intensify in the final week as many voters are still undecided. Despite the national Democratic trend shaping the Nov. 7 election, Heck said he believes this will be an extremely close race.
""Madison is notoriously stubborn and goes it's own way."" Heck said. ""We have a history of ticket splitting in this state. We don't register by political party, so there's a fair amount of independence on the part of voters.""
According to Heck, the outcome of election will most likely depend on voter turnout in Madison, Milwaukee and the Fox Valley.
